S is for Scrappy

Pair a good book with a cup of tea, practice yoga in a meadow, and pencil in daily Swedish massages. While all of these things sound ideal, what if you could stop the cycle of stress before it starts?

For a planner, reality is more along the lines of bottomless mugs of coffee, running between venues and Swedish fish. There’s good reason why- following only military personnel, military generals, firefighters and pilots- event coordinators hold the 5th most stressful job in the US, Forbes and CareerCast agree. It’s about time we brought a little more joy into our work and relied a little less on java.
Here’s how:

1. Write It Out

To-Do lists seem like a given, but rather making them only when tasks become overwhelming, these lists will be most effective if made on a short term and long term scale. Dividing lists into days, weeks and months is effective, but also divide them by department or topic. This allows you to recall the small details that seem relevant at one point, but will slip your mind by event day. Not a writer? Use the smartphone glued to your hand to keep track of the various lists you created, rather than trying to keep track of post-its.

2. Delegate Creatively

Meeting and event planners often feel pressured to have all the answers. This pressure will lead to a stressed leader and an underused team, which will show in your event. In the early stages of planning, set individual meetings with team members to find what areas of growth they would like to explore, then shift their responsibility to include a related project. Rethinking how responsibilities are divided can often lead to epiphanies of others’ skill sets and will win you back some free time. Use your resources of clients, partners, friends, friends of friends- expanding your horizons only expands the possibility of getting a “yes.”

3. Express Gratitude

Thank you notes after a big meeting or successful event are a no-brainer, but how often do we take the time to thank the people that support us? To be most effective, it’s best to thank your team members quickly and frequently, and give more in depth feedback on a regular basis. After an event, your team also deserves hand written thank you notes (yes, your hand writing, not the intern’s) specific to their role. Reminding staff and volunteers of their value and impact will lead to a confident, motivated team that will take more projects off your hands.

4. Tried and True

We all love the new apps and cutting edge technology, but there’s something to be said for simplicity. If you’re not familiar with a platform or tool, take the time to learn it or have a staff member lead the efforts. Avoid the keeping-up-with-the-Jones’ mentality and have purpose and strategy behind what you include in a meeting or event. This reduces stress regarding how the new technology will function day-of, how it will be received and how to coordinate seamless back up plans. It’s essential to try new things and stay relevant, but only if executed with intention and patience.

5. Put Yourself First

We’re not counteracting tip # 3 here, but rather focusing on personal health. Tending to urgent event matters instead of quality nutrition and rest may cause completed projects to be better off unfinished. It’s simple: when you aren’t at your best, you won’t complete the best work. This goes for being a leader too; if you are tired and short-tempered, your team will be lethargic and negative as well. Take these tips and personalize them to your team and your events. If you’re stressed, you’re probably not the only one. By changing our behavior, we can change the culture of the organization. Maybe dedicate time to working out with your planning team, collectively unplugging for a period of time or a group activity that makes your job as fun as it sounds. In reality, no one will remember your perfect centerpieces, flawless transportation arrangements or impressive sponsors if the team has a mid-event meltdown.

Namaste, planners.

When I think mini golf, childhood summer days are the first thing to come to mind. However, after visiting the Walker on the Green: Artist-Designed Mini Golf course, I’ve been shown that mini golf can transition into a new, adult-friendly option for the entertainment and décor of your next event. The Minneapolis Walker Art Museum invites you to relive summer vacation.

The creative and unique experience was designed by 29 artists, architects, collaborative teams and mini-golf mavens. Originally planned just for the summer, the Walker recently extended access to the green to September 28. Each hole of the 9 or 18-round course presented an innovative take on the design, making each putt a topic of conversation. My favorites included a gum-ball machine and a replication of constellations. Hole 9 was also one to remember, this life-size pool table required golfers to lift their clubs onto the table and putt or to shoot them like pool sticks.

Even better, if this experience leaves you wanting more, the Walker offers free gallery admission with each golf ticket. Guests can also visit the famous spoon and cherry sculpture, along with many others, in the adjacent nine-acre Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Perfect for events, the course offers arriving guests a chic deck complete with cozy couches to lounge on while socializing or awaiting other attendees. The deck’s tan décor with accents of lime green epitomizes summer, and creates space for an effortless pre-event cocktail hour. The course can be reserved for parties or special events of 50 guests or more.

The venue gives guests a taste of the true Minneapolis- creative events, beautiful summer evenings and community engagement all come into play.

Neighboring Loring Park, between downtown Minneapolis and Uptown, this prime location promises great options for dinner and drinks before the event, and exciting night-life options after. Loring Kitchen is a personal favorite for happy hour or dinner, and is just outside Loring Park.

Summers in Minneapolis are what drive me, and every other resident, to stick out the cold come December (read: late October). Allow the summer celebrations to last past Labor Day by hosting your next event at this fantastic venue!

To reserve the Walker on the Green contact events@walkerart.org or call 612.253.3540

7o degree weather usually acts as a cue for the warmest clothing and least amount of cares. In Rome, however, you find locals in slightly lighter winter coats, patiently awaiting the scorching summers. Pairing my skirt with a sweater and tights, I continued my efforts to be mistaken as a Roman.

Whether it’s the way we dress, the news we read or the explanations we BS, it’s common to love being in the know. This makes it difficult to release our egos, and unashamedly say I don’t know.

This translates to travel as well, and not just with most people’s reluctance to ask for directions.

While traveling to Istanbul, Emily and I realized we knew next to nothing about the country we had worked so hard to enter. Luckily, we had a wonderful host awaiting us, who was able to bring us to the best hole-in-the-wall’s and explore the world’s second largest city with directional confidence. Or at least feeling no responsibility for the lack thereof.

This past weekend, I visited Barcelona with friends, a trip that came with a very different mindset than Istanbul. Having travelled to Barcelona with my family the year before, I attempted to resist thinking that I had seen it all. Once again, a temporary local pulled through. A friend of a friend, who studies there, showed us all a Barcelona worth revisiting.

Touring and dining in neighborhoods I hadn’t realized existed made me quickly realize I had not seen it all. Traveling on foot rather than opting for taxis, creating a multitude of ridiculous stories, and comparing paella prices also showcased the differences of traveling with friends versus family.

I realized this was a wonderful opportunity to see Barcelona a way most won’t. Saving time not revisiting some monuments, I decided to break away from the group to take a bike tour around the city and refused to let the Picasso museum go unseen. And I’m glad I did.

Seeing the city via bicycle turned out to be a completely different experience. Even though most of the monuments weren’t new to me, many of the historical explanations were. Last year, I recall being told Casa Batllo is meant to look like a fish, while this year, I learned there’s a tale of St. George who fought off an indestructible dragon to save the city’s princess that inspired the building. The sculpture described as the face of Barcelona was actually done by the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1992, when earlier in the day I said I vaguely remembered Picasso being the artist. Wrong for so many reasons.

It’s a beautiful process- learning to let go of one’s ego and admit how much more you have to learn. These opportunities are all around us, not just granted with one’s passport. We need to not only realize how many lessons we have to learn, but also realize how many teachers surround us. Whether it’s our peers, strangers, or our parents (usually the most difficult), we must recognize that everyone has an individual perspective, and something to share.

As I walk back from class, starting to glisten from my winter-ready outfit, I realized sometimes it pays to not fit in. I pass tourists wandering away from the ruins in search of more monuments, only to find themselves on Via Baccina, the street I call home. They turn around discouraged, thinking there’s nothing more to be explored or discovered.

Little do they know, there’s a popular neighborhood filled with restaurants, cafes and boutiques right at their footsteps. More so, there are Monti residents walking back from the grocery store to their posh apartments, who know the in’s and out’s of the city. One apartment to speak of is even filled with five girls studying abroad, who would love nothing more than to be asked can you tell me what’s over here? However, that’s a question only answered when we simply aren’t afraid to ask.

One of my favorite aspects of studying in Europe, is having the opportunity to visit other countries and get a taste of each unique culture. That’s why my roommate, Emily, and I couldn’t wait for our upcoming trip to Istanbul to visit friends.

After busing three hours south, we started the weekend off right with a school field trip to Pompeii. Friday morning was spent touring around the amazing ruins, visiting the world’s oldest amphitheatre and envisioning the village that once was. Just as we were heading to our delicious lunch, our Director mentioned that we would return to Rome by 6 or 630 p.m.

I’ve never had heart problems, but I think it’s safe to say after receiving this news, I can relate. A misinformed staff member had told me we would return to Rome by 3 or 4, which is why Emily and I joyfully booked our flight to Istanbul for 7 pm. So young and naïve.

Explaining the issue to our director, Frances, she informed us there was no way we could return to Rome on the three hour bus ride. After many calls to the train station, she figured out a series of trains for us to take that could get us to the Rome airport by 5:30 if everything went perfectly. Here’s how that played out-

1. The Pompeii-Napoli train: With our train in less than 10 minutes, there was no better time to realize two girls were missing from the group. As the bus cruised around looking for these Dora the Explorers, the time of our train came and went, and so did our sanity. In response to our hysterical laughs and despair, Frances confirmed that we needed to be in Naples by 4 pm. “But we’re in Pompeii?” Emily responded. Good point Em. Cue 20 minute delay leaving Pompeii.

2. Napoli-Roma train:  Delayed 15 minutes, so life was getting exciting. Eventually, we spent the train ride laughing about nothing and everything, and our stressed spirits were lifted as we reminded ourselves that we would make this flight.

3. Termini in Rome- Airport train: Even though we ran from the train to the ticket office, we missed it by 90 seconds. Seeing as these run every half hour and any buses or taxis would be victims to rush hour traffic, we had nothing to do but wait. Boarding our final train, we arrived at the airport at 6:20 pm and took off in a sprint. Just to remind you, flight time was 7:05, people.

4. Check-in at Fiumicino: Literally sprinting through the airport (me, in wedges of course) we discovered check-in closes an hour before flight time. With no way to check-in, the only way Turkish Airlines offers boarding passes, we took off for the gate.

5. Security: Ain’t nobody got time for that line, so we convinced a nice lady to let us through the first class security. Relying on our passports, looks of desperation and a screenshot of my reservation, we both got through.

6. The Gate: Continuing on our amazing race, we found ourselves at Gate B only to find the screen misprinted where we needed to go. An Italian employee, who was very over our disheveled appearances and panting pleas for assistance, guided us in the right direction.

7. The Last Call: Ignored it and kept sprinting. Determined not to give up, we continued on through flights of stairs, weaving through large groups, and acquiring endless stares of confusion. For the record, I know more words for running than “sprint” but to use any of these options would discredit just how much effort went into this.

8. Customs: Apparently, this is required for leaving the EU. Once again, the mile long line didn’t fit our tight schedule so we asked an employee to help us out. He said he would, but we could tell he lacked the girth and personal interest to move these mountains. Ditching him, we went up to the front of the line and explained the situation, requesting to skip. These lovely men didn’t speak English, but they cheered us on and told the people in front of them to let us through. What gems.

9. Tram: If Gate G weren’t a tram ride away that would be too easy, so dripping in sweat and desperation we hopped on. This provided a fun opportunity to explain in Italian to some confused passengers what a joke my life was. After sprinting some more, we finally found G5.