As an event planner, you know that staying organized is the key to maintaining productivity. Doing things like making lists is a great way to stay on task and ensure you get everything done, and you’ve probably got a host of other tips you could give to people about how you do your job so efficiently. We’re here to tack on five more of those tips: here are our favorite productivity hacks for event planners.
1) Use calendar alerts liberally
With multiple clients and events to manage, it’s easy to miss deadlines, forget important phone calls or meetings, or completely overlook a certain detail. Make sure that you go down the list of everything that is required to pull off an event, and mark in your calendars when certain aspects need to be squared away by‚ for instance, when the photographer needs to be booked, or when your client needs to submit a guest list or menu choice.
2) Create an every event checklist
Of course, there are certain things that every single event you plan will need. Make a skeleton list of those common elements, and leave space for variables underneath each check box for details. This way, you can keep each event organized with this checklist as the master file showing what is completed and what still needs work.
3) Start every day by making a to-do list.
In a similar vein as setting calendar alerts, creating to-do lists at the start of every day or every week can be very beneficial toward keeping you on task. This will also ensure that things don’t get forgotten.
4) Delegate work to your team
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but many event planners are very Type-A, and like to have a lot of control over the work they are producing. That is, of course, completely understandable since at the end of the day, it’s your name on the event, but being overwhelmed with work isn’t helpful for anyone. Find the aspects of events that you feel comfortable having other people do, and have your staff or teams work on those tasks, freeing up your time to focus on other parts of the planning process.
5) Use collaboration apps
If you and your clients have trouble finding times when it’s convenient to talk or meet, using an app that allows communication between the two of you is great. There, you can share photos of décor ideas, for example, and the client can get back to you when they have time to. Ensure that your clients know that they’ll still have to follow deadlines, but know that doing things this way can save everyone from many headaches.