Prepping for a Convention
In 14 days, I will be on a plane heading to Columbus, Ohio. I have the opportunity to attend the Origins Game Fair this year. There I will have five days of opportunity to introduce Everstone to new people. It’s something that I’m super excited about, but at the same time, extremely nervous as well. It’s the same feeling I got when I was about to go on my first date with Mikayla. The only difference is I only had the feeling for two days leading up to the date; having the feeling for 14 days doesn’t sound like too much fun.
Why am I nervous?
The simple answer is that I care how it goes. Caring about something and putting passion behind them is fantastic and, most times, extremely rewarding. I encourage everyone to find something they are willing to put passion into. Unfortunately, when you care and put a lot of time and energy into things, it opens you up to pain or hurt when things don’t go as expected. That’s where the nerves are coming from.
How have I handled this feeling?
While what I do to combat my nerves is helpful for me, I’m no expert, and everyone deals with things differently. My hope is that what I share today might help unlock something for others to help them in their journey in whatever creative endeavor or pursuit they are on.
The first thing I did to help ease my anxiousness was make a list. The list consisted of all the actions I wanted to be done before the convention. This included people I needed to reach out to beforehand, what finished materials I wanted to bring with me, What I needed to have on my website, and many other tasks. Once I had all 50+ items listed, it initially added to the stress… 57 tasks felt overwhelming.
It began to get easier.
Once I had the list, the next step was to close my eyes and visualize the feeling of being at the convention with all these tasks accomplished. I began to feel a sense of pride. Going through that quick pause to connect with how I would feel once all the tasks were completed motivated me to tackle them. I now just needed to have them ordered the right way.
This process consisted of looking at what tasks depend on one another, weighing tasks based on how long they would take to do, and quickly assigning a number value to the impact they would have if they were done before the convention. This made it easy to see that while I would love to have the player boards with the game have final graphics, the relic cards will be the main focal point of what draws players into Everstone’s gaming experience feeling different than other games. After this process, I was left with 43 tasks, down from the original 57. It also allowed me to see which tasks required more work upfront because of their due dates and allowed me to plan my weeks up to the convention.
The final step
Now that I have the list, the last step is to execute, which is happening now. Seeing the tasks get checked off and knowing that I am on track has been immensely helpful in keeping my nerves at bay. It hasn’t been the easiest thing to do. I formatted the relic cards for most of a bachelor party I was asked to be part of, which wasn’t ideal, but my friends understood. The upfront work of methodically creating the list with dependencies and due dates allowed me to see that If I didn’t have the cards done before the end of last week, they wouldn’t be here in time for the last six tasks needed on the list.
Final Thoughts
This process may not work best for everyone, but it works best for me now. It frees my mind to focus on the right tasks, eliminates having to keep thinking about what needs to come next, and allows me to calm myself down, knowing I am on track.
Make the list.
Add dependencies and priorities to the tasks.
Execute them and trust your gut that you ordered them right.
Nerves are temporary and show you care about what you’re chasing.
