If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll understand the title. I went searching for inspiration for this blog post in a glass of red wine and the Rat Pack station on Pandora. My pondering during “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was recorded for posterity.

While I have a slightly longer break between Emerald Ball and Millennium, there is more than plenty to do so it doesn’t feel like a break. I guess you could say it’s a break from immediately impending competition to work on other things.

I’ve been feeling like I’m standing on a precipice overlooking Overwhelm Ravine. The Solo Practice Guide is due to launch at the beginning of July and, in an attempt to become and stay organized, I started to create a to-do list.

O.M.G.

Do you know how much needs to get done in the next two months?!?

I started to feel overwhelmed just looking at the as-yet-incomplete to-do list. My brain likes to jump ahead and so I end up feeling like the two months of tasks need to get done today. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my level of productivity plummeted because I spent more time fretting over the whole list than focusing just on what actually needed to get done today.

Tasks kept shifting from one day’s list to the next day, and then to the next day, and the next day. Finally, after an unproductive Saturday, I decided to take a break on Sunday. I still went to the studio and did my solo practice. That’s productivity and escape at the same time! After practice though, I clocked out. I stopped at Trader Joe’s and bought myself some bubbly and mini carrot cakes (pretending they were gifts from my fur babies for Mother’s Day). Then I spent the afternoon watching movies. When I really need to check out mentally, movie marathons are one of my favorite things to do to escape. I like coming up with themes. This past Sunday was not-so-obvious strong female characters. Movies watched included Devil Wears Prada, The Ugly Truth and Last Holiday. You might think a strong female character movie would be Wonder Woman or Charlie’s Angels or something similar. I like finding the unlikely movies to fit a theme. All of the main characters in the movies I watched find some inner strength to just be who they are instead of what others expect or pressure them to be.

Even though I felt guilty for laying on the couch all afternoon and evening, the forced respite seemed to work. Monday evening, I checked almost everything off my list and tonight, I was just in a great mood. Teacher even commented about the rays of positivity radiating off me at the beginning of our lesson. We spent most of the lesson working on styling for Foxtrot (hence the follow-up Rat Pack music station).

So I guess the moral of the story is if you want to stay on track in your goals, sometimes that means taking a break.

OH by the way – if you’re on the email list for the Solo Practice Guide, you already know about this BUT for those who haven’t heard…

Next week, I’m opening enrollment to the launch team for the Solo Practice Guide for Ballroom Dancing. You get an advanced copy of the Guide AND!!! I’ve created the opportunity for launch team members to earn some extra cash (what ballroom dancer doesn’t need extra cash?).

So, if that sounds good to you, click here to add your name to the launch team waiting list. Spots will be limited and people on the waiting list get first dibs. If you’ve never signed up for anything related to the Solo Practice Guide before, you’ll also receive the free Solo Practice worksheet while you wait until next week.

While the to-do list is definitely intimidating, I am still really excited to bring this Guide to the world. The last three competitions I’ve danced in have been amazing experiences. I attribute that to my changed attitude and boosted confidence in my own dancing, both thanks to my solo practice.