I don't know the read next feature of ecency or how it suggests posts but that's nice for discoverability of random bloggers.
As a creator, having the time to engage with the audience or seeking out self promotion through engagement is a must do for small time creators because it creates a grassroot level of support. I think it's really setting up a personality people can get behind with the creation rather than the creation alone. Because no matter how great the content is, if you hate the guts of the creator, you're probably not going to engage in it further. The timer is just a means to call out my own bs whenever I want to claim I'm working hard about self promotion when in fact I don't really spend more time out there than I'm on my own world.
I think it's just a self awareness exercise and people can reflect on their own experiments whenever they tell others they are just as hard working about engagement as they are with their own blogs.