What should you do first?
This? That? The other? Or do them all simultaneously. Part of the challenge with planning an event is trying to organize every detail. But more to that is figuring out what are your first priorities and sorting the order in which things can be done.
The reality is that even if you are a phenomenal planner, sometimes you can’t get everything done. Thus, you have to pick what is most important. Decorations? They’re cool, but they don’t make or break an event. Speaker? Yeah, that is kind of important. Otherwise, what are your guests going to be doing?
Sometimes this also comes down to order. You may try to get everything done but put the most important things first. Then take care of those other things if you got the top of the list done. Check lists really help in this area. But don’t just list them as they come to mind. Put everything in order from top priority to bottom. This will also help your planning team understand what needs done.
For example, I recently helped with a banquet. This included a speaker, some worship songs, and specialty desserts. We had the tables set up and clothed, chairs aligned, and centerpieces on every table. As we set up the food, someone asked about the menu cards. Well, most of them were done, but the menu had changed a little. The option came down to setting out the food for the guests to eat or printing cards that told what that food was. Pretty easy decision here, right? The menu cards would have been worthless without the actual food they went to. The guests could either see what the food was or ask if they had questions. But if we had worried about printing the menu cards, then the food would have been late, and it would have pushed back everything. This is just another example of the importance of planning ahead, as well as flexibility during an event.
Start thinking about all those details for your event and figure out what needs to be done first, what all can be done simultaneously, and what you can afford to lose if time runs out.