The event is over.
Finally.
Exhale.
It's been a journey. You've spent the last few months alternating between exhilaration and anxiety on what feels like a minute-to-minute basis. It’s a good thing you can do this work in your sleep. Occasionally you felt like you had to. You've loved it and you've hated it, but right now, you mostly just don't want to think about it.
But it’s more than that. You’re just...sort of grey and blah about everything, work and otherwise.
You know what it is—you've got the post-event blues. It's okay to admit it; we all get it. Our sister company Dynamic Events gets it so frequently they invented a word for it: "showdown".
It's human nature to feel down at the end something we've invested so much into and have looked forward to for so long. Growing up, we’d get the same feeling after Christmas. We build up the holiday in our minds, anticipating Christmas for weeks on end—the gifts, the food, the family. Then it was over. We a great time, and we had all these new toys to play with. Yet, we were sort of sad.
Once we’ve acknowledged how we’re feeling, it’s time to find ways to pick ourselves back up so that we can come back motivated and ready to rock our next event which—oh crap—kicks off way sooner than we'd like.
We've spent a lot of time thinking about the post-event blues here at Hubb; as event profs, it's an inescapable problem. We’ve gathered together our collective wisdom to provide a comprehensive resource to defeating the post-event blues.
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Take Time Off and Find Space To Recharge
This seems obvious, but really—do whatever you can to disengage and take a vacation. Sometimes that's not possible, but it doesn't mean you can't find space to recharge. Turn off your email, power down your phone and find a quiet space to do something meaningful to you. Doesn’t matter what it is—could be playing a game with your kids, taking a spa day, having lunch with your bae, or reading a juicy novel in the bath. Just so long as fills your soul and has NOTHING to do with work. Check out this post for event more tips on taking care of yourself.
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Re-engage with work in a way that's inspiring, not overwhelming
Despite fantasies to the contrary, you're going to return to work. Jumping right into fray is a sure-fire to extend, not cure, the post-event blues. Ease back into things with work that's easy and gets your creative juices flowing. This post-event checklist provides a great way to ensure that you end your event in a way that sets you up for success prior to starting the planning all over again.
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Find inspiration
Don’t forget, you do this job because—despite everything—you love it. Find ways to remind yourself of that. One thing we like to do is surround ourselves with event profs we look up to, who on the top of their game and are constantly helping us with new and innovative ideas. Get inspired by our favorite event profs to follow on twitter!
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Make work less overwhelming
Part of the reason you might be dreading returning to work is that being an event prof can be overwhelming. Using the wrong tools for the job can contribute to this. Take some time early in the planning process to identify some easy-to-use technologies that will save you time and automate much of the work that leaves you burned out. We highlighted some of these technologies in our recent webinar, Simple Ways To Use Technology To Improve Your Event.
We hope these strategies help you defeat the Post-Event Blues. If you have your own approaches, share them in the comments!
Defeat the post-event blues? Tackle the post-event period like a all-star! Download our free Post-Event Checklist.
