9 Tips: How to Best Spend Your Time During the Pandemic

In my short 25++ years, there have been several out-of-mind and out-of-body moments where I’ve literally had to pinch myself to ascertain that it wasn’t just a terrible dream.

In fact, if you told me a couple of months ago that life would drastically halt due to an unprecedented global health pandemic from a potential deadly virus with the same name as a beer—that you could catch, carry for weeks, spread and not even know you had it—I probably would have thought you were insane and quickly dismissed myself from your presence.

My father is a retired public health administrator and has led infectious disease departments in Detroit and San Antonio, so that shows you how much I know about public health. I stick to the meetings.

Now is the time for us all to rally and activate for our industry.

However, in the last few weeks and unfortunately for the unforeseeable future we have all had to unimaginably alter our lives because of this crisis, making it impossible to just stick to the meetings.

But there is hope!

The meetings and event industry is resilient, and I am confident we will bounce back stronger, educated and better-equipped for future attacks on how we do business.

Whether you are holding onto your position or client by the thread of the next cancelled event, moving to virtual meetings or have already experienced a layoff, now is the time for us all to rally and activate for our industry.

Here’s what I’m doing.

Checking

See how your industry friends are doing. I know everyone is affected by this pandemic, but only we truly get what we do and the potential lasting effects this could have on our industry.

Rallying

I signed a petition for federal aid for our industry and encouraged others to consider doing the same.

Streamlining

I’m looking at my personal expenses and asking what do I need versus want? What can I pay off, sell or eliminate? Clearly internet and cable aren’t going to be cut, as they are currently my family’s lifeline—internet for my work and my daughter’s schooling and cable for my husband’s sanity. However, that monthly clothing box subscription has to go.

Educating

I’m educating myself listening to webinars and podcasts about COVID-19, as well as the 50 other free industry webinars/resources I’ve signed up for then got too busy to attend.

Updating

When’s the last time you Googled yourself? Did you like the results? I’m updating my online presence, including my LinkedIn page.

Cleaning

I’m a neat freak, and what better time to maximize cleaning and organizing pantries, drawers, closets, the garage and my life?

Donating

Let it go! We are the meeting industry and we like to look good! However, like me, I’m certain you have a few items in your closet that you don’t need. Or could you donate your time and talent in some capacity?

Planning

What better time to develop or revisit your emergency response plans (professional and personal) than amidst a real-life pandemic? I bet you won’t catch me again with a vague force majeure clause or under-insured event with no virtual components.

Supporting

I’m seeking unique opportunities to serve others within our industry who have immediate needs and ways to advocate for our rebound.

All that said, I know the mental anxiety that comes along with dealing with these uncertain times is very real. I’ve often found myself wondering what if this happens or that happens, and the thought of our independent planner peers losing their livelihood overnight or those that have already experienced furloughs and layoffs is a hard pill to swallow.

However, with these fears and tears, I also submit to you during this time:

Understand: This too shall pass; while cliché, we need to hear that trouble doesn’t last.

Cherish: Time to prioritize what truly matters most—you, your family and your friends.

Breathe/Meditate/Pray: Whatever your beliefs may be, take moments to be still and submit to one or all of these practices.

Move: Take a walk or run every morning; clear a space in your home and start perfecting your yoga poses.

Create: If everything was right in the world, where would you be? What would you be doing?

Can the answers to these questions attribute to work you can do now to ensure our industry quickly rebounds? If so, activate!

Or while hunkering down, create or re-create a vision board. Your next vision may be the solution to how we handle future crises.

Share your time, thoughts, opinions, expertise and talents. Our industry and Facebook
Live await your voice.

MPI Coronavirus Education: Unite for Recovery

In summary, we are all in this together and the only way our industry specifically will get on the other side of this is if we rally (planner and supplier alike) and activate together.

Thus, I challenge you to roll up your sleeves, put your time and talents to use and activate efforts for what will be the biggest comeback in the meeting and event industry.

And I comically submit what that means for me is looking into law school so I can emerge on the other side better equipped for what the heck force majeure really means and creating contract standards that shape the future and CYAs.

Photo by Ocean Ng on Unsplash.