Home Office Kryptonite

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's!

Today we are going to talk about home office Kryptonite.  Remember Superman?  He leaps over tall buildings in a single bound?  He could stop a bullet.  And as we learned in the first Superman movie that came out in the 70s, Superman can turn back time.  But he had one weakness:  Kryptonite, a mineral from his own planet that would zap his powers and if exposed to it long enough would eventually kill him.

We aren't talking about issues that could hurt us physically, but what about those distractions that happen every day.  Things that grab our attention, and because we don't let them, won't let us go.  Time grabbers, home office Kryptonite in other words.

1. Daydreaming -- that's what our teachers called it when we were kids. Thinking about other things when you are working on a project.  For example:  You are working on a client's project.  You are getting paid to do this but sometimes your mind wanders and you think you should be doing something else. Another project, perhaps or taking the dog for a walk.  I like timers.  When you start working on project, set the timer for 45 minutes.  See where you are with the project at that time.  Still moving ahead, or stuck and thinking about laundry?  If you are moving ahead, set the time for another 30 minutes.  If not, take a break, 5 minutes and get up and move around.  I am a list maker. When I start thinking of other things I I add it to the list, then I don't have to remember it anymore.  It's on the list of things I am going to do later.

2. Email  Email is a trap if you let it.  There have been several articles about email organization like schedule reading times.  Morning, and later in the afternoon.  Unless you are expecting an email.  The same could be and should be said about Facebook and Twitter.  A word here about phone calls.  Answering services, Answering machines, caller ID and voice mail have been around in some cases 30 or more years.  Turn your ringer off if you want, put on headphones.  Screening doesn't have the negative connation that it has had in the past.

4.  "Oh look Shinny!"  You are on the Internet doing some researching when one link leads to another and before you know it you have spent two hours on an entirely different topic then when you started.  Or you are at a really large website let's say something like istockphoto.com and Internet Movie Data Base. 

5. Television  This is my personal Kryptonite.  My computer has a TV tuner in it and if I turn it on it is hard for me to turn it off.  Yes I can put what I am working on in front of me and still hear it.  

How do I handle life's interruptions?  I make lists and have a plan for the day.  For some things like Internet searches I will set a timer.  I screen calls.  I have days that are office only.

Planner's Pointers is written by Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC. You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com  or marypamkilgore@gmail.com  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter @marypam.  Copyright 2010

QR Codes and Event Planning

The is the QR Code for Planners Pointers

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning. Give them ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.

Today we are talking about QR Code. QR or Quick Response Code was develop in the 90s for a Japanese car manufacturer as a way of tracking inventory. They discovered uses outside of manufacturing, QR Codes caught hold in first Japan, then Europe and finally the US. 

Since you can imbed a website or other information into the code, QR Codes have found their way into the event marketing.  There are many ways QR Codes can help the planner.  I came up with 7 to start the list. 

1. Add the QR Code to the event flyer, billboard or invitation.  Have the link go to a short video about the event, conference, trade show.  Add a testimonial from an attendee, info about early bird registration and you have a compelling message.

2. Add the QR Code to a postcard or billboard.  Have it link back to the event website.

3. Another idea for the postcard or a print invitation is to link to the registration page for almost instant registrations.

4. Along those same lines, add a QR Code with a promo code for a price reduction for people to use when they register.  You could even put this one on the website or Facebook page.

5. Add the QR Code to your business card.  With a link to the wed site or VCard information. 

6. Add a unique code for each attendee name badge and imbed contact information.  Vendors can scan badges to collect information and you can scan badges as people enter sessions as a way of keeping track of attendance for CEU's.  Also, it could as a deterrent to prevent badge scalping.

7.  Add a QR Code to the Exhibitor page to a convention or conference website and link it to an image of the exhibit floor so that vendors can see the layout.  Or a short video showing possible booth layouts. 

I am sure there are more.  A great website that I found for all things QR Code is www.qrstuff.com  Notice please I didn't cover how QR Codes work or how to find the correct scanner for your smart phone or Iphone since Qrstuff.com covers all of that information.

Scan this QR Code to get the prize!

Planner's Pointers is produced by me, Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC  You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com  You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter.  Copyright 2010

Daylight Saving Time

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning. Give them ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.


This Sunday morning at 2:00 am, we will "fall back" as Daylight Savings Time comes to a close.

I have often wondered how Daylight Savings Time came to be and this is what I learned. Daylight Savings Time was started during World War I in order to save energy for the war production. It was mandatory during that time and again during World War II. Between the wars and after World War II it was up to the states to determined if they wanted to go by Daylight Savings Time. In 1966 Daylight Savings Time became the law of the land with the passage of Uniform Time Act. In 2007. in order to save more energy four weeks were added to the time period that ranges from the second Sunday of March to the first week of November.

What I notice the most about when we go back to "regular time" in November is not only does the day seem so much shorter is that people's moods seem to change. While, seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression as a result of lack of light, effects only 4-6 % of the population, many of us still seem to feel "a little blue" during the winter months. Here a couple of things that I do during the winter to keep me going.

1. Go outside for a short walk. Even in colder weather a walk around the block can lift the spirits.

2. Watch your diet. I know that a bag of chips and onion dip are great additions to an evening of TV watching, but they will cause you problems in the long run.

3. Keep in contact with your family and friends. No, not with Facebook, but face to face. Yes, snow happens, but not every snow flake is a blizzard in the making. Play cards, share a meal, go to a movie, take in a museum all these things make for a great time together.

Before you know it, or just in time, depending on how you look at it. Spring arrives. Keep the faith.

Planner's Pointers is written by me, Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC You may reach me through my website http://www.kilgorebusiness.co/m You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/

Book Review -- 199 Fun and Effective Events for Nonprofit Organizations

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning. Give them ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.


I first learned about "199 Fun and Effective Fundraising Events for Nonprofit Organizations" by Eileen Figure Sandlin and Richard Helweg as a suggestion from Amazon.com. (It's a little scary how Amazon keeps track of your purchases sometimes, isn't it?)

Always in search of a good fund raising ideas I ordered the book. If you are a nonprofit organization looking for a new idea, then here are 199 of them. No, not every idea will work for all organizations, but it does give you a jumping off point to build your own. If your organization has never done a certain type of event, the book does give a good overview. I especially like the chart at the head of each idea that covered the degree of difficulty on six major tasks of any fundraiser: Estimated Cost, Obtaining Sponsors, Finding a Venue, Recruiting Volunteers, Preparation and Execution. I liked the best tips offered by various nonprofits at the end of the book. The book is arranged from simple to complex events gives the book a nice flow.

At the beginning of the book, there is a disclaimer about accuracy and completeness. Good thing from my viewpoint because there were a several instances where I would have added more volunteers, more time to execute the event and added event insurance in some cases. However; the authors do ask the reader when scheduling events make sure there aren't other competing events. Also the book says that if you are passing out flyers, not to put them in mailboxes because it's against the law. A law that some either don't know or have forgotten.

While some seasoned fund raisers may look at the book as a been there, done that and got the tee shirt list of ideas, for the beginning special event planner, it would be a good book to add to the shelf.

Planner's Pointers is written by me, Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/