Waffle party on Waffles Day – with big risks for stress

by | Mar 27, 2012 | Leadership & Corporate | 2 comments

Big events need big planning

We invited our friends to a big Waffle party on Waffles Day March 25th. 60 guests came and they ate more waffles than you can imagine. Around 175 waffles! Having a party like this needs a lot of planning, otherwise you go crazy. We invited them to come during the afternoon from 3 pm or later. They were all very thirsty for coffee so most of the guests arrived between 3 – 4 pm. So today’s tip will be about planning and stress. How to manage a big event without getting a breakdown.

Waffles are baked in a special machine. They take each about 4 minutes to bake and we had 5 machines. Basic mathematics count to 15 waffles an hour in one machine – 5 machines make 75 waffles an hour. If you are superefficient! And you are not …….. no-one can be superefficient for so long in such a stressful situation.

So, was this a mission impossible? Absolutely not! With good planning you can do a lot and still end up in good shape. I managed with a little help from my daughters. I have to admit that I like planning big events; I would even say I am good at it. I have been to many big events during my working carrier and also to many big private parties. I have seen hosts that can enjoy their own event/party and I have seen breakdowns.

Here is how I do it when I am in charge for the whole picture in a big event:

  1. When I know I have a big task ahead of me I find it extra important to take care of my physical health to be maximum fit. You know – eat, sleep and do workout/walks regularly. That will make me have enough physical energy during the whole process.
  2. The mental energy I get from the planning in itself – I enjoy it and I try to always focus on solutions – not the problems.
  3. I make a list of everything I can think of that matter in the event. I brain-storm with myself.
  4. I put the list in front of me and then I go through the whole event in my mind, step by step, counting minutes like I did in the example above, counting other things that are involved to get a realistic picture of what is coming. I add in the list as I go along.
  5. I have the long list of things to do and I make a time schedule starting from the end of the event counting backwards. Writing down what/who/where things are to be done. When everything on your list is in your plan you see when you have to start working.
  6. Now it is time to look at the whole picture. Do I need to delegate? What services shall I outsource? And so on…..

I use this process for ALL events – private and professional that I am part of. If you do a good grounding job the event will go smoothly and everybody will be happy. The bigger event the more planning you need. Real big events might take a couple of days just to the basic pre-planning.

You might say that you outsource the entire job to someone else – BUT I INSIST – even then you need to do the first steps in the planning to know what you are going to outsource and to get the best deal. Because if you are the host you want to offer only the best, right? And in the end this means you will feel less stressed and that will be good for your health in the long run. If you want help in these issues pleace contact.

I had planned this subject for today’s blog for some time and nicely enough I got a tweet on Waffles day from @AdamUrbansky , whom I follow on Twitter, saying :

“The better you plan in advance the easier it is to set up implementation process and delegate.”

Great to know I am in good company!

Keep smiling!