Get back on track after a long break

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break away from your habit, like blogging or exercising. Taking a break can give you time to think about where you are going with your effort.

However, a break can sometimes turn into a lengthy absence. A few months can go by, then six months, or even a year sometimes.

Let’s visualize you’ve taken a few months away from your enterprise, and now the time has come for you to make a comeback.

You feel motivated, pumped, and ready to get serious about your thing – blogging, exercising, whatever – again.

First of all, big salutes on taking a break and taking deliberate action to start again. Unfortunately, people who decide to take a break don’t actually make a comeback.

When you get off the track, you might be tempted to give up altogether:

• With blogging, the problem is that your web hosting account and domain name might expire during a break. I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else, but this blog disappeared from the face of this earth.

• With fitness, time off from the gym can undo some of the health gains you’ve made. Inactivity causes some loss in your physical appearance, like a decline in muscle strength and mass.

Before you throw in the towel, though, remember that others have dealt with the same issues. They have gone through the trials that you face now and gone on to be strong. There is no reason that you cannot do the same.

Start slow

Stick to your schedule, even in small steps.

• Don’t have time to do a full exercise? Just walk a little bit.

• No time to write a blog post? Write a paragraph.

With fitness habits, you tend to make too many changes at once. And you are trying to get back in shape too quickly. Concentrate on one thing at a time and take it slowly; it’s a long game.

One of the best ways to get started is to try brisk walking (or some other low-impact movement) for 10 minutes. Have a few minutes to examine that exercise doesn’t pose any health risks.

Then, set some goals to motivate you, keep you on track, and help you monitor your progress.

Have you ever paused your practice? Did you find it hard to start again?

Well, just write. You will get your appetite to write.

With fitness, change can be hard. Start with baby steps. In the beginning, your new habits might take you two steps onward but one step backward.