5 event management tips to help you plan like a pro

When events run smoothly, your guests simply get to enjoy them. But for that to happen, event planners need to have a solid event management tool and strategy to stay on top of every detail and deadline. Asana and Eventbrite recently teamed up to craft the ultimate event planning guide. From the eBook, we’ve pulled the most helpful event management tips to help you plan the perfect event in Asana.

Make an event plan that shows who’s responsible for what

Hitting event deadlines makes the difference between securing the best venue, or being left in the dust (which could actually happen if everything is already booked). Having a well-outlined to-do list for your event is the first step. But the best planners know who’s actually responsible for getting each step done, and when it needs to be done by.

Your game plan:

• Map out your event plan, assign work to teammates, and give clear deadlines for each task. In Asana, you can create a project to capture all your to-dos for the event, and assign tasks to your teammates with clear due dates.

• Follow up quickly and easily. If you’re still waiting on a quote from a vendor, or don’t know how far along a presentation is, enable the Asana hack to set up task reminders and get notified as work progresses. That way, you don’t have to stress about checking in and remembering to check in.

Break your plan into smaller steps, and keep related work connected

Now that you’ve figured out all the steps, connect the dots and dig into the details. Breaking your bigger work up into pieces makes it much easier to start tackling the work. It also helps you see how the work is connected to make sure everybody is working on the right things at the right time, and aren’t blocking other teammates.

Your game plan:

• Break up larger goals into smaller steps. In Asana, you can use subtasks to show all of the steps needed to complete a large task (like securing a venue or finalizing the keynote presentation) so it’s clear who’s taking responsibility for each piece.

• Connect related work. You can use dependencies in Asana to make sure work isn’t started until certain tasks are completed. You can also use @mentioning to link to other tasks, projects, and conversations so everybody can see what’s happening.

Keep meetings purposeful and give updates between them

Meetings can be one of the biggest blockers to productivity, so why not make your meetings themselves more productive? Map out your meeting agenda and goals beforehand so you and teammates can see what’s going on, come prepared, and leave knowing what will happen next. Stay on topic by time-boxing each agenda item to make sure you hit all of them, and use that time to strategize and collaborate.

Your game plan:

• Create a meeting agenda. Teammates will come more prepared when they know what you’ll be discussing. Use an Asana project (or template) to list out what will be on the agenda, attach relevant files, and take notes during the meeting all in the same place. You can also assign tasks during the meeting to track action items to ensure they get done after the meeting.

• Have fewer meetings by giving effective status updates. Providing regular, detailed status updates on Asana tasks and projects keeps stakeholders in the loop without scheduling another update meeting.

Plan your priorities for the day

With a clear event plan in place, you need the time and space in your day to actually execute it. At Asana, we have “No Meeting Wednesdays” so everyone can hit their productive stride on important work without getting interrupted by meetings for an entire day. It’s important to leave time to focus on the true priorities for each day, instead of getting lost in the moment and buried in notifications.

Your game plan:

• Plan your day. Once you have your grand event plan in place, you’ll need a way to track what you’re doing day by day, and see it in context with all your work. In Asana, you can use My Tasks to see every task assigned to you and prioritize them with Today, Upcoming, and Later.

• See your schedule. You can use Calendar View in My Tasks or your event planning project to see what needs to get done today, what’s coming up, and if anything needs to be moved around.

Take advantage of event management apps

Event management can be stressful, but when you have the right tools to help you execute your strategy, you can pull off your most successful event yet. Not surprisingly, Eventbrite and Asana are some of our favorites.

• Eventbrite: Advertise your event, invite guests, and collect RSVPs, all using Eventbrite. You can also use the app to check tickets on the day of the event and provide essential information—like location and time—to your guests.

• Asana: Use Asana to organize the nuts and bolts of your event planning process. With our event planning template, you can track progress, manage vendors, and make checklists for each step leading up to the big day.

Event management can be stressful, but when you have the right tool to help you execute your strategy, you can pull off your most successful event yet.

Planning your next event? Get even more event management tips from the Asana + Eventbrite eBook.