You are now ready to make steps towards creating your event! This is an exciting time because you will be able to see tangible results from the outcome of your hard work. Stick to your goals and follow your timeline, and before you know it, you will have done incredible things and your event will be ready for everyone to experience.
Don’t be afraid to change your ideas as you go along. You may have a great idea halfway through the planning process that could improve your event. Try to see if it is feasible to include; consider the amount of time you have, the resources available, and if the cons of adding it in versus the pros. On the contrary, you may realize that a part of your event isn’t all that great, or that the result is not worth the effort. If you’re in a situation where it makes sense to remove or change something, don’t be afraid to do so. You want to put on a great event, and if you can make changes to improve it, you should.
Flexibility is key in this stage of planning. Things that you don’t expect may happen; maybe an important team member may back out, maybe you won’t have the funding you thought you would have, maybe there won’t be as great a reaction from the students as you had expected. These things are inevitable, but nothing is insurmountable. There is a solution to everything, and if you act quickly and make sound decisions, there is no problem you can not address. Approach the problem with a different perspective, think out of the box, and ask for help. Be flexible to accommodate changes and recognize them as opportunity, not as an alternative.
More often than not, projects are very squeezed for time; there a are a lot of things that need to be done very quickly. You have options when this is the case:
1. Work harder! Focus and commit more time and effort into getting things done. Stay after school. Make sure everyone is being responsible for their expected contributions. Bring in more team members to spread the workload.
2. Prioritize. As a group decide what is most important to the success of the event. Which tasks are vital to reaching your goals, and which ones aren’t? Are there things that aren’t essential and should be given less focus so more can be put on important things? Remove tasks that are not crucial in contributing to goals.
3. Push back the event date. If you’ve tried everything and it just can’t be finished in time, this is an option that you may have if you’re lucky. Often it won’t be possible, but if it is, it’s something you should do if it’s absolutely necessary. Your team has put in too much hard work to give up, but things aren’t quite in place yet. Use this extra time to tie up loose ends. However, be confident in what you’ve accomplished; sometimes you’ll be ready but you’re just too nervous to realize!
Enjoy this experience and soak it all in. Work together as a team with the goal in mind. Be excited for your event because it is just around the corner!
Next: Prepare