Almost everyone who’s had to plan an event before, whether it was a corporate event for work or a party for a group of friends, will tell you that it was a stressful experience, especially if it was dropped on them at short notice. Just like with many things in life, though, the trick to handling the situation is through proper preparation. Here’s how you can deal with the extra stress.
Creating Your Budget
The first thing you need to do is create a budget. After all, event planning is a creative process. Unfortunately, the creative part of our brain doesn’t always play nice with the more methodical part, as this means pricing has a tendency to take a backseat. Allow for some flexibility in your initial calculations so that you still have something to work with if disaster strikes. Ultimately, though, be realistic about what can be done with the budget available to you. A focused approach that aims to do a few things well as oppose to a haphazard mess of ideas is the best strategy.
Finding the Right Venue
Finding the right venue is one of the most important responsibilities of any event planner. All of this is made even more difficult in major cities in like London, where some of the best spots can be booked months, or even years, in advance. Not only do you need to account for the practicalities, like whether the building can accommodate all of your potential guests or if it fits within your budget, but you’ll also want it to be memorable. Searching for locations can be time-consuming so consider taking a look here and using an industry specialist. This way, you can focus your efforts elsewhere.
Trying to Stay Calm
Finally, it’s your job to stay calm and make sure everything goes as planned. Many people find that breaking down the tasks at hand into smaller, bite-sized chunks is a great stress-reliever. They’ll seem much more manageable this way and it will allow you to process the finer details more easily. Similarly, get into the habit of writing things down. Studies have shown that this improves memory. While all of this might seem easier said than done, and there will no doubt be some hiccups along the way, take pride in the fact someone thought you were ready for the job.
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