Although the process of creating, planning, and hosting an event can be fun and engaging, it’s also a huge undertaking that can lead to a fair amount of panic and hair-pulling for event producers. Does the thought of your next event seem daunting or stressful? If the answer is yes, you need to learn how to reduce stress when planning your events.
Check out the tips below to help you chill out, reduce stress, and enjoy the event planning process.
1. Delegate
Know the difference between leading and micromanaging. Stop believing you’re the only one who can do the job properly. Event management requires teamwork. Sacrifice some time upfront and save time in the long run by teaching your event staff how things need to be done. Embrace autonomy; it’s the number one factor associated with happiness in the workplace and the perfect way to reduce stress when you plan an event.
Take Action
Set clearly defined goals for everyone. Every task must have a deadline and action steps that will result in the desired goal.
Check-in periodically, give honest feedback, and accept that part of expanding your team’s skill set might mean making some mistakes. Don’t punish event staff members that make a big effort to pitch in and be effective. Instead, use mistakes as a learning opportunity and teach them how they can improve next time.
2. Avoid Analysis Paralysis
In Chris Guillebeau’s book, The Happiness of Pursuit, he refers to a number of quests upon which people around the world have embarked. One of these includes a story from Nate Damm, who spent seven and a half months walking across America. Nate noted,
“Execution was easy…Once I got going, it was pretty much just wake up and walk all day.”
Break tasks down to their simplest form and then tackle each step as it comes. You might not be walking across America, but event planning is no stroll in the park!
Take Action
Make lists and check off completed tasks as you go; you’ll feel like a champion when you get to cross them off. Passage has created THE event checklist for organizers and event producers, which includes planning stages, step-by-step guidelines to make sure you don’t miss anything, and tips & tricks. Download it for free below.
Developing the habit of writing things down is one of the success habits that Chris Sauve emphasizes in his TED Talk, “The Habits of Highly Boring People”. We highly recommend event producers watch this if you’re looking for more ways to automate your workday and reduce mindless decision-making.
If writing your to-do’s in a planner is not your thing, Asana is a great app for event management purposes as it keeps teams coordinated and facilitates intuitive organization.
3. Complete Your Least Favorite Task First
When you plan an event, your least favorite task is often the one that has the highest risk of procrastination. Once you get this task out of the way, things won’t feel so burdensome and you can focus on the event planning assignments that you actually enjoy doing (and be able to enjoy them with less stress). According to Work Smart’s Gina Trapani, “Being productive is a habit, and if you start every day by accomplishing something important, you’ll get more done than 90% of the people in the office.”
Take Action
Listen up, event producers! Before opening your email, putting on a pot of coffee, or chatting with your co-workers about the weekend drama, tell yourself you’ll spend just fifteen minutes working on that daunting task. Set a timer and start. By the end of the fifteen minutes, you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish and how relieved you’ll be to have a good start. The bonus is that once you’re in a state of flow with the task, there’s a good chance you’ll stick with it and complete it.
4. Find Your Zen
Stress profoundly affects the way we perform and guests notice it, so it’s key to find a stress management technique that works for you.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Walter Calvert, only 8% of worries are real and legitimate. Although a large majority of you might label yourselves as “control freaks”, accepting the fact that you can’t control the weather or traffic conditions will reduce the number of meaningless and unproductive worries you create throughout your event planning process.
Take Action
Print out the image above, bookmark this page, or take a mental snapshot of “The Mountain of Worries”. The next time you find yourself thinking the world is coming to an end because your guest speaker spilled a little wine on herself, reference it and move on. Don’t let event planning stress find its way into your head.
5. Schedule Smart
When you plan an event, it’s easy for your schedule to expand beyond the nine-to-five workday. So, set some ground rules for yourself to avoid event planning stress. Allocate time realistically, but don’t attempt to cram your tasks into 12- or 14-hour days, as this will eventually lead to burnout.
Take Action
Create long and short-term deadlines. Long-term deadlines will help you remember the big picture and motivate you based on what you hope to be the grand, amazing outcome. Short-term deadlines assist with organizing and prioritizing your workday, as well as holding you accountable in terms of what items of your event checklist need to be completed.
6. Fuel Up
A fascinating paper in the British Journal of Health Psychology explains that the more fruits and vegetables people eat throughout the day, the more creative, happier, and engaged they tend to be. Fueling your body with balanced and nutritious meals & snacks will not only boost your immune system but also optimize your productivity, reduce stress, and help you stay energized when it’s crunch time…
Take Action
Make eating decisions before you’re hungry. When we’re in a rush, scarfing down a cheeseburger and fries feels efficient. You save ten minutes by grabbing and going but risk losing an afternoon of high-energy planning. To avoid temptation, find a fun and easy recipe that you can make over the weekend and portion out throughout the week. Or, check out Buzzfeed’s Easy, Healthy Lunches to Take to Work. In the long run, you’ll save time, money, and meaningless decision-making.
Be Smart About Your Snacks
Almonds, carrots and hummus, an apple or celery and peanut butter are solid choices. To minimize your risk of running for the potato chips, keep your healthy snacks readily available and near your workstation.
Take Any And All Necessary Actions To Avoid Sugary Drinks
Be creative with your coffee if you need a caffeine boost, or if you want something a little lower key, explore the endless possibilities of herbal tea. Celestial Seasonings has a ton of tasty flavors like Cinnamon Apple Spice, or the festive Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride. If you’re looking for something cool and carbonated, pick up a pack of LaCroix. These tasty beverages contain zero calories, zero sugar, and zero artificial flavors. They also come in a wide variety of flavors (our favorite is coconut!)
One of the best ways to reduce stress is to take care of yourself, even at times when it seems like everything else should come first. In the end, you will be more efficient and produce higher quality work by following these simple steps and keeping your mental and physical health in check.
Don’t let event planning stress get in your way. You now know how to reduce stress and create the events you love while enjoying the process. At the end of the day, the most successful people are usually the ones having the most fun!
Create your next event with Passage and, if you need any help, schedule an onboarding call.
