I will admit that I've been avoiding reading, recently: I tend to get completely absorbed when reading, and I don't want to lose my progress on staying present. This of course is not a good situation, as reading, especially on-topic material, is beneficial for so many reasons. Brain maintenance for one thing, which is also critical in our LDing discipline.

What are your approaches to maintaining mindfulness in very active, absorbing mental activities? Or activities that tend to completely zone you out (at least me), like watching videos (which I've also been avoiding for the same reason)?

Do you take lots of little "bring it [awareness] on back" breaks? Like every page or two of reading? Any other hints?