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Tips & Trends

Stressed much? Statistically speaking, yes, you are. Meeting and event planning has been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/global-events-planning/planners-their-breaking-point">ranked as one of the most stressful jobs</a>—and that was true even before COVID-19 threw large gatherings into near-constant flux. The remedy: self-care. Which you’ve heard before.
Foot rubs! Bubble baths! Yoga! Those are great tools, but they don’t speak to the core of the particular stress of what it’s like to be a meeting planner.
“We’re taking stock in what the industry looks like today and how that affects success,” says Marla Everett, CMP, director, consulting solutions at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.traveletm.com/">Event Travel Management</a>. “Maybe that will help us not be so hard on ourselves.” In 2020, meeting planners were hit with utter chaos; 2021 was a sustained dance of will-they-or-won’t-they. Going forward, meeting planners have the opportunity to shine—but shining is next to impossible if you’re depleted.
Here’s a mini guide, just for meeting planners, on how to make self-care an integral part of your work—not an add-on that you never make time for.
<h3>Self-Care Before Events</h3>
Good news, planners: Your superpowers of organization, planning, and anticipating roadblocks are a form of self-care. By developing a road map to a successful event, you’re giving yourself the gift of knowing that you’re on track with your resources.
At least, that’s the theory. In practice, meticulous planners can turn their superpower into their Achilles’ heel, by letting their organization become a form of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartmeetings.com/magazine_article/healthy-world-dont-worry-be-happy">worry</a>, and by refusing to delegate.
To avoid the first pitfall, remind yourself that your planning prowess needs to coexist alongside flexibility. “Planners sort of have to be type A personalities, because we have to have thought of every contingency plan,” Everett says. “But there’s always something that goes awry, so we also have to be the most type B of the type As—when something starts to slide sideways, you have to be able to shift your attention.”
As for delegation as a form of self-care, look at the value of each task on your plate. “There are a lot of tasks that are easy to do, and we get caught up in a mindset of, ‘Oh, that’s easy, it’ll take me five minutes so I’ll just get it done,’” Everett says. “Well, if you add up too many of those, no matter how easy the task is, your plate overflows.”
<ul>
 <li>To help you plan: If you don’t already have a planning template, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mpi.org/docs/default-source/membership/mpi_practicalmeetingplanningguide.pdf">this MPI checklist</a> can get you started.</li>
 <li>To help you delegate: Learn <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lifehack.org/688325/how-to-delegate-work-the-definitive-guide-for-successful-leaders">when, how, and to whom</a> you can (and should!) hand off tasks.</li>
 <li>Try this: Planners sometimes have a hard time judging when they need to start delegating or saying “no.” Pick a metric or two and use them as a measuring stick. If you’re an inbox-zero champion, maybe your metric is having more than 10 emails in your inbox at any given time. People who are devoted to their to-do lists might notice when a task keeps moving from day to day. When you see those things happening, it’s time to delegate.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Self-Care During Events</h3>
You’ve prepared for this. You’ve planned for this. Now your job is to be in the moment.
Part of being in the moment is trusting that you’ve fulfilled your job, even before the event starts. You’re a meeting planner, remember?
“The biggest sign of success is that as a planner, you’ve planned it well enough to get all the way up to the day before it operates—and then you could disappear and it still runs well,” Everett says. “There’s self-care in respect to having more people know what’s going on so that if something happens, everything can still go as planned.” (Remember that bit about delegation? Yeah, it applies during the meeting too.) Building in some redundancies and leaving a paper trail can help those around you step in when your attention needs to be drawn elsewhere.
Another part of staying in the moment: mindfulness. This might bring up images of yoga and meditation, and sure, that can be part of it. But even if you’re not able to incorporate a full meditation into your big day, you can always take a deep breath with the intent of remembering where you are and why you’re there. In a culture and industry focused on the future, that can be difficult—but it’s also simple.
<ul>
 <li>To ask for help in the moment: Say <a target="_blank" href="https://www.supportiv.com/communication/phrases-to-ask-for-what-you-want">these phrases</a> out loud so that you have language at the ready when you need to ask for help.</li>
 <li>To take a deep breath: Give the one-minute breath a fair shake.</li>
 <li>Try this: A morning ritual can anchor any day, let alone a big day (or a string of them!). It doesn’t have to be something spiritual or out of the ordinary if you don’t want that. It can be sitting down with a cup of coffee, going for a morning walk, or applying makeup with care—whatever makes you feel the most like the successful planner you are.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Self-Care After Events</h3>
Here’s where you get to—and need to—step away from the event for a bit. When you’re so plugged into an event and have been planning it for months or years, it can be difficult to let it go. But it’s important that you do so, because it’s the only way you can refuel your tank for whatever comes next.
The most obvious route here is to take time off. If you’re in control of your schedule, give yourself a couple of comp days after the event’s end. If someone else controls your paid time off, check in before the event about comp days. Then—and this is trickier than it might seem—rest.
Depending on your lifestyle, resting at the event’s venue might be the way to recharge. (After all, if your event venue is associated with accommodations, you’ve probably spent a good deal of time talking it up to attendees—now it’s time to take advantage of that fitness center!) If you have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/loyalty.mi">reward points</a> racked up with a hospitality group, consider using them to treat yourself.
If you have responsibilities at your home that draw you back, do what you can ahead of time to give yourself a break upon return. Use your delegation skills to ask other household members to do simple meal prep or step up on chores. And consider bowing out of social obligations for a few days post-event, giving yourself space to recuperate.
One thing to watch out for: the “letdown effect,” or a funk that arises after a big event, no matter how successful. Remember that it’s normal to feel a little blue after the rush of an event is over—but if it lasts for more than a couple of weeks, you could be looking at something like depression, and it’s best to seek help. Being gentle with yourself during the days and weeks following a major meeting can help you transition back into what you do best: planning for the next big event.
<ul>
 <li>To give yourself true rest: Read up on <a target="_blank" href="https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/">the seven types of rest</a>—physical, mental, sens ory, creative, emotional, social, and spiritual rest—to make sure you’re giving yourself a well-rounded break. (All the sleep in the world won’t matter if you return to work emotionally depleted.)</li>
 <li>To treat “the letdown effect”: Learn about a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uwhealth.org/news/crash-landing-coping-with-post-event-blues">full-spectrum protection plan</a>. If you have a history of getting sick after a big meeting, read up on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anitawangmd.com/post-stress-let-down-effect/">health resilience in the face of the letdown effect</a>.</li>
 <li>Try this: For 24 hours post-event, do not check your lines of communication. No email, no texts, no exceptions. It might seem difficult, but the more you flex the muscle of letting go, the stronger it becomes.</li>
</ul>

Global

You Have One of the Most Stressful Jobs Out There. Here’s How to Make Sure You’ll Continue to Love It.

Tired of the Same-Old Self-Care Tips? Read This.

Celebrate

As a meeting planner, you know stress is part of the job. But burnout doesn’t have to be.
Trouble is, burnout is a harder hurdle to jump than just a string of stressful workdays. It’s a chronic depletion that leaves people unable to fulfill their duties. Thankfully, there’s a reason—or rather, a purpose—behind why planners continue to work in a profession that is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.successfulmeetings.com/Strategy/Meetings-Events/How-to-Avoid-Burnout-in-the-Events-Industry">consistently ranked one of the most stressful in the United States</a>. And if you’re able to connect with this purpose, and then bring it to your day-to-day tasks, you have an effective tool in keeping burnout at bay.
In fact, research shows that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/purpose-puts-burnout-on-the-back-burner">“living one’s purpose” can increase well-being and help combat burnout</a>. Experts agree: “This is something that you are committing a lot of your waking day to, so if you don’t feel emotionally connected to it, it’s going to be a path of more resistance,” says Laura Capell-Abra, who was a meeting planner before founding Stress Matters, an organization committed to workplace well-being, and No More Ifs Or Buts, a coaching and development company. Capell-Abra has another qualification on the matter: She’s experienced burnout first- and secondhand.
Keep reading for her insights and tips to reestablish this emotional connection and find your purpose.
 
<h3>Understand that your purpose doesn’t have to be grand.</h3>
Some planners might have their purpose cut out for them. For example, if you plan fundraising events for a philanthropic organization, you might already be uniquely aware of your purpose: Your events raise money to help people. For others, “defining purpose” may be harder—but no less important.
Capell-Abra suggests not getting too bogged down by the word purpose. “I think when people talk about purpose, they can get overwhelmed,” she says, stressing that you don’t have to be, say, a monk to have purpose.
“It doesn’t need to be grand. It can be on a really small scale,” she says. “If your purpose is around creating awesome events and having fun and keeping up the spirits of everyone around you, and that’s what you want to focus on, you focus on that. It’s about understanding that you get a choice,” she says.
 
<h3>If you’re struggling with the word purpose, think about your values instead.</h3>
“We all have values that we live by, even if we don’t know them,” Capell-Abra says. If the weight of the word purpose is putting you off, think in terms of values.
Ask yourself: What are my top <a target="_blank" href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/core-values">core values</a>? Some examples include teamwork, communication, loyalty, curiosity, growth, family, collaboration, and achievement.
These values tend to stay the same regardless of profession or role. When Capell-Abra was a meeting planner, her tasks looked different than they do now as a coach. But her values haven’t changed. “I still feel like I’m doing what’s right for me because my values are still there,” she says. “It’s about self-reflection and self-awareness and understanding what’s important to you.”
When you understand your values, you become self-aware, which can lead to a greater sense of well-being. Furthermore, adhering to your values can bolster your resilience in the face of adversity, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uab.edu/news/youcanuse/item/12629-experiencing-burnout-here-is-how-to-find-joy-in-your-job-again">limit disappointing events from stealing your purpose</a>.
 
<h3>Learn to take a pulse on your values.</h3>
Start with a pen, a piece of paper, and a few distraction-free moments, and jot down how you feel and what’s going on with you today.
“The idea of not being distracted by anything else is a really good starting point because you start to be more aware of ‘I’m in a bad mood,’ or ‘I’m tired,’ or ‘I’m actually really happy at the moment,’” Capell-Abra says.
Doing this can make it easier to visualize what’s working, what’s not, and whether you’re staying true to your core values. But this is just part one of two, Capell-Abra says. “There’s becoming more self-aware and acknowledging what’s going on for you, but then there’s taking action,” she says.
Monitor your behavior, and if you’re not happy, change something. Adjust your routine to better align to what’s most important to you. It’s not an overnight process; it’s about trying different things and working out what makes you feel good or bad about your work.
“Do more of what makes you feel good,” Capell-Abra says.
 
<h3>Celebrate the journey and the success.</h3>
The day of any actual meeting you’ve planned is usually less work than the months of preparation that went into it, and that’s worth remembering. “Sometimes it’s about the way it’s done rather than what the thing is that you’re organizing,” Capell-Abra says. “It’s more about being a part of a team and seeing something come together.”
So connect with and celebrate what makes you tick, what makes your events a success, and the values you uphold as you bring people together throughout the year. If you make a habit of this, you won’t hear burnout knocking at your door anytime soon.

Reconnecting with your purpose is powerful—so powerful that it can spark your professional motivations and keep your can-do planning spirit ablaze.

Meet Your Secret Weapon in Fighting Burnout

Network

First, the good news: If you’re reading this article, you’re probably not burned out, since one of the symptoms of <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/427/meet-your-secret-weapon-in-fighting-burnout">burnout</a> is apathy.
But the not-so-great news? If a headline about career ruts intrigued you, you might be in one. Here’s how to tell whether you’re at a ho-hum stage in your progression, and what to do about it if you are.

<h3>What Is a Career Rut?</h3>
Start by considering what it’s not: burnout, stress, or a plateau. Burnout is characterized by chronic exhaustion, diminished effectiveness, cynicism, and a disinvestment from work. Stress is external or internal demands that lead to a sense of pressure. A career plateau is a stretch of time when a worker feels capable of achieving more professionally but is unable to do so, often but not always because they don’t have a way to advance.
A career rut has strains of all these. People in a career rut might approach their work with less enthusiasm than usual, which can make them less effective. They may feel a sense of pressure, though the workload itself hasn’t changed. There may also be a sense that something isn’t quite what it could be.
But a career rut is distinct from these in that someone in a career rut is still invested in the work. In short, if you’re feeling ho-hum and less than enthused—bored, even—by your work, or you just have a sense that your job isn’t as exciting as it was when you started, you might be in a career rut.
And unlike burnout or a career plateau, you don’t have to take drastic steps to get out of it, nor do you need to depend on someone else to give you a chance. You just have to find your motivation again.

<h3>Find Your Intrinsic Motivation</h3>
A lot of meeting planners say they “just fell into” this line of work, continuing it as they learned that they derived satisfaction from pulling off a great event. That might make for a good sense of motivation at first, but as planners become more experienced, they may need to approach the “why” with more intentionality.
In short, before you stumbled into a career rut, why did you enjoy your work? Why did you do it at all? Motivation can be divided into extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Extrinsic motivation consists of rewards outside of yourself that drive you to pursue something, such as a paycheck or praise from colleagues. Intrinsic motivation is a reward you give yourself: The pursuit is worthy to you simply because you like doing it.
Both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards have their place (it’s fine to do your job because you’re paid for it!). But <a target="_blank" href="https://sprigghr.com/blog/hr-professionals/extrinsic-intrinsic-motivation-examples-whats-the-difference/">motivation researchers have learned</a> that intrinsic motivation is more likely to lead to lasting, more satisfying endeavors. Identifying your intrinsic drive to be a planner can be a valuable reminder that you do this work because it brings you satisfaction in some way.

<h3>Accept a Pro Bono Project</h3>
Struggling to find that intrinsic motivation? Nudge yourself by taking on some volunteer work. Charitable organizations often rely on events to meet their annual budget, and while more established groups probably already have on-staff meeting planners, your unique skills can be put to use if you raise your hand.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2024/01/21/for-happiness-and-career-growth-consider-the-power-of-volunteering/?sh=506811c0349c">People who volunteer their time</a> say that it boosts their sense of purpose, their happiness, and their well-being. Bonus for stressed-out meeting planners: Even though you’re giving your time, volunteering can actually help with stress management. Plus, when it comes time to find your next gig, you can reap the rewards of the organic networking you’ll be doing while finding your own mission.

<h3>Take a Risk</h3>
Let’s say you’re in touch with your intrinsic motivation. Maybe you’re just not having fun on the job the way you used to.
If that resonates, it’s time to shake things up. Psychologists note that people tend to perform their best when they’re at what’s known as the optimal level of arousal. Too much arousal and you’re just stressed; too little arousal and you’re bored, which can then turn into apathy, causing you to mistake boredom for burnout.
At your next brainstorming session, give yourself a stretch assignment. How can you be one notch deeper in left field? How can you be a hint more creative, even zanier? What ideas can you float to your clients or leaders instead of letting yourself reject them before they leave your brain?
Getting out of a career rut doesn’t happen naturally. But it’s worth the effort now, because it can be a rapid journey from a rut to burnout, a condition that may be far harder to bounce back from. Taking the time to reconnect with your motivation can help you stay in the game for years to come.

Tend to the Blahs Now So They Don’t Escalate.

In a Career Rut? Dig Yourself Out Here

When Hillary Clinton told a group of 4,200 meeting professionals that “You make thousands of decisions every day,” she was being conservative. In fact, we make around <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbsnc.org/blogs/science/how-many-decisions-do-we-make-in-one-day/">35,000 decisions a day</a>, according to some estimates.
But Clinton’s point, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/meeting-planning-toolbox/hillary-clinton-s-decision-making-lessons-meeting-planners">shared at PCMA’s Convening Leaders conference in January</a>, goes deeper than the number of decisions planners make. “You need your energy to be high when making the conscious decisions,” she told attendees. “You have to know yourself.”
The cost of not knowing one’s own capacity for decisions takes a toll: It can lead you to procrastinate decision-making, to reach for the first solution that comes to mind instead of the best solution, or to stay suspended in analysis paralysis, poring over the same information ad nauseam without arriving at a choice.
But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/decision-fatigue">decision fatigue</a>—becoming drained in the face of constant choice—can be managed. And for planners, whose decisions affect every aspect of an event, that’s the only way to proceed. Read on for six ways to manage decision fatigue.

<h3>Decision Fatigue-Buster #1: Identify Peak Performance Times</h3>
As Clinton pointed out, you need all your faculties when making the most important decisions. Strategically schedule decision-making sessions—particularly those involving other people’s opinions, which are more cognitively demanding—for a time of day when you’re most alert. Night owls have an added consideration here: Even if you’re most awake later in the day, you may find that your capacity for making decisions is depleted earlier than your energy reserves. Consider trying to schedule meetings involving big decisions for as early in the day as you comfortably can.

<h3>Decision Fatigue-Buster #2: Eliminate Decisions</h3>
You’ve probably heard about people developing a “work uniform” of similar or identical clothes that work well together without requiring much thought—resulting in one less decision to be made each day. Extend that principle to select parts of your work life. That might mean minimizing the number of personal decisions you have to make (such as having the same lunch every day), and it might also mean developing a streamlined list of suppliers so you can devote, say, your big-ticket RFP energy to where it will make the most impact.

<h3>Decision Fatigue-Buster #3: Develop Standardized Evaluation Frameworks</h3>
The outcome of decisions may be unique, but developing a standardized approach to making those decisions is useful. You’re probably already considering similar factors when reviewing your options—budget, past experience, attendee feedback, diversity and inclusion, etc. Codifying these by developing a rubric where each option is evaluated and weighted according to the same criteria can help you take some hemming and hawing out of the equation. These can be particularly effective when collaborating on a decision, thanks to the quantitative factor that makes decisions more objective.

<h3>Decision Fatigue-Buster #4: Prioritize</h3>
Not all decisions need the same level of analysis. Allocate more time and resources to the decisions that are most important, and limit the time you spend on choices whose outcomes have lower stakes. When time is limited, circle back to rule #1 and aim to make critical decisions earlier in the day, before your cognitive overwhelm kicks in.

<h3>Decision Fatigue-Buster #5: Take Breaks</h3>
You already know the role of rest in <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/430/tired-of-the-same-old-self-care-tips-read-this">self-care</a>. Taking a break helps you make better decisions too. In <a target="_blank" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-15022-005">a 2019 study of 150 nurses</a> working for a health care helpline, researchers found that the further nurses got from their last break, the more likely they were to make a conservative decision, such as deferring a caller to another practitioner. In fact, proximity to a break was more predictive than overall workload of a person’s likelihood of making an inefficient decision. The takeaway? When you’re faced with making a lot of small decisions, give yourself short, frequent breaks to clear your mind.

<h3>Decision Fatigue-Buster #6: Talk With Other Stakeholders (and Delegate When Appropriate)</h3>
Consider this tip advanced fatigue-busting. The more people you involve in a decision, the more factors you have to consider, ultimately complicating a decision. But as Clinton pointed out about high-stakes decisions like those she faced as United States secretary of state, big decisions require coming together to arrive at the best solution. She stressed the importance of patience even in the face of exhaustion, and pointed out that asking for more information can help inform all parties. And sometimes, depending on the stakeholders involved, you may find that one person is best-equipped to make a decision—and if that’s the case, delegating that choice may be the right path.
If all else fails? Research shows that the coin toss method can help, though not in the way you might think. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103118303950">2019 study</a> showed that people who used a coin toss to make a decision helped them stick to their preliminary choice. Treating the flip of a coin as an aid to making a decision, not as a final verdict, can help you streamline extraneous information and get to the root of what you value in your choices.

Making Decisions Is Your Job. Here’s How to Get Better at It.

6 Ways to Overcome Your Decision Fatigue

You want your event to linger in your attendees’ minds long after they’ve gone home. Here’s a way to do that: Have less content.
That might seem like a paradox. But taking the foot off the gas pedal can help make meetings more memorable—the less jam-packed a schedule is, the better that attendees are able to absorb what they’re learning. Here’s why and how to ensure your attendee experience is richer, not busier.

<h2>Why Less Content Makes a Meeting More Memorable</h2>
Meetings, especially multiday gatherings, require a lot of focus from attendees. They’re in sessions, they’re learning, they’re networking. That’s why they’re there, but their cognitive resources often become overwhelmed anyway, leading them to not retain as much information as they would at a slower pace.
This in turn diminishes the value they derive from attending, rendering your meeting less productive than it could be—and potentially making attendees less likely to sign up for your next event. It can also drive burnout, something that 39% of attendees say is still a top challenge for them, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.freeman.com/resources/freeman-trends-report-q1-2023/">according to research from global events firm Freeman</a>.
This is particularly true of Generation Z and young millennial attendees. Freeman’s 2023 report states, “holding them captive at an event center for four days, feeding them every meal and keeping entertainment on-site, flies directly in the face of their well-researched preferences. Their time is their most valuable asset, and they want to spend it wisely.”
Easing up on a meeting’s agenda also supports <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/518/the-form-of-inclusion-your-events-might-be-missing">neurodiversity initiatives</a>. Delegates—both those with specific neurodiversity needs and those who do not require accommodation—may begin the day full of energy and eager to take in a full day of programming. But between being out of their normal cadence, not having control over their diet and environment, enjoying serendipitous encounters with long-lost colleagues, and being “on” for long periods, they may need time to recharge. People with neurodiverse needs have long been accustomed to modulating their energy to accomplish their goals; when you adjust your programming to account for people who explicitly need support in managing their time and energy, you give everyone a boost.
Not yet convinced? Pruning your schedule can translate to spending less, supporting your budget needs—which <a target="_blank" href="https://globaldmcpartners.com/global-dmc-partners-releases-results-and-key-findings-q2q3-2023-meetings-events-survey">75% of planners</a> say is their top challenge right now.

<h2>How to Pare Down Your Agenda</h2>
Given that costs are still a top challenge, lengthening the duration of an event may not be on the table. Instead, find ways to do less in the amount of time you have.
There are two primary ways to do that: Have fewer sessions and activities, and have the sessions themselves be less jam-packed.
If you opt to have fewer sessions overall, consider facilitating transportation to your destination’s attractions—but without planning a full off-site activity. This helps your attendees make the most of your destination without adding another must-do that might make overburdened attendees groan.
As for giving the sessions more air, work with session leaders to ensure they’re not overloading their presentations with information. If speakers are concerned that their presentations won’t deliver unless they’re crammed with information, remind them that details can be circulated after the presentation via a handout or electronic means. That can free up the talk to give their overall message—and their audience—room to breathe.
Consider incorporating Q&amp;A sessions with no set agenda. At October 2023’s CDW Solution Forum on Cybersecurity at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/satjw-jw-marriott-san-antonio-hill-country-resort-and-spa/overview/">JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort &amp; Spa</a>, one session was a completely freestyle Q&amp;A among panelists from various sessions. Another, dubbed “Hot Topics,” saw two panelists eating progressively hotter salsas while answering audience questions collected throughout the two-day event. The result: a playful, low-cognitive-load session that allowed attendees a chance to relax without worrying about taking notes.
Whether you host fewer sessions or just clean up the ones you have on tap, follow the advice of meetings efficiency expert Philippe Beaudry, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetingcatalyst.co/limit-overload-enhancing-meeting-effectiveness-by-managing-cognitive-load/">recommends</a> scheduling breaks in addition to other tactics that help prevent cognitive overload.
If you find yourself reluctant to pare down on content in order to preserve your event’s value, just remember: When attendees are too drained to enjoy your programming, they’re also too drained to be invigorated by your message. The biggest value-add of all might not be an addition, but a subtraction.

Burnout

Burnout

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