7 Tips for Creating an Effective Association Conference Planning Timeline

No matter how big or small, a conference will not be successful without proper planning. One of the key components of planning is a conference timeline. Much more than a to do list, your conference timeline creates a roadmap for what needs to be accomplished, assigns tasks and ensures that everyone is on the same page.

Below are some tips to help you create an effective timeline for your next conference.

1. Starting On the Right Foot – Your timeline will constantly change, so you need to create it in a way that makes edits and manipulations easy. Excel is commonly used for creating timelines. Spend some time thinking this through so you set it up the way you want from the beginning.

If you have multiple conferences with multiple planners create a template that everyone can start from to avoid confusion when moving between conferences.

2. Make It Comprehensive – You don’t want your timeline to be confusing, but the more information you include, the better. Besides just the task item and the due date, consider adding who is responsible for each task, task type and an area for notes.

3. Deadlines – One of the most valuable parts of a timeline is managing deadlines. Some deadlines are hard deadlines and can’t be moved, while others are more flexible. Find a way to note the hard deadlines in your timeline – perhaps by making them a different color.

Once you have all of your deadlines in the timeline, sort by deadline so you can get a clear picture of your work load. If you have 10 deadlines in one week, you may want to adjust some of the soft deadlines so you are not overwhelmed later.

4. Categorize – Assigning categories to each task will help you get a clearer picture of what needs to be done.

5. Update, Update – Update your timeline on a regular basis, with any changes and the dates that tasks are accomplished.

6. It’s Not Really Over – Your timeline shouldn’t end when your conference does. Be sure to include any post-conference tasks that need to be accomplished.

7. Use it as a Guide – if you manage the same conference from year to year, use last year’s timeline as a guide for creating the next one. If you have been consistent with updating your timeline and entering in competition dates, it will provide a great guide future planning.

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