I've been playing just over a year in fits and starts. I play intensively, sometimes hours per day, for a few weeks or more but then don't touch the banjo for a couple months or so at a stretch. I'm on my 4th or 5th "cycle" now. The breaks are so long I usually worry I've lost my skills but within an hour of playing the tunes and techniques all come back.
The weird thing is after getting reacquainted I find I am substantially better than I was, like I've taken a leap to a new level over the break. After a couple days of playing, the progress slows to the normal linear improvements one would expect from practice.
I'm sure if my breaks were too long I would lose skill but I keep wondering if there is some way to exploit this phenomenon to gain skill faster, a life-hack if you will. Anyone share this experience?