8 Time Management Tips for #EventProfs

Every event professional knows how extremely dedicated and time consuming planning an event is. From the very beginning phases of even defining what the event will be to the actual planning, execution and post event reporting – the amount of time and effort that goes into every event is massive.However, just because the amount of effort event professionals put into successful event, doesn’t mean there can’t be smart and worthwhile tips and hacks.

Planning your next great event, make sure to check out these time saving tips for event planners from experts in the industry – you’ll be glad you did.

1. Delegate Tasks

Gulf Shores & Orange Beach hit the nail on the head when they wrote about the importance of delegating tasks as an event professional:

“While delegating sounds like a no-brainer, it’s also one of the most difficult things for some meeting planners to embrace. Realize you can’t simultaneously check on name badges, order a last-minute projector and confirm speakers have arrived. In the months preceding your event, train your staff well. If you’re a one-person show, but will have volunteers available, create a detailed list of actions and expectations for them to follow.” – Gulf Shores & Orange Beach

2. Start Planning Early

There’s no better time to start planning an event than now.

“Starting planning early gives you a clear advantage when organizing an event. Planning events early means that preferred locations and vendors are available. If any incident arise during the event planning, you have time and space to come up with solutions. Planning early gives clients time to change their minds. Clients can also take some time to decide on factors for the event.” – FreshWata

3. Build a Daily Routine

Avoid being ‘all over the place’ with set routines and times for each task at hand, each day.

“The event organiser’s work is too exciting and diverse to talk about any form of routine. Still there are certain tasks you need to do every day like checking your e-mails, managing your social media accounts, responding to comments/questions on website(s), you name it. If you constantly interrupt your work every 15 minutes or so to check each newly received message or e-mail, you will never complete your other daily assignments. Instead you could do these activities a couple of times a day (or more depending on the activity) at certain hours or intervals of time.” – Genioso

4. Pick Up The Phone

When doesn’t an event professional need an immediate answer? Avoid lengthy and often time consuming emails, and pick up the phone.

“If you need a quick answer to a question, avoid the urge to communicate via email and pick up the phone instead. Whether you’re calling the venue or speaking to your client, telephone conversations are immediate and in-depth – ensuring you get the information you need as quickly as possible. If necessary, you can always confirm your plans in writing via email at the end of the day.” – Merlin Entertainment

5. Personal Development is a Major Time Saver

We’ve heard it before – personal development is essential for not just personal growth, but career growth – and for event professionals it’s also a huge time saver.

“Why struggle to try to figure out things for ourselves when we can learn from others?” – The Simplifiers

6. Every #EventProf Needs to Learn to Say “No”

There’s an age old adage, “Under promise, over deliver” (Tom Peters).

“Quality is important, to be sure. So is absolute response time. And price. But at the top of most lists, by far, is keeping your word. With uncertainty rising, if you “under promise, over deliver,” you will not only keep the customers satisfied; you’ll keep the customers.”

7. Be Creative With Your Flexibility

Sometimes the best events that event professionals put together, come about because the on-site event execution team they wanted the day of their event wasn’t available – and they pushed the event to a new date.

“If you don’t have strict dates and deadlines, being flexible when it comes to timing and venue can save you a lot of money. For example, if you’re planning a party around the holidays consider pushing the event to a post New Year’s celebration. During peak holiday season, venues will often have higher rates and caterers may have more pricey holiday menus. If changing the event seasonality is not an option, you may be able to cut costs by hosting the event on a Friday or Sunday, which should be less expensive than the Saturday rate.” – In the Event, Utah Event Planners

8. Out with To-Do Lists, In With Schedules

To-do lists can quickly become pages long, with no executionable reality in site. Schedules with specific deadlines, however…

“Once all of your goals are organized, set a time by which you want each detail to be completed. Having these deadlines for yourself will help you stay on-task and also give you an efficient way of tracking your progress. When you’re setting deadlines, try to be realistic about it. While it’s obviously important to get everything planned on time, you don’t want to be rushing and accidentally forget an important detail either. The earlier you start assigning deadlines, the easier it will be to space out your schedule to ensure that the planning process will go as smooth as possible.” – Business Expo Center

In Conclusion

Effective time management is essential for any event professional executing successful events. Let us know your favorite time management tips for #eventprofs!