7 Ultimate Hacks for Event Planners
Event planning is a complex process that involves good organization and multiple aspects you need to think about. However, it is also so much more than mere organization. Planning a successful event on time implies several other essential skills. These include starting your planning process promptly as well as learning how to prioritize tasks that you need to do. We need to learn how to deal with necessary things first, before dealing with some additional things that aren’t obligatory. As the modern age we live in today offers plenty of possibilities, we should be aware of how we can use them to our advantage. Doing thorough research before making a final decision is crucial for getting to the good stuff.
Moreover, what’s also important is always taking notes. Even though we might still be using a good old-fashioned paper notebook, it might not always be around when we think of something. However, our phone is always next to us, so you can use it to take notes there – it is so practical. Furthermore, if you’re new to event planning you can even consider hiring an event planning assistant to help you out initially. And you should always remember to take a break. Take a look at some essential tips and life hacks for event planners.
1. Start your planning promptly
Every successful event starts with prompt planning. This is essential for several reasons. First of all, it enables you to be efficient as well as to develop a routine. In this way, you can work optimally even with your busy schedule. Having plenty of time on your hands also allows you to deal with any unexpected occurrences or delays. And let’s face it, these always happen, it is natural. However, you can easily deal with these kinds of problems when you have enough time. Also, when you start your event planning on time, there’s no pressure and you are able to be more productive.
2. Prioritize tasks & deal with necessary things first
When it comes to event organization, there are plenty of tasks to deal with, although they don’t all have the same priority. There needs to be some hierarchy with the tasks. You should always start with the biggest and most relevant ones. The level of importance will of course depend on a few factors. For instance, in countries where it’s hot and sunny for most of the year, such as in Australia, people often use that to their advantage by booking an outdoor venue. In other countries, where the weather is changeable, such as England, it’s more advisable to go for an indoor venue. Of course, before that, you need the number of guests who will be attending figured out. After the essential tasks, come those with less relevance.
For instance, relevant things include the number of guests as well as the venue, the staff, the music as well as the food and drinks. On the other hand, some tasks can and should only be done after these big issues have been solved. These include some forms of entertainment for your guests such as a photo booth hire in Sydney, London or wherever your location is. Additionally, these can be some decorations and party favours.
3. Use technology to your advantage
Everybody who has planned at least one event in their life has surely used a traditional calendar. Heck, you didn’t even have to organize an event, you could just be super busy. In both cases, using a calendar helps keep everything on track and time. However, today, we also have quite an advanced technology we can also use for the same purpose. If you still haven’t, you should definitely use a calendar on your phone, laptop and/or tablet. It’s easy to fill it in, you can colour code it, repeat it with a single click. You can even have your digital buddy remind you several hours before it. And the best part is – you can sync it and view it on your phone, laptop or tablet.
4. Do thorough research
The key to a successful event is careful planning and consideration. Before deciding which venue to rent, music band and caterers to hire, you should explore your options. What you can do is ask around for some personal recommendations as you can tell from a personal experience whether it suits you or not. If you don’t have any such recommendations, no worries, you can still find reputable companies. You should then search online, pay attention to the rating and read reviews in order to find the best one.
5. Take notes
For everybody who is organized, this is implied. Our heads tend to be hectic places with a lot of information lingering about. To be able to see everything we need to see, it’s best to write down all the ideas that we have related to an event. That can help you exclude certain things or even get some better ideas. It often happens that we come up with some of the best ideas at some odd time of the day or night – you should try to write these things down as well. Sometimes these are the solutions to your problems. As already mentioned, since your phone is always somewhere next to you, it is handy to note it there.
6. Consider hiring an event planning assistant
If you find organizing an event all by yourself intimidating, you can consider hiring an event planning assistant. This can only be for one or two occurrences at the beginning. You can use this experience to learn a lot and apply the same things later in event planning. Look at it as an investment in your knowledge and skills.
7. Remember to take a break
What you mustn’t forget along this process is to take a break every once in a while. It can provide your brain with much-needed rest. But that’s not all, it can also allow you to be even more productive after giving it a rest for a bit.
Event planning can be exhausting, especially if you don’t start on time and if you don’t know how to keep yourself organized. These simple tips and tricks can prepare you well for your next event planning adventure!
Author bio:
Jess Cooper is a part-time journalist and blogger based in Sydney, Australia – check out photo booth hire in Sydney for your special occasions. She is an energetic, creative highly motivated person with plenty of interests. The most prominent areas of interest include makeup and cosmetics, fashion, style, event organization and decoration, healthy food, fitness, learning languages as well as home improvement. Jess loves learning about new things and having the chance to combine those insights with her ideas and spread them to the world. She enjoys having a mindful and well-organized, healthy life, filled with all kinds of different activities and interwoven with close friendships.