New Year’s Resolutions for Event Planners
It’s so easy to fall back into a familiar routine in January. Welcome back, says the post-lunch slump. We missed you! cries the snooze button. Don’t think we’ve forgotten, whispers the spreadsheet you swore you’d finish off before Christmas.
Admit it: not all habits are good ones.
But habits can be broken. Start the new year’s events with an open mind and a fresh new outlook with these New Year’s Resolutions. You might be surprised.
Stop working
When you’re snowed under with work, the last thing you might want to do is take time away from your desk.
Newsflash: working longer or harder isn’t the same as working better. The statistics prove it: globally, the greater the number of hours worked per week, the lower the productivity. Not to mention the damage done to your eyesight and back if you’re sitting in front of a screen all day without moving.
A ten-minute break every hour could make all the difference. Short on ways to wind down? Try these.
Shut up
Meetings are an integral part of your job, whatever role you play in events delivery. And whether you’re a reticent introvert or an extrovert who loves to talk can have a big impact on how you approach them.
This advice about how to be effective in meetings is aimed at CEOs, but it’s worth reading whatever your role. By remembering the four Merrill-Wilson personality types – Driver, Expressive, Analytical and Amiable – you may find you’re at your most valuable when you don‘t say a word.
Think small
Direct marketing – via print, online, tv or email – can’t compete with an actual human saying positive things. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising survey, 78% of Europeans trust recommendations from people they know above all else. For the rest of the world, social proof comes in at over 80%.
Word of mouth still counts, even if – especially if – the words are shared online. Next time you’re face to face with a customer, imagine how they’d describe that interaction on Facebook. That’s earned media ROI worth chasing.
Mess up
Is finding the mouse on your desk like digging for gold? Is there a mountain of paperwork threatening to bury you? Don’t stress about it.
It turns out that a messy desk means a creative mind is at work. A University of Minnesota study concluded that people with disorganised work spaces were more likely to be creative thinkers and risk-takers; they may also be better at problem-solving due to their ability to focus on the task at hand, undistracted by minor details.
Act like a kid
Children absorb new information constantly. As adults, we tend to think our learning is done and dusted – but you don’t stop learning after you leave your school days behind. In fact, learning is good for your brain: it stimulates the connections between your neurons which are lost as we get older, and gives you a dopamine boost.
Sign up for a course to develop a new skill. Or follow this guide and learn something new every single day.
