If "honey moon periods" happen, what's the best way to explain them? Is it a mean-time-to-failure type thing, where during any time interval of a certain length, there's a certain chance that something will break and the technique will stop working? Is it an attentional control thing, where techniques that you've used for a while, you pay less attention to, and the lack of attention paid leads to them no longer working? (See also.) Diminishing enthusiasm? Some other thing?

One pattern I think I might have noticed: sometimes when I stop using a technique for a while, or become less careful/rigorous in my usage, I continue to have an easy time doing whatever it enabled me to do for a few days afterwards. Maybe if it weren't for this deceptive "coasting" period, I would stick with techniques that seem to work more carefully.