Last week, I had a great editing session while listening to a particular song. It’s been several days, but if I crank up the same tune and afford myself some time, I’ll be back in the same flow soon enough.
When we drop an activity for a long time, we often want to begin from a different angle than the one we last approached it from – but why? There’s no rule that says you can’t continue right where you left off, even if the leaving-off part happened a considerable time ago.
Hemingway did this with his writing, and granted, it’s a little more obvious when you do it from one day to the next. But who says you can’t practice the same song on the piano you last played when you were 17? Who says you can’t write invoice #143 after two months of not looking at your taxes?
“I have been out of this for quite some time. Therefore, it must be a struggle to get back in.” That’s a lie your brain tells itself to keep you from doing any work. Just pick up where you last ended. The struggle will reveal itself should it be needed. You’ll be surprised that, often, it is too lazy to reappear – and you’ll be off to the races much faster than you’d imagined.