A Quick Stream of Consciousness blog on conference prep

Read this list one bullet at a time – SLOWLY – in place of the bullet say your name

• schedule a time within 7 days AFTER the conference to go over you notes to correct and organize – schedule one hour of every day you attend – you may need less – for this conference I have schedule 3 hours over two days the Tuesday and Wednesday I get back
• Define Goals – Don’t be vague. Example – One of my goals this year is to send out 3 tweets a day. (I almost never tweet, like one a month)
• Get an early copy of the program and  have a plan, but don’t force yourself to rigidly stick to it
• bring a Tide to Go Stick
• Hydrate – AC is a conference attenders biggest enemy. Rooms are cooled by removing moisture from the air…you do the math
• Carry snacks – my go to snacks are apples, almonds and good granola bars (not chocolate bars)
• Eat breakfast, I don’t care if you never eat breakfast, eat breakfast, Oatmeal or Fruit/yogurt/granola
• Water, or a sports drink – not pop
• Dental floss or dental picks
• Try and limit your coffee consumption. This is VERY HARD, dare i SAY  IMFRICKINPOssible for me.
• Deodorant
• No aftershave
• Antacid – I take Gavscon – that’s what I like
• Power outlets are your friend
• Don’t be afraid to say hello to a stranger, it may be Brandon Sanderson
• Ask questions
• Thank people, especially the volunteers
• Take notes, there is no way you can remember everything you want to remember at the conference, find out if there are notes available for sessions.
• Find the nearest local grocery store and stock your fridge
• Napping is fine, use the alarm on your phone to wake you up
• Laugh – enjoy the humor
• There are two sides to writing – creative and editing – feed both sides of your writing at the conference – you will thank me later
• Buy Books – bring cash – small publishers get more money in their pockets – get recommendations from the small publishers.
• Take the free stuff, go over it when you get home
• Expect to be super-saturated – there is nothing wrong with being overloaded with information, it will stretch your little grey cells

/End of the list

My goals: 3 tweets a day (already mentioned), volunteer at the conference (3 x 2 hour sessions booked), Eat healthy, Blog every day about the sessions I attend every day, thank Randy McCharles (Done!)