7 Work-life balance hacks that will help Event Planners rest easy

Today, as an Event Planner, you’re expected to have that desired work-life balance (WLB) while catering to a demanding high-stakes job (apparently, the third most stressful one). You can be assured that attaining that sweet spot is a challenging one. 

Right from the start, you hit the ground running. You have this tremendous task: to plan, organise and execute an event. Booking venues, connecting with vendors, making sure registrations flow in, sorting out the decor, the catering… Need I say more? Being an event planner in 2024 is very demanding.

You cancelled way too many catch-ups with friends and family, knowing very well that events take place when everyone else is off work.

Short of being pedantic, here’s the TL;DR:

You’ve got it rough, my friend! 

That said, there IS some good news! You are better equipped to deal with these issues today. So, let’s scout the arena and see what you have standing between you and a well-balanced professional and personal life.

1. 🚩Over-stimulated brains are at an ATH! 
   Your brain is constantly turning the wheels; it doesn’t really respond well to down time. 
    
2. 🚩Work commitments > personal commitments 
   Your work life takes a lot more space in your life, and the neglected areas tend to catch up with you. You ‘re struggling to make the space and time for your personal commitments. 
    
3. 🚩Inflexible work schedules
   The 9-5 life is not a part of your repertoire and you’re always on your toes - literally and/or metaphorically. 
    
4. 🚩No time for friends and family
   Adding to stress, you don’t have enough time to engage with your social life which as we all know is probably the core deliverable of a balanced professional and personal life. 
    
5. 🚩High expectations and demands 
   You find it very hard to set clear boundaries between your personal and work life. Aside from the calls that reach you after hours, you also have to meet very high expectations when you’re on the clock and your company doesn’t support your needs for a work-life-balance. 
    
6. 🚩Bad physical health 
   Your health is worse for wear and your body is in some serious need for some tender loving care. 

So, if you’re facing any or all of these issues, it’s time to take a step back and rethink how you're handling your career and your personal life. We believe that a few conscious lifestyle changes will leave you a lot more zen than before.

As you navigate this journey to a better work-life balance, these hacks are meant to help you make some changes for the better.  

1. Prioritize Tasklists ✅
   Creating a focused work calendar is a task. It is wise to use a task management tool to rank your work in terms of priority. There are tools like Asana, Notion or Trello that can help you break your tasklist down. Take it one day at a time.  
    
2. Boundaries, galore! 🤺
   Your clients, vendors or teammates reach out to you at non-working hours. It happens a lot. 
   
   To ease this situation, it would be best to respond to them that you are not available to take this up until you are back at office, reassuring them that it will get its due attention. 
   
   You can also set your work calendar to denote out-of-office times to make it easier to communicate your boundaries. 
    
3. Work smart with heavy workloads 🏋️
   Working smart and working hard go hand-in-hand for you! Take it from us: we have built Nunify to help you automate your work to ensure that your event day will be perfect. Combined with tools like scheduling software, templates, or CRM systems, you will save hours of manual work.  
   
   Don’t forget to explore AI tools to automate work and save time; anything from images, text or videos, generative AI’s got your back.
    
4. Delegate; trust your team 🤝
   Delegating can be tough. But think of things that are in your control: clear communication of expectations, task instructions, deadlines, escalating any and all roadblocks, encouraging your team to ask for help. Rest assured that proactive delegation of work will help you build healthier professional relationships. 
    
5. Embrace Buffer Time 🙂‍↔️
   Make sure that your meetings and events have ample breathing room to help you recuperate. Don’t forget point #2 - Boundaries. The buffer time you have can be reserved for tasks where you need to ‘think’ or ‘(re)evaluate your campaigns. This prevents burnout and allows for catch-ups if things run over.  
    
6. Celebrate Small Wins 🍾
   Remember that self-motivation might be the only kind of motivation you can come by (as opposed to external validation). We get it that it doesn’t come easy and it takes a conscious effort to acknowledge your milestones. There is great value in objectively appreciating yourself. Don’t cheap out on this; be generous. 
    

2. Prioritize mental health 🧘
   You’re either already doing this or you're struggling to get started. In any case, giving yourself the time to take care of yourself, be it mindfulness, talking to a therapist or attending a cacao ceremony, is immensely valuable. Make sure you get the help you need, unabashedly. We’re rooting for you! 

On that note, here are three life changing words: “small incremental changes.” 

There is no fairy godmother! It is hard to make great changes in a short period. 
So, be encouraged to take your time, trust the process and aim to make small changes everyday, consistently. 

These hacks are meant to help you make changes and help you reevaluate your priorities. That said, consistency will take you far in this process. The events industry needs more professionals who are happy with their jobs. 

That said...

...YOU GOT THIS; DO EPIC THINGS! ✨