No matter how many times you go through it, how ready you think you are, how much slack you’re prepared to give yourself: reentry is always challenging.
Reentry is painful, rocky, heated. The symptoms might vary –
- You just can’t get yourself to focus on the work like you used to
- Your mind is pulled to other projects, games, fun times
- You feel overwhelmed at being so far behind
- You lash out at those around you due to the frustration
You can’t avoid it. At best, you can minimize the impact. But really, the goal is simply to bear it compassionately while you build up momentum as quickly as you can.
Once you’ve picked up the flow, you’ll be good to go.
References
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Walker Percy’s Problems of Reentry by Austin Kleon
Percy points out that “the most spectacular problems of reentry seem to be experienced by artists and writers.” Percy then lists a bunch of reentry options, such as anesthesia (drugs), travel, sex, suicide, etc.
One of the reasons I’m such a huge fan of a daily routine and the Groundhog Day approach to working is that it attempts to minimize these exact problems of re-entry that Percy outlines. By scheduling little doses of daily transcendence in which you work on your art, you can pop in and out of your everyday life without becoming a horrible parent or drug addict or total maniac. (Many argue that that’s just the price of Great Art, but I’ve never never bought it.)