Too many peas on the plate…

So, I’ve been striving to be more organized, to plan out creating my  dances better, to develop a flow and a checklist to keep me motivated – and it feels good!  No stress about what comes next or if i’m forgetting a step.  There’s even dates to help me plan my time better and finish before the first practice!

Umm…oops.

I was so excited and I’d taken the month of May off to “create” so I was roaring to get back out there in June.  (Ha, ask me how much creating I did in May.)  Well…I can be pretty excitable..and something happened…

Yeah.  Since I was getting all organized and I was so excited and amped up – I scheduled myself to create FOUR yes, four new dances and a crowd dance – most within the same two week period.

Guess what happened?

a. I spread myself too thin
b. At times I was overwhelmed so I did non-dance things
c.  I did the easy stuff for all of them, and avoided the “meaty” stuff like choreo
d.  I underestimated the amount of time I’d need for each task so I could “get them done”.
e.  All of the above.

If you chose “e” you are absolutely right.  I put “too many peas on my plate” and there was no way I could do all that.  For me, there is no way I can create four new dances in a month and a crowd dance, in addition to the other things I do in SL and RL, not to mention enjoying the process and what my completed dance would be.  Everyone works at different speeds, but for me, my excitement and big plans made me oblivious to the oncoming train wreck.

This is why I’m still working on a dance for Friday.  This is why I’ve fallen behind on Blind & Frozen, and why my crowd dance wasn’t quite what I envisioned.

Luckily I was able to shift a bit, hadn’t officially scheduled one of the dances, and have some cushion time built in for creating Blind and Frozen.  What does this kind of overdoing it do?  Disappoint myself, my dancers, and others as I bring another repeat to the stage.  (It’s been a bit since I’ve performed a brand new act.)  It can also result in possibly cancelling a performance because I can’t finish, or bringing something disappointing to the stage.  Not to mention my own stress and strain on things in general.

I always want to create more than I possibly can, there’s such a thrill in starting a new project when the ideas are just swirling around in my head and the music is pumping in my veins.  But…if I keep chasing the amazing beginnings and never make it to the amazing endings….what does this mean?

In reality, this is something I’ve always done – my whole entire life.  I jump into things with both feet when I’m passionate about something.  I’m not as great with follow through.  I truly do believe in this world that we are in that we can learn a lot about ourselves, accept it, and work on changing it.

So.  I have to do something.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different result.

I like having two dances “in play” at the same time.  Sometimes I need a break from one.  I also like having a crowd dance somewhere in the process, which has a completely different creation process for me.

I think I can reasonably complete two new dances in a month and a crowd dance for planning purposes.

PLUS – if I follow the first in/first out rule, when I completely finish one THEN I can start the next one on my list.

What else do I need to do?  Reduce scheduling performances until I’m ahead at least a bit and can give a dance enough time to finish it before the first practice.  It has been my goal for YEARS to have my dances done at least a week before the first practice.

So.  I have a plan.  My head keeps saying but…but…but…but.  But, this is a bit different for me and could be really good.  New – and a bit uncomfortable.  I wrote it down though, it’s on the internet, so it must be true – right?

Want some peas?  😀

~ Eva