Blackboard Friday: Stay On Task

SMX West is only a couple of weeks away which means sessions and pulling all nighters attending special events, dinners and after parties is on the horizon. Yep there is a lot more to this gig than just writing code but im not complaining. I think conferences are exactly the type of events that help keep me on track, focused and aware of new ideas or trends.

More importantly the side of me that is driven to succeed gets to hang out with people who are similar in that respect. For example it is not rare for a day/night during a conference to last 20+ hours. Despite the long hours there I still get up at 6am and get ready for a full day of sessions starting early in the morning. Now if it were not for certain group of people that are usually there every morning along with me maybe it wouldn’t be as easy as it is. This group consists of Tamar Weinberg, Rebecca Kelley and several others who I know where out just as late as me and yet there they are, laptops open and blogging away. They don’t forget why they are at the conference and you shouldn’t either.

Stay focused and stay on task, make sure that you are completing your goals that you should of set for yourself before attending any conference. Don’t make the mistake on skipping out on sessions and staying out all night thinking you can get into private parties in order to talk to certain people. Sometimes the best time to catch the VIP speakers is in the mornings as most of them are not morning people anyway.

Several great moments were experienced, ideas born and questions asked at sessions that I would not have been a part of had I decided to just sleep in. So although the parties, dinners and special events are a blast don’t be so quick to overlook the hidden gems pulled away from attending sessions and more importantly building friendships that can continue beyond the scope of a conference.

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