If event planning has you feeling like The White Rabbit from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, then it’s time to revisit your time management skills. Planning your time with the same gusto and expertise with which you plan events will improve all areas of your life. Professionally, you’ll meet all of your deadlines while still finding time for the personal flourishes that make each event client feel important. Just as importantly, good time management will ease your stress and improve your work-life balance. In this article, we’ll share our top five time management tips for event planners.
1. Delegate Tasks to Other People
An event planner’s workload runs the gamut from following up with the stationer to ensure they’re on track with the invitations to calling the bakery for a last-minute addition of gluten-free cupcakes for the bride’s food-sensitive guests. Why do all of that yourself?
Delegating your workload is a leading time management hack for event planners at the top of their game. Handing some of your tasks to others isn’t about being free to catch up on the latest season of Love Island. Instead, delegating your workload helps you focus on the key core tasks that elevate and grow your event business, such as client presentations or exhibiting at expos.
Solopreneurs in the event planning game can also benefit from delegating by hiring freelancers or temp workers. Think outside the box. Even hiring a cleaning service for your apartment frees up your time for growing your business.
2. Block Your Time
The little demands of life are always calling. Sometimes, you have to turn off the ringtone. Block time in your calendar that is only for event planning tasks. However, blocking time is difficult when a pile of dirty dishes is in your peripheral vision or colleagues keep knocking on your door. Try some of these tips.
- Go to the coffee shop or library at least once a week for power-focus time.
- Use your company’s calendar system to schedule time during which you’ll be “busy” to dissuade coworkers.
- Aim to block off the same time every day.
- Experiment with different times of the day.
If time blocking still doesn’t work, then spend a few days meticulously tracking your time. Make a list of your common distractions and make a plan to mitigate them, either by tackling them at a different time of day or delegating them.
3. Use a Time Tracking App
Expert goal setters know that tracking is the key to achieving big things. In the same way that marathoners track their miles and savers track their spending, you can track your time to become more efficient each day. Time tracking apps can make it easy. As a bonus, many digital time trackers allow you to track your time from your smartphone and your laptop.
Over time, you’ll gain important insights about where your time is really going. Many tasks and projects take longer than we estimate. And don’t forget about the time you spend transitioning from one task to the next. Once you see the big picture when it comes to time management, you can start looking for ways to be more efficient.
4. Adopt a Daily Meditation Practice
Here’s one that’s not in many time management guides, but it should be. Meditation has proven benefits that help you manage your time better. Even 10 minutes of meditation a day can have the following benefits.
- Improve concentration to help you focus on the task at hand.
- Improve your executive functioning skills. Collectively, these skills help you plan, organize, and take action.
- Lower stress and anxiety to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Calms your mind to help you make better decisions in the heat of the moment.
5. Adopt a System
Good time management is more than a smattering of tips and tricks. It’s a comprehensive and holistic approach to maximizing your effectiveness. That’s why you need a time management system. Much like the event planning processes you adopt to keep your events on track, an effective system will carry you from one task to the next. Good time management systems have the following qualities.
- Check-ins are a meeting you keep with yourself to evaluate how your system is working for you. Review your time management system at least once a week to ensure you’re on track to accomplishing your priorities.
- Task capture refers to compiling a list of your tasks and prioritizing them. Capturing and prioritizing your tasks ensures you don’t forget anything and you’re working on the most important things.
- A planning calendar is a visual map of when you’re going to accomplish tasks. Whether digitally or on paper, you can use your planning calendar to budget your time before your day begins, much in the same way you budget your money before the paycheck comes in.
- Time to manage your energy is an essential aspect of time management. Taking the “system” approach helps you think holistically, beyond simply managing your minutes. Planning for self-care, such as exercise and good nutrition, will boost your efficiency when it’s time to focus on event planning.
Now You Have Time to Exhibit at The Event Planner Expo
You’ll be a time management pro in no time with the above tips. Consistency is the key to managing your time well. Strive to practice good time management skills every day to get the best results. And remember, time management strategies aren’t one-size-fits-all. Find the strategies and systems that work with your life and personality.
Most importantly, don’t use your freed-up time to start watching Love Island. Seriously, it’s too addictive. Instead, use your enhanced effectiveness to create a smashing good exhibit booth for The Event Planner Expo. There, you’ll network with event industry leaders and meet face-to-face with corporate event decision makers. Imagine how impressed they’ll be with your rock-solid rep for always meeting deadlines. Reserve your booth today.
