My entire life I’ve been a bit of a planner. Some people might call it “type A,” and some people might call it downright annoying. A planner is a very particular type of person (you know who you are).  We love notebooks, lists (more specifically, crossing things off them), or even better, checking the boxes with the Evernote “box check” feature.  We color-code things with new pens and fun Sharpies, and have way too many folders in our inboxes. I think another word for planners is perhaps “crazy,” but me — I’m okay with that.

Getting to take my inherent personality and use it in everyday life is not only helpful, but it’s pretty awesome.  For my job, I get to plan events. I get to work on experiential marketing campaigns. I get to do all of the things I love to do — and that, my friends, is pretty cool.

For those of you who aren’t planners — or perhaps you are — here are some tips and tricks that are near and dear to my heart when it comes to making it happen.

Organization is key.
File your emails, keep your spreadsheets, print your papers, know where your things are. It’ll make your life much easier.

Your budget is your bible.
If you don’t do this, you’ll have unhappy clients, unhappy vendors, and you’ll be unhappy. Make a budget, keep track of all your costs, and stick to it.

Create an itinerary.
Whether your event is one hour, one day or one week — keeping an itinerary is essential. People never know where they should be, what they should be doing, or what time they should be there. If you have an itinerary — problem solved.

Over-communicate.
When you’re working with your internal team, vendors, clients, and many others, it’s important that everyone is always on the same page. When something falls through the cracks, chances are other pieces will start to crumble as well.

Remember to laugh — you’re not saving lives.
Well, you might be if you’re working on a fundraising event. If you have a problem, solve it — stop fretting. You’ll laugh when it’s over.

Keep an extra of bottle of wine at home.
Some nights, you’re just going to need a glass of wine to get through the event struggles.

Print all of your things, triple-check your lists, and live and let be …
There are only so many plans and back-up plans you can make. Sometimes, you just have to plan that there will be unplanned happenings, and get ready to problem-solve.

… Because things will go wrong.
So you think on your feet and fix them.

When it’s over, take a break.
It’s over. You did it! It’s always important for me to take a day or two to myself to unplug and recharge for the next big thing.

It’s not a science, it’s not the bible — it’s just my way of doing the thing. I love events, because you get to design a concept from the ground up, bring it to life and watch it all unfold. It’s stressful, exhilarating and pretty amazing.

This is why I love what I do, part II!