The event planning and execution process is a long-term effort with a rising stress level. By the end of your preparations and just before the start of your event, your stress level may reach its peak. While your boss says it is shown time, you may feel as if you're going to die in a few minutes because of nausea, sweating, or trembling as a result of stressful days spent to be successful in this couple of days long, but once in every two-year unmissable opportunity. Somewhat, Monday syndrome like symptoms such as fatigue, lack of sleep, muscle tension, headaches, and loss of interest in work and/or social life may ruin your enthusiasm and turn your first day in the event into a nightmare.
Don't be hopeless. There are well-tried remedies to cope with your stress, and those remedies may easily turn your nightmares into a success story.
Get organized and make a travel plan
As an event planner, you should plan your travel by adding a list of items you will need or be responsible for carrying to the event venue so that you don't forget anything at home or in the office. That causes a great deal of stress, and it may cause a little quarrel with your friends, which will give you additional stress and bad feelings. So, discuss what you need during the event with your colleagues and make a concise and clear travel plan. If you are the manager of a group of people, make sure you ask each person to share the burden and prepare a checklist to understand if there are items to be carried to the event scene. Give deadlines for preparations and check each item one by one before the trip starts. Make another list for your personal needs and make sure to include your pills if you use any.
Be on the event venue a day earlier
Some may consider accommodation costs, but being on the scene earlier gives you enough time to be prepared earlier and reduce the risks. You may learn many things before the event starts and feel much more confident. You may adapt yourself to the new environment and learn many useful details, such as the location of your hotel or event venue, how to travel in between, or where to eat your meals. Besides, you may spend some hours resting in your hotel to get rid of jet lag. Otherwise, all these sorts of little problems may easily keep your mind busy and prevent you from focusing on the event. As a result, your stress goes up and gives you nothing but a headache.
Last preparations before sleep
Prepare your clothes, wallet, cell phone, car keys, computer, and badge before going to sleep; thus, do not waste time or panic in the morning after losing items. Try to go to bed earlier and do not rely on alcohol, drugs, or compulsive behaviors to reduce your stress.
Especially refrain from a hangover in the morning. Do not forget to set your alarm clock for a well-calculated wake-up time so that you can take a shower and have a good breakfast. And as a last reminder don't forget to plug in your mobile devices, like a mobile phone or tablet, for charging before sleep.
Wake up early in the morning
Start your day with a short stretching session, and if you like, do some yoga exercises in the morning, then take a shower. That will ease your bodily tension and help reduce your stress a lot. Dress up and make sure you take all your needs with you before leaving for breakfast.
Make a decent breakfast, but refrain from a heavy one. Fruit juices may provide your daily energy and vitamin needs. Try not to sit around the breakfast table until the last minute and leave your hotel earlier. Because you never know what happens in the morning traffic of a city like Istanbul or Calcutta. It's always best to use the subway if there is a line from your hotel area to the event venue. If you rent a car, make sure you make a road map the day before the event and have a city road map with you.
Keep a smile on your face and be friendly at the event venue
Try to keep calm, and don't forget to smile. Language may be a problem to some degree but don't give up. Try to communicate with people by any means or try to employ local interpreters. During the event make sure you take notes about what you heard and what you promised, record your interviews with others and get their business cards if possible. Don't forget, you will make a hot wash up back in the hotel with your colleagues and your notes will be your fuel which will decrease your stress as well
Accept That Not Everything Will Go as Planned
Events create many side effects, both positive and negative, that we never recognize during their preparation or execution phases. Event organizers and participants usually focus only on event activities, so they cannot recognize how those events also affect the surrounding community and area or they just do not care. Events, either small or big, have side effects in the area where they were organized, never planned or intended before and most of the time are larger than imagined. Preparing yourself for the worst possible outcomes will be a good solution. Do not blame yourself for things that do not go according to swing.