Stay Energetic And Passionate – Prevent Event Burnout

It’s Friday afternoon, and your anxiety levels are through the roof! Tell me if this sounds too familiar. You’re stressed. You’re tired. Nothing really seems as exciting as it used to because it all feels like a grind, a slog, and too much for one person to manage.

Staying energetic and passionate about our career in event management is a real advantage and can drive one’s success. It’s your job to support you team and yourself and take measures to prevent burnout.

It’s time to take a step back and recharge a bit, all the rest and relaxation in the world won’t help if you don’t know how you got to this point – and how to avoid ending up there again.

How can you avoid burnout – and keep supporting your team in the process so they too don’t suffer?

Know The Signs

If you frequently feel exhausted, have a much shorter fuse than normal, and have trouble motivating yourself and focusing on your work, then there’s a good chance you’re starting to unravel. It’s the same deal if you’re feeling genuinely unhappy with where you are in life, or who you are as a person. See, the thing – a lot of the symptoms associated with burnout are also associated with depression; that’s not a coincidence.

Delegate Your Duties

If you feel signs of burnout – start looking for ways to lighten your load. It may simply take a few weeks of less pressure to get you back in your groove.

You shouldn’t try to do everything yourself, as an event planner or in any leadership position. Learn to delegate – learn to hand off duties that someone else may do just as well as you, or may even be better suited for the task. Ask your business partners. Your team exists for a reason, right? Best start to use it.

Relax

This is probably the most important thing – and something you’ve likely learned in your years as an event management professional. Learn to relax. Take up an entertaining hobby, pay for a professional massage, or take up meditation. These are all things that people de-stress a little, find the things that work for you, and form habits.

Understand Your Peter-Point

As a freelancer, we’re often inclined to bite off more than we can chew – we need to really understand our own workload capacity. Taking on too much work is a surefire way to have everything come crashing down at once. As an event planner, you need to have a good sense of how much you and your team can juggle successfully, and start saying no to projects or finding other solutions when you notice levels on the rise.

Consider leaning on your professional network. If you can’t take on a client, refer them to a trusted colleague. They will likely return the favor some day.

Take Good Care of Yourself

Your physical health can have tremendous influence over your state of mind, and your mental health certainly can influence our job performance. Most of the busiest people we know exercise daily. You need to treat your body like it’s one of your events – anything less than perfect health isn’t acceptable.

If you aren’t getting enough sleep, exercise, or nutrition you won’t feel as engaged and inspired by the world around you.

Try A Nap Or Two

I’ve met a lot of people who swear by naps. Not only are they a great way to recharge during the day, they’re awesome for creativity – HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan says they’re where he gets all his best ideas. While you’re running around seeing to logistics, make sure you pen in a short catnap – fifteen minutes to half an hour should be perfect.

Take A Deep Breath

In the event planning field, everyone experiences burnout at one point or another. How you deal with it – how you address the warning signs and quash the symptoms – may determine whether or not you truly succeed in the profession.  Don’t ignore the signs – if you do, you might not have the energy to be the event planner you hope to be.