Get Out of the Office! It’s Good for Your Brain and Your Sanity.

Time away from the office to attend an event is good for your brain; it allows you to step away from your four walls, (or 3 cubical dividers), for a change of scenery. It also allows you to focus on something besides your to do list and once you stop thinking about a challenge, that is usually when the best ideas pop into your head!

Attending events is good for your sanity because you are surrounded by people with the same interests as you. You can connect with other professionals outside of your company to share experiences, connections and best practices. Getting away from your office (and the people in it) for a day can provide a much-needed break from your day-to-day routine.

Yes, sometimes leaving the office to attend events can be a pain in the tuches! We can all think of excuses why NOT to attend an event:

• My ‘to do’ list is too long
• It takes up too much my time
• It’s too expensive
• It’s exhausting to be ‘on’ all day
• I won’t know anybody there
• Sitting there all day is boring
• I already know enough about my industry/function
• And the list goes on…

All I can say is: “Suck it up, buttercup!”

Attending events to learn new trends, meet new people and change your focus for a day is well worth it. Is every event mind-blowingly awesome? No. Is every speaker absolutely fantastic? No. I get it.

Yet, I challenge you to walk away from any event without something new:

• New contacts within your industry to network with and exchange ideas
• New perspectives of an old idea, current challenge or outdated process
• New tools that you can utilize to make your work easier
• New book titles to read
• New event space to consider for your company’s next event
• New speaker/author to follow on social media
• New vendor connection

You get the idea.

Let me share some recent experiences:

• It had been a few years since I attended the Milwaukee BizTimes Expo. This year’s Women in Business Breakfast was inspiring and well attended, the breakout session speakers were informative and entertaining, and I saw so many people that I have not seen in quite a while; it was fun!
• Just yesterday, I attended the Experience InBound Marketing event. I learned a ton about the future of marketing and the not-so-wonderful SEO challenges we face as marketers. The breakfast and lunch keynote speakers provided a new perspective on how I approach telling the marketing story to my clients. I walked away with pages of notes and ideas that I can use for my own business and to help my clients with their challenges.

Sure, I need to do some catch-up this week… yet, the time I spent at these events was well worth the time, cost and energy. Remember: just like targeting the right audience with your marketing message, you need to be selective on the events you attend. Consider a few things:

• Where are you going for your next event? (local, regional, national or international)
• What are you hoping to learn? (something about your industry or your job function)
• Who are you hoping to connect with? (clients, prospects, industry partners, vendors)

Check your industry associations, event schedule platform (like Eventbrite or Meetup), local chambers or professional organizations for your next event. One way to convince your boss to let you go is to offer to present to your team an event summary sharing all you learned and who you met at the event. This will also help you to make the most out of the event you attended.

If you are not sure where to find great events, I would be happy to help! There are benefits to a #rebelmindset! You can reach me at [email protected] or 414.807.4281.

Happy Attending!