As an event planner you can sometimes deal with lot of stress while planning an event. Although you might have good ways to cope with that stress, what are the clues that you are in over your head?

1. You forget the little details
   At times we can move so fast that we forget the little details like making sure Mr. Teets is confirmed for a 2pm checkout. It isn’t a big deal in the whole scheme of things, but add in few of these mishaps, and you can easily be overwhelmed.
2. You make a BIG mistake
   Every event planner has made a BIG mistake. Sometimes it is the mistake that we sweep under the rug and never bring up. Ever book a group at a completely wrong hotel? East instead of West? Yeah, that’s a big mistake, and an example that you are in over your head and need to slow it down.
3. Clients start complaining
   “I tried to get in touch with Anne, but I haven’t heard back!” That’s just the nice way your client is reaching out to say that they haven’t heard from you, and need for you to stop hiding and show up for them. If you have lots of calls to get back to, or are so overwhelmed that you can’t get to them, it’s time to come up with a game plan to get you out of the weeds.
4. You lose sight of the client’s goal
   Sometimes you can just get wrapped up in “getting ‘er done”, and getting the event planned that you lose sight of the purpose and overall goal of the event. This is an indicator that you let the meeting plan you, and you are not tuned in.
5. You lack the resources to do your job
   Sometimes our companies place unrealistic expectations out there for us to manage. This can easily escalate if not managed closely. Instead of stressing out, do what you can to fight for the resources you need to get things done.
6. Life gets in the way of work
   Usually when there is stress in one area of your life – it is easy to manage. However if you are planning an event, and also taking care of your sick mother at home (for example), you can get in over your head! Family is important, and work is to an extent. If you find you need to adjust things at work to accommodate your personal life, see if you can do that. It’s better that you back out of participating in a program, than you dropping the ball in the middle.
7. You have no clue what you are doing
   There have been some people that get a position, and don’t know what they signed up for. Sure, they are event planners, they have planned 3 meetings a year – never did they expect to manage 75.  If this is your case, you might need to learn quickly, or make some adjustments.

These are some of the major signs that you can point to in order to ensure if you are in over your head. So, what to do next? I’ve provided some tips for you in this post that might help you to get on the right track.

Have you ever been in over your head on a project? What was it, and how did you manage through? Would love to hear your stories!

Photo credit: pulling my hair – TGIF by ani.Y via Flickr