Why Schedule A Virtual Events Planning Meeting

Let me just take a moment to let you in on a big secret! 

This is one of the biggest wins in my overall strategy for planning virtual events! Planning multiple events each year leaves little room for error and even less room to get sidetracked or procrastinate. I need to be focused, get the tasks completed that ultimately produce the event, and I need to do all of this in the shortest amount of time possible. 

Keep in mind, I'm also a wife and a mother of 4 who values time away from the computer to spend with my husband and our kids. For all of this to happen, I need to schedule time on my calendar for a virtual event planning meeting. This creates an appointment with myself, where I can't use excuses that something came up because it's literally blocked off on my calendar. 

So ask yourself these simple questions: 

1. Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks you'll need to complete in order to properly plan and host a virtual summit?
2. Are you currently planning a virtual event and getting more and more stressed by the long to-do list you need to complete leading up to your Virtual Summit?
3. Have you ever found yourself just staring at the computer screen without actually accomplishing anything? 
4. Do you feel like a virtual summit is the best next step in your business, but just don't have the time or bandwidth to get it pulled together? 

If this sounds like you, then it's time to schedule a virtual event planning meeting... I call this Summit Time!

Virtual Events Planning Meeting

A virtual events planning meeting (Summit Time) is the space and time you need in your day to Get. It. Done. It's your time to be productive, check items off of your to-do list, and feel confident about the amazing project you've decided to create! 

While you could continue to plan and coordinate the pieces of your upcoming virtual summit here and there throughout your normal schedule, I personally found that when I block off time and schedule a virtual events planning meeting on my calendar- I take it more seriously and I find myself being more productive!

I started doing this back in 2018 with my very first Virtual Summit.

Virtual Events Can Be Overwhelming...

That's a true statement, especially if you're unprepared for a project like this, which requires a high level of organizational skills. 

Back in 2018 when I was planning my very first Virtual Summit, I found myself to be so overwhelmed. I was completely unprepared for what I had just committed myself. Trying to produce while being severely intimidated by the tight timeline I had agreed to produce it in.

During this particular project, I was so overwhelmed by all the many tasks I needed to complete and honestly, I was still wrapping my head around being fired from my then job in the RVing industry.

I didn't have the mental capacity to really take on such a huge project, or so I thought. I would get distracted very easily. I was grieving and trying to pull myself to gather after a rather humiliating event. 

One day- I finally had enough of being all over the place and decided that I would schedule time on my calendar to work on the event. This small move made a big difference and forced me to show up and show out!

• No more excuses.
• No more distractions. 
• No more being in my feelings.

This was a virtual events planning meeting with myself and I was going to take it seriously! I knew I had a Summit Time meeting with myself and I guess what?

I did take it seriously.

I showed up each day at the time I marked off. I put my beats on- so I could block out the noise happening around me and I worked solely on summit tasks. I was in a zone, and my family knew what time it was. 

Summit Time... lol!

Okay, that was cheesy, but I couldn't resist. 

Anyway, as time has passed, I've come to call this meeting with myself, Summit Time and I think you'll find it just as beneficial as I did if you give it a try.

Meaningful, productive, and distraction-free, Summit Time can be your saving grace at a time when chaos is creeping in! Use it to get focused on upcoming deadlines, completing pending items that you can't delegate or outsource and focus on what matters- creating an incredible online event for your attendees!

So try it! 

Schedule a virtual event planning meeting with yourself and see how it goes!

When To Schedule Summit Time

Scheduling time for your summit is easy. 

It can be as simple as just a few hours a week, blocked off on your calendar that's dedicated to planning and organizing pending to-do items.

You'll want to focus on finding the best part of your day to schedule Summit Time. Don't put it off until the end of the day, when you might be tired, and find excuses to skip it. Find the most productive available time slot in your calendar and let's put it there!

I usually recommend blocking off time in the morning, before your day gets started.

I find this is the perfect time for me, which allows me to focus on planning my summits first thing in the morning before I get into things like emails and conference calls which tend to take my days in totally different directions. 

If you're not a morning person, this may not work for you. So I suggest taking a realistic look at your day and making note of times when you feel would be more beneficial for your summit planning and then schedule it there. 

The main point is to make sure you block off time and dedicate it to planning your virtual summit.

You can make time to plan your summit as often as you like, but it needs to be at least 2-3 times a week. I usually schedule 5 days a week to make sure I get the time I need to plan well and give myself extra time to ensure everything is set up correctly.

But don't worry if you can't find the same time each day or several times during the week- as long as you make the time, and take it seriously, Summit Time will still work wonders for your virtual summit planning! 

Make The Most of Summit Time 

• Start by brainstorming some ideas of ways you'll utilize Summit Time to make the biggest impact on your Virtual Summit. Use the time how you feel it will most benefit you and your goals.
• Summit Time will make a big impact on your planning process. Define what the biggest benefits will be and how they will affect your virtual summit as well as your business as a whole.
•  We all know procrastination is a real problem. It can cause undue stress and make a pretty easy process seem unthinkable. Think about what will happen to your Summit as well as your business if you don't schedule Summit Time and make planning a priority.
• To get the most impact out of actually scheduling Summit Time, you have to make sure your time is protected and distraction-free. This means you'll need to think ahead to find ways to make sure you can focus, concentrate and utilize this time for the intended purpose... working on your summit.
• We all do it. We start something with great intentions and as time goes on, life happens and we end up pushing it to the side. Don't let this happen to your Summit Time! Find ways to hold yourself accountable for taking your Summit Time and using it to build an incredible event.

Think about the above bullet point before you decide to schedule virtual events planning time on your calendar. It's going to block off valuable time that you could obviously use for other business goals and activities- so make sure it's worth it to you!