I love these tips, definitely good advice. I am especially a big fan of walking meetings; I wouldn’t be surprised if my Oura ring thinks “EAG” is some sort of long distance hike.
But as Rory Sutherland says “when it comes to our psychology, the opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea”.
So a tactic I often employ is to explicitly accept and even lean into the exhausting nature of conferences. Basically, have the mindset that this is a sprint. Just as sprinters choose a pace they cannot sustain for more than 100m, so you know that “conference you” is not a persona that you can adopt for longer than 3 days. Know you’re gonna crash afterwards and plan accordingly. Book a whole day or 2 off straight after the conf and just sleep, or lie in the park, or meditate, or journal, or be alone, or watch the Simpsons or all of the above!
Thanks Richie for reading and your comment! I do agree with you—I think it’s worth testing what you can do and how it feels for you personally, especially if the opportunity cost isn’t very high, and if your role allows it. I’m glad I tested the “conference me” with back to back meetings all three days, because I know that while useful, it isn’t sustainable for me and my role at this time. I think I benefitted a lot from it, but with the number of conferences I go to now I probably can’t do it :)
I love these tips, definitely good advice. I am especially a big fan of walking meetings; I wouldn’t be surprised if my Oura ring thinks “EAG” is some sort of long distance hike.
But as Rory Sutherland says “when it comes to our psychology, the opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea”.
So a tactic I often employ is to explicitly accept and even lean into the exhausting nature of conferences. Basically, have the mindset that this is a sprint. Just as sprinters choose a pace they cannot sustain for more than 100m, so you know that “conference you” is not a persona that you can adopt for longer than 3 days. Know you’re gonna crash afterwards and plan accordingly. Book a whole day or 2 off straight after the conf and just sleep, or lie in the park, or meditate, or journal, or be alone, or watch the Simpsons or all of the above!
Thanks Richie for reading and your comment! I do agree with you—I think it’s worth testing what you can do and how it feels for you personally, especially if the opportunity cost isn’t very high, and if your role allows it. I’m glad I tested the “conference me” with back to back meetings all three days, because I know that while useful, it isn’t sustainable for me and my role at this time. I think I benefitted a lot from it, but with the number of conferences I go to now I probably can’t do it :)