Organizational Tips

From the desk of: Melissa Tilley

As an event assistant, staying organized is essential to ensure everything runs smoothly. With multiple moving parts—guests, vendors, timelines, tasks—it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks if you’re not careful. Here are a few helpful tips I live by to stay organized and contribute to the success of AE.

1. Write Everything Down
   When it comes to events, every detail counts. No matter how sharp your memory is, writing down tasks, big and small, is non-negotiable. Whether it’s venue/vendor research, placing an online order, or office maintenance tasks, recording everything ensures that nothing is overlooked. There are a variety of organizational tools to help you stay on top of it all—whether it’s Excel, Google Sheets, or just the Notes app—choose the one that resonates with your workflow and make it your go-to. I personally organize my tasks by their nature, the person who assigned them, the status of completion, and the looming deadline. This way, I always know exactly where I stand. Moreover, clarifying your deadlines with your coordinator or manager ensures you are aligned and consistently meeting expectations.

2. There is no such thing as being overly prepared
   Here at AE Events, we like to prepare for anything and everything. Once we are on-site, resources and supplies may be limited. As an assistant, it is part of my role to make sure our event kits are full stocked and ready for anything. Our kits contain a range of items from scissors to batteries to first aid kits. Anything you can think of that our team, or our client may need last minute, our kit contains it. (peep our full blog post on our kits HERE) This way we are always prepared for any scenario. Beyond physical supplies, preparation also means being intimately familiar with our “Production Schedule” prior to the event. These contain every logistical detail that has been put into that event, including the timeline of the event day, the vendors we are using, contact information, and more. By being familiar with this document makes it much easier to be readily available to assist and anticipate needs.

3. Consistent Communication
   Effective communication isn’t just important—it’s vital to the success of any event. Whether it's via email or face-to-face conversations, maintaining a constant line of communication with your team is essential. If you're uncertain about something, never hesitate to ask for clarification. It’s always better to seek understanding upfront than to risk missing crucial details later. Responding promptly to emails and messages ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Personally, I find it helpful to organize my emails into dedicated event folders so I can easily track communications related to each event and avoid clutter.

By sticking to these organizational practices, I am able to assist my team and myself more efficiently. It’s all about preparation, attention to detail, and teamwork!