Organizing to attend a conference is slightly more complex than for a typical business trip. For most trips, you have one client or at least a small number of clients or prospects in mind. At a conference, the number of potential client prospects, colleagues, joint venture partners, or vendors can be overwhelming—how will you keep everyone straight? The educational opportunities, too, in both formal and informal settings, present challenges. And of course, there are social engagements and the desire to be comfy-cozy in a strange hotel, away from your family, your own bed and bath, and your "stuff".

Organizing for your conference trip can give you a sense of confidence. The sooner you start to prepare, the lesser your chance of forgetting something vital. Consider using a spare bedroom as a staging area to collect everything you'll want and need. Start with this checklist, and add your own items of necessity.

Trip Essentials until you get there

Flight itinerary--Check it twice. If you're changing time zones at any point, or at multiple points, pencil in the "right" time (i.e., your home-time) in case you forget to change your watch.
Identification (driver's license, passport)
Airline "frequent flyer" card or number
Airline VIP Room pass, coupons or vouchers
Plane ticket or e-ticket and boarding pass
Hotel reservation number and information
Rental car reservation number and information
Airport/hotel shuttle phone number and information

(Be sure to copy someone in your office or back at home with your itinerary and all of this information. If you accidentally leave your papers on an airport café table or have your PDA or computer stolen, you'll want quick access to this information to get up and running again.)

Your carry-on needs to include everything that would be irreplaceable or inconvenient for you to replace on your trip. Consider health and safety first, then comfort, and lastly convenience.

Familiarize yourself with all the TSA safety regulations regarding what you can (and can't) carry on an airplane. The TSA also has a nifty guide to packing your carry-on.

Medicines—If you suffer from asthma, migraines or any condition where you would be unable to wait until reaching baggage claim for treatment, be sure you have at least a sub-set of your medicines in your carryon.

Toiletries—Regulations regarding liquids notwithstanding, there's a great variance from person-to-person regarding what must go with you at all times. If cleanliness and sparkling teeth are all that's necessary for a successful day, your toiletries can go in your suitcase. If, however, your ability to go out in public, let alone give a presentation or media interview, until you had your full "face" on, then you'll need to be sure your cosmetic bag is in your carry-on.

Work Electronics—If you're taking your computer on your business trip, you'll likely need a power adapter, and possibly an external mouse. DO NOT store your backups/flash drives in your laptop case. If someone absconded with your case (or even accidentally carried yours off in place of his or her own), your backups better be stored separately. Don't forget your cell-phone charger! Hotel fees for calls, even local ones, can be prohibitively high.

Play electronics—Try to minimize here. A small MP3 player is a lot easier to maneuver than a portable DVD-player. Having a portable soundtrack to our travels helps calm us and allows us to feel at ease in our surroundings; having a home video display is excessive. Use your travel time to read, plan or strategize. Or network!

In Your Suitcase

Let's assume you know how to pack your clothing for your trip. Generally, though, select easy-to-care-for, low-wrinkle materials, and balance what looks great with what feels great. It does no good to spend 8 hours on a convention floor (it's cement under there!) in heels that make you look tall and powerful if the next morning you are unable to stand due to the pain in your feet or calves.

Men have it lucky; a suit can be re-worn with different shirts. Depending on the style and cut of women's pieces, one jacket can be accessorized (jewelry, scarves, blouses) many ways. Aim for neutral clothing and let the accessories "pop"!

Don't overpack. Plan what you intend to wear for each day of the conference during work hours. Add, as necessary, for planned social events, but aim for a low-key wardrobe. Let your personality outshine your wardrobe.

Conference rooms are notorious for being too hot or too cold—pack a sweater or an extra jacket. If you exercise religiously, bring workout clothes; if you really don't exercise at home, don't believe a hotel gym is going to lure you. Similarly, unless the prospect of swimming fills you with glee, a bathing suit, though it takes up little space, is usually not necessary. (And yet, it's the one thing I often pack and never use. Nobody's perfect.)

Pack an extra (and empty) collapsible duffle bag and a lock for it. Depending on the conference type, you're likely to return (no matter how I advise you against it) with freebie expo giveaways, product brochures, purchases and generally a lot more than you arrived with. Rather than jamming everything into your one suitcase, risking going over the luggage weight limit, just pack the extra bag (with a TSA-approved lock) and it will ease your return.

Once At The Conference

Special advice: Skip the conference bag! Very often, when you attend a conference or convention, upon checking in, the management company will give you all of your registration materials (including piles of advertising) and a canvas bag imprinted on one side with the name and year of the conference, and on the other side with the name of the sponsor.

Using these bags seems like a great idea until you realize that your bag looks like every other conference-attendee's bag. Instead, bring your own briefcase or knapsack, preferably something professional, that you tend to use at home. You'll be far less likely to forget it or confuse it with those of others. Failing that, be sure to have your own colorful luggage ID tag so you (and everyone else) can be assured of which is your bag.

Upon registration, or at least the first night, return to your hotel room and dump the contents of the registration bag onto your bed or desk. Keep any essential ID, schedule, coupons and conference notes. Toss out anything that is purely advertising—be assured, this won't be the only chance you'll have during your conference to receive that message.

Aim to not be constantly schlepping around a heavy bag during conference sessions, on the expo floor or into meetings. The extra weight will weigh you down physically and emotionally, draining you of the energy you need to make it through a jam-packed schedule.

Conference/Expo Floor Essentials

Extra business cards—Keep your cards in a business card case, and keep extras in your hotel room so you can replenish your stock each night. However, here's a tip for ensuring you can smoothly hand out and collect cards. It works especially well for men, as their business suit jackets generally have pockets on both sides, but even women lacking suit pockets can be creative. Keep your own business cards in your right pocket; put the cards you collect from others in your left pocket. It sounds simple, but it's very easy to get them confused in a crowded conference area, and you want to be sure you're handing the right card to a potential client or strategic partner.

Return address labels—You'll be inundated with opportunities to fill out your name on a card to get more information, to enter a contest, etc. Sometimes, you'll need or want to give your business cards, but other times, save your time (and your hand) by having address labels handy. These will also help if you decide to ship items back – maybe you'll win a huge, but unwieldy, prize at the conference! You can also affix the labels to any documents or giveaways you receive, ensuring everyone knows what belongs to you.

Plastic file envelopes (or sturdy gallon zip-lock plastic bags)—Bring a few and use them to sort information you receive. Tackle the stack of goodies you've received and categorize for information you've collected on:

--Potential clients
--Prospective strategic partners (including affiliate programs you'd like to join)
--Intriguing products or services

Store your collected information in separate plastic envelopes; it will be much easier to address all of the material, already categorized, when you return home.

Educational session necessities

If your conference includes educational sessions, make it easy on yourself. You don't want to be the gal or guy asking the person next to you if you can borrow paper. Be sure to have:

Letter-size legal pads (The perforations allow for easy access to loose sheets; avoid spiral notebooks and the confetti mess.)

Pens and highlighters—You don't need many, but bring the kind of pen you use at home. Use highlighters to accent notes on the handouts.

Post-It® flags for marking pages in the conference schedule or sessions notes you'll want to return to often. Unlike bookmarks, tape flags won't fall out. For double-duty convenience, I like 3M's highlighter that includes a tape flag dispenser.

Assorted extras

Camera--Although you might want to take pictures of the fun, there are even better reasons to have a camera with you at a conference. See if you can arrange to have a photo taken with the president of your association or the well-known keynote speaker to use with a press release upon your return or to highlight on your web site.

Contact list of your clients--You'd be amazed at how impressed clients will be if they receive a picture-postcard from you while at conference. Just write a simple note about how you saw a product or learned something in a workshop and thought of them. Everyone likes to feel they're being thought of. You don't have to write out a postcard for every client or customer, but pick even two to address each night while you're away, and be sure to drop them in the hotel mailbox so they'll be postmarked from a distant city.

An envelope for holding your receipts--It will be much easier if you spend a few minutes each evening to review your day, sort your receipts and mark down what you spent for food or sundries, and where. It'll be easier to recall having tipped a bellboy or taxi driver in cash while it's fresh in your mind, assuring you of the maximum taxable deductions.

What conference- or convention-going organizing tips do you live by? What is essential for you to pack? Share with the group!

--
Julie Bestry, Certified Professional Organizer®
Best Results Organizing
"Don't apologize. Organize!"
organize@juliebestry.com
Visit http://www.juliebestry.com to save time and money, reduce stress and increase your productivity

Private Reply to Julie Bestry (new win)