Reviewing The Conference After an exhilarating weekend at a conference, you would have brought home books, catalogs, business cards and so much more. Also, you’d be exhausted and in need of a good day to absorb everything you learned and gathered at the conference. Taking a day after a conference gives you downtime, but also […]
Reviewing The Conference
After an exhilarating weekend at a conference, you would have brought home books, catalogs, business cards and so much more. Also, you’d be exhausted and in need of a good day to absorb everything you learned and gathered at the conference. Taking a day after a conference gives you downtime, but also time to assess the information gathered, review your goals for the conference, and check your finances.
Assessing Information:
Look over the flyers, catalogs and pamphlets gathered at the conference. One way to assess the information is to form piles. For example, from the last conference, I formed three piles: future conferences, workshops, and author appearances. The piles were based on the flyers and catalogs I collected at display tables. This made it easier to assess the information gathered, reviewing the items by subject matter. Also, review the notes you took at panels and your own thoughts. This will reveal whether the conference was informative, entertaining or lackluster.
Review Your Goals:
If you had a set of goals for the conference, take them out and review them. Check off the ones you achieved and mark the ones left undone. Make notations as to why you were unable to achieve those goals. Decide whether you would include them at another conference. This keeps you focused on your reason for attending the conference. There are no strict rules that say you must have a set of goals; however, many attend conferences for at least one reason and hopefully achieved that goal.
Check Your Finances:
Though rarely discussed, it’s important to review your expenses. Compare the amount you spent to what you estimated before the trip. This year, the conference may have been more expensive. In that case, you may consider adjusting your finances if you regularly attend this conference. If you find that your finances run short of what you regularly spend at conferences, you may want to consider setting aside a little more money in next year’s budget.
Relax:
The main reason for taking a day off after a conference is to relax. You’re heady from an intense three or four-day conference. Take out one of those books and read. Or, if you’re like me, energized with ideas for one of your manuscripts, it’s a good time to take it out and use the new knowledge you’ve gathered from the conference. Taking a day for yourself after the conference gives you time to review, assess everything you’ve gathered. Sit back, read a book and relax. You deserve it.
