I have been keeping my diary in an org-mode file since the beginning of the
year, with this format -

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
* April
** 01 Tue
blah de blah
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

Today I have had to create a new file, even though the old one was only 194kb
in size and of 2673 lines. However, it was very slow in opening, navigating to
any desired place, and appeared to be getting confused as to whether it was in
org-mode or not! Its set up for continuous org-mode, but recently to correct
formatting I've had to turn on org-mode in the middle of a diary posting, or
even close the file and then reopen it again.

On opening the master file for the year which will contain *all* my postings
for the year, it is still very slow and ponderous. But it is called
'2014.org', which is a renaming of my working file '2014a.org'.

Has '2014.org' got "org-mode rot", so many hidden commands of change of
org-mode functionality still within its meta-post that it makes the whole file
difficult to work with? I know that org-mode files are just plain text
formatted in a certain way that emacs recognises and then performs certain
predestined actions on, but somehow this file is slowing down in its
interactions with the rest of emacs.

So how can I keep a file 'healthy' and working well over many months please?

Sharon.
-- 
A taste of linux = http://www.sharons.org.uk
my git repo = https://bitbucket.org/boudiccas/dots
TGmeds = http://www.tgmeds.org.uk
Debian testing, Fluxbox 1.3.5, emacs 24.3.1