It's a marathon. Or maybe it's a series of sprints. Whatever it is, the thing that's important is to notice fatige. Sometimes struggling against a specific problem, or even trudging one foot in front of the other in a general direction, yields dinminishing returns. Sometime when the spirit calls (or doesn't) it's time rest.
It could be a for a day, a week, a few months. On rare occasions maybe a year, or even a few.
Oscillations are important. They are a time to rechargel to take stock of the situation; to recalibrate the direction.
I like to think of these moments as a letting go as the time for breakthroughs. We've spent much time wranging and hustling against problems. We pull the metaphorical bow. But for the arrow to fly we must let go.
I remember sitting on a Bermuda cliff one stormy afternoon, watching waves pound into the rocks. I was focused on the water trickling back out to sea and suddenly knew the answer to a chess problem I had been wrestling with for weeks. - Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning
I find myself right now in such a rest moment. I'm sitting by the riverbank, taking in the rush of water. Soon I'm sure I'll feel the pull to jump back in. But not yet.