Support Your Team & Avoid Event Burnout

Tell me if this sounds familiar – lately, you’ve been feeling a little out of sorts. You’re stressed. You’re tired. Nothing really seems as exciting as it used to – where once you were energetic and passionate about your career, now it’s a struggle to even drag yourself out of bed every day.

My friend, you might be suffering from a case of burnout.

For one reason or another, the difficulty of being an event planner – the high-octane life associated with the career – has finally managed to bring you down. It’s time for you to take a step back and recharge a bit. Of course, 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.

Let’s talk about that. What are the warning signs you might be headed for a crash? More importantly, as an event planner, how can you avoid burnout – and keep supporting your team in the process?

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. Same deal if you’re feeling genuinely unhappy with where you are in life, or who you are as a person. See, here’s the thing – a lot of the symptoms associated with burnout are also associated with depression; that’s not a coincidence.

If you feel like you might be getting depressed – or otherwise worn down – it’s time to take a step back.

Delegate Your Duties

As I’ve always said, you shouldn’t try to do absolutely everything as an event planner. Learn to delegate – learn to hand off duties that you can’t (or shouldn’t) handle to partners and subordinates. 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, start meditating, or pick up some scented candles; whatever it takes to help you de-stress a little.

Understand How Much Work You Can Handle

As a freelancer, I know exactly what it’s like to bite off more than you can chew – I’ve done so on several occasions in the past. Speaking from experience, taking on too much work is one of the surest ways to have everything come crashing down around your ears. As an event planner, you need to have a good sense of how much you can deal with – and when you’re trying to take on more than that.

Take Good Care of Yourself

Your personal health actually plays a large part in your state of mind. To that end, if you aren’t getting enough sleep, exercise, or nutrition, you’re going to start feeling a great deal unhappier with the world around you. You need to treat your body like it’s one of your events – anything less than perfect health isn’t acceptable.

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. In other words, while you’re running around trying to see 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 – will determine whether or not you remain in the profession.  Don’t ignore the signs – if you do, you might not have the energy to be an event planner for much longer.