How do you get back into an unfinished project after a long break?

The drop in motivation after a long pause is pretty normal. I try to treat the first session as a reorientation session instead of expecting peak productivity immediately. Run the project, read the recent code, write down what you remember and what you do not, then aim for one small finished task. Momentum usually returns after that.

There is not really a shortcut for rebuilding the context you lost. I think of it like loading information back into your brain's working memory. Start by reading through the project and making a small change; as you follow the code and its connections, the original decisions usually start coming back. A simple startup script can also make it easier to remember the steps needed to run the project.

For future breaks, leave yourself a clear stopping point. You could commit a failing test, leave a small unfinished change on a separate branch, or write a short note describing what you planned to do next. Returning to an obvious next step is much easier than opening a completely clean project and trying to remember everything from scratch.

Begin with the smallest, easiest tasks rather than trying to tackle the whole project immediately. If you do not have a task list, make one covering bugs, features, and improvements. Working through those items gradually gets you familiar with the codebase again while giving you some quick wins.