The thing kept for appearance asks repeated attention to remain convincing.

Anything maintained for the look of it needs constant topping up. The room that must stay ready, the version of your life that circulates, the interest you no longer have but keep mentioning: each takes small repeated payments of attention that nobody sees you make. The cost is undramatic on any given day, which is exactly why it can run for years. Appearances are cheap to start and expensive to keep.

Name one thing you keep going mainly because dropping it would be noticed. Then consider whether the audience you are maintaining it for is still watching.