Gratitude and Grit: My Journey of Personal Development Through Event Planning

From 2021 to 2023, I have had the immense opportunity to be at the forefront of planning programs for the NGO I volunteer with. What started as a little, “I think I can handle that,” spiralled into, “Oh man, can I really handle this?!” Looking back, I can smile at every tantrum I threw and also make a list of every mistake I made. Your experience does not have to be the best teacher. You can learn from mine so you don’t make the same mistakes.

To put things into more context, these are the programs I planned between 2021 and 2023 for The Everyday Chapter- an Arts and Literary Organisation dedicated to encouraging creatives to thrive.

• Madhouse: an evening with TJ Benson (8th September, 2021)
• Young Writers and Creatives Award (17th December, 2022)
• LitFest (4th November, 2023)

Here is a comprehensive list of mistakes I made and lessons I learned:

1. Taking Things Lightly: Planning a program or event is not to be taken lightly, even if you are a professional. It requires so much work and dedication to get things done. So, if you’re thinking of joining a planning committee because it feels like an easy way out, think again. I believed it would be a walk in the park, so I didn’t prepare myself in all the ways I should have. While planning for YWCA in 2022, I put off doing certain tasks like the call for vendors because I didn’t think it would take time. When I eventually put the call out, I didn’t get as many responses as I thought I would. It took more conversations than it should have and silent prayers for help before we got our vendor on board. This is not to say that it can’t be easy or it has to be a battlefield. It’s just a gentle reminder that like many things, planning a program requires effort, dedication, and attention to detail.?

1. Being a Lone Ranger Does No Good: Do you remember doing group projects and being the group leader, you were always tempted to get the work done quickly all by yourself. Well, that was me last year. While planning for LitFest, I recall being called and encouraged by the director to work with my team members. Two words were always at the tip of his tongue- DELEGATE and COLLABORATE. I was so used to doing things myself that I didn’t realise I was sabotaging the entire project and my team! Phil Jackson’s quote resonates with me- “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” When I started trusting my team and delegating responsibilities, things started falling into place, and the burden felt lighter. Where I didn’t have sufficient knowledge or skills, someone on my team did and got the work done.?

1. Getting sponsors takes time, so it's best to start when companies are putting together their budgets. I know that this sounds like something everyone should know, but here I am reiterating it because I struggled with getting sponsorship in 2022. I took for granted the strategy and effort that goes into securing sponsorship. Most companies have CSR allocations, and to get sponsorship, you have to be timely and bring value to the table. You have to show them how their investment in your project will benefit society and boost their brand's image in society. Yes, it's all about doing good for the community, but with the perspective of a business person. It helps if you have someone with expertise in securing sponsors and partners. It was a pleasure to have Rokeebat Hammed guide us in the early stages.

1. Having a Visual Representation of Activities: Being a visual learner might contribute to this point, but it’s a skill I learned while on the job. It’s just like a schedule that contains important activities contributing and leading to the event and the timing for execution. I itemised activities for each week, tagged respective teams, and almost always went back to the template to check completed and pending tasks. It helps in managing tasks and ensuring that deliverables are turned in. There are software that you can use. Trello, Notion, Asana, and Zoho, to mention a few. They have plans that cater for teams and much larger businesses. They also have free plans, but you know how free things are, right? There’s always a limit. If you can’t afford to pay for one now, you can use Google Docs or Sheets. You can effectively organise your schedule, add your team members as collaborators on the file, and place comments across the file for specificity.?

1. Be open to collaborations: Projects are rarely successfully carried out by one man, and I learned that the hard way. While planning the last program, I got a call from the director and he pointed out something vital. He said, “Where your funds end, collaboration begins.” We had been working with limited financial resources, and I was at my wit's end until we made room for collaboration. From the venue to the vendors, the collaboration gave a breath of fresh air to the entire program. We found like-minded people willing to contribute their resources to make the event successful. One must consider what’s at stake for a successful collaboration. Have conversations with prospective collaborators, understand what they want and how their demands can affect your project.

1. Be retrospective after every project. Don't look back with regret, ever. I felt terrible after the event in 2022 because there were loopholes, and oh! So many things went wrong. If I had Number Five’s superpowers, I might have been able to run back in time and change things. But with sniffing out spices from meals as my only superpower, I slowly had to accept things. By being retrospective, I could work on certain flaws that hindered our execution, and while that didn’t stop problems from arising the next year, it gave me a much better perspective. So, here I am, in retrospect, hopeful that I will rise to the challenge this year if the opportunity comes my way.

I hope that my comprehensive list helps you and that you learn from my experience so that you can have a?much better one. As always, wishing you love and light.