Contents
Scary fact: event planning was named the #5 most stressful job according to Forbes.
If anyone needs productivity hacks, it’s us!
We know the drill.
There’s never enough hours in the day to get everything done and we’re always finding ways to do more, with less. So, to say we have to be hyper productive in our roles is a bit of an understatement.
How do we increase productivity and get back more time?
Here are 3 hacks for event professionals who are always on the go…
3 hacks for event professionals who are always on the go…
Going down black holes of the Internet? Time to timebox.
Ever feel like you’ve been chained to your desk for hours on end only to find that you’ve churned through the day but you didn’t set out to the one thing you needed to do today?
Cue in timeboxing. It’s a great productivity tip that uses just one thing: your calendar.
You set specific blocks of time on your calendar via meeting notice sent to yourself that are dedicated to specific tasks. For example, you could set a recurring meeting notice 3 times a day for 30 minutes to check your email inbox.
This way, you don’t live in your inbox.
Instead, you set time to actually peruse and answer emails thoughtfully and in chunks throughout the day.
Whatever your time sink is– event diagramming, following up with clients, or doing site visits… Set specific times for those tasks and they’ll always get done, on your watch.
Declutter Both Your Digital and Physical Workspace
Decluttering your desk area might sound like an odd hack but hear me out… People check their phones up to 150 times a day. It’s been proven.
That’s a lot of wasted time aimlessly scrolling through social media, playing games, and being downright unproductive.
The simple act of just removing your cell phone from your visual periphery (along with any other desk clutter like papers) helps you to mentally push through distractions.
For digital clutter like social media notifications, set Do Not Disturb during periods of time throughout the day to keep those pesky notifications stay at bay.
When in doubt, go heads down.
The next tip is inspired by Dustin Moskovitz, the co-founder and CEO of tech company Asana. He regularly schedules one day a week where he can have one whole day of sheer, uninterrupted, focused work.
Let’s be honest, most event professionals simply don’t have the luxury of time to devote an entire day to this… BUT you can tweak Dustin’s day of productivity.
Simply schedule an hour or two a day where you can go completely heads down, with no meetings or calls scheduled.
Make sure you are prepared with action items of things you want to accomplish to make the most of your hour.
What other productivity hacks do you live by? Share yours by leaving a comment below or share on Twitter and tag @thesimplifiers and @1aura1opez!
Laura Lopez is the Senior Community Manager at the Washington, D.C.-based event planning software company, Social Tables. The award-winning platform has been used to source, plan and execute over one million events since 2011. The company has over 4,000 customers in 100 countries and has been recognized as one of the best places to work in the D.C. area by the Washington Post and SmartCEO.
In her role, she puts the “social” in Social Tables through facilitating face to face and digital interactions between their growing, global customer base of over 4,000 strong. She is passionate about bringing together like-minded communities that share a common goal to make each other successful through on and offline engagement. To learn more about Social Tables head to www.socialtables.com.
Save time and minimize stress by training your interns to become superhero apprentices.
The Apprentice Program includes:
weekly “spark” training videos
intern homework missions
individual intern report cards
intern pop quizzes
mentor support and advice
Starting at just $75/intern USD per semester for our custom-crafted training, guaranteed to get your interns up to speed with the way your firm plans and produces events.
