OK, I know you’re wondering “what the heck does event planning and groundhog day have in common”? Well, the Groundhog Day that I’m referring to here is the Groundhog Day movie with Bill Murray.
First let’s get some basics covered. To jog your memory, in the Groundhog Day movie Bill Murray’s character, Phil, is a small town weatherman that was sent to see if Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow. However the movie unfolds as each morning Phil wakes up early to realize that he is reliving the same day, Groundhog Day, over and over. And only he seems to know this.
But it’s more about what Phil did during this recurring day that brings me back to the title of this blog.
You see, many meeting planners will tell you that quite often their job can become repetitive. As we become more experienced in our jobs the tasks that we used to dread become easier and easier to do. Sometimes it even gets to the point where some of the finer details get overlooked because of the routine nature of the task.
Now Back to the Groundhog Day movie for a moment.
Once Bill Murray’s character, Phil, realized that he was stuck in this loop of repeating the same day over and over again, he decided to become proactive. One example was when he took piano lessons and became a concert pianist. Much to the astonishment of everyone that he knew. Enter the comedic quality of the movie.
Like the Groundhog Day movie, meeting and event planners often duplicate several task when executing a meeting or event. So, perhaps rather than looking at this task as a mundane part of your job, why not try and master that task by improving on it each time you have to do it. For example, let’s say transportation is part of the event. And, as the event planner, your job is to ensure that the vehicles are queued so that, when required, they can easily be called upon and loaded with guests. Any seasoned meeting and event planner will tell you that transportation can often be a tricky component to an event. There are many factors that can interfere with your plans. So rather than dreading the transportation element to your event, why not draw upon your past experiences, analyzing mishaps, with the goal of improving how it will be executed.
You see what’s happening here right? When you focus on the same component of an event each time you are executing that event, eventually you are going to become a pro at it.
Once you have improved and mastered a component pick another (the menu, for example) and repeat.
Event Planning Certification
Here are a few additional posts where you can find more information regarding event planning certification and event planning education;
As one of the main focuses of this website is education, naturally I’m more inclined to promote it. Education, like the Groundhog Day analysis above, should be looked upon as you becoming a professional in the meetings and events industry.
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