I think I've got this sussed. Just to remind readers, I am on a quest to revisit the lower regions of the leagues whilst still keeping my streak, completing the monthly quest and doing some daily practice.
So, having gone private and left the leagues last Sunday, I did all the daily quests and reached the monthly target of 40 quests and got my badge for the month.
This morning, I set my profile to public and did a 5xp story to join the leagues. I did move up from sapphire to ruby, which was a waste of the previous week's efforts, but I am very much at the bottom and plan to stay there with a daily story and unfinished lessons.
I tried doing hearts practices and quitting before the end, but that meant the same exercise kept coming up every time. So my new plan is to do regular practices from the snake and quit them before the last exercise.
Of course, too many mistakes will mean loss of hearts so I may have to resort to a quick hearts practice or use my gem collection to replace them.
Gold here I come!