Relativity Fest 2023 is just three weeks away. Actually, it’s only 20 days. Are you ready?
To put you in the right mindset, please enjoy this trio of haikus on the anxieties, anticipation, and practicality of business travel:
Some travelers do
not what they must, but rather
what their fears instruct.
/
Some travelers do
not what they must, but that which
excitement demands.
/
Some travelers just
do the packing, and booking,
and get on with it.
No matter what type of traveler you are, I think we can all agree that making the best use of our time spent away from home and the office is the very first priority of any business trip.
But alas, that’s often easier said than done. Sometimes we presume our schedule will come together as fate requires.
“I’ll decide what sessions to attend when I get there,” we tell ourselves. “Surely I’ll run into everyone on the conference floor.” And then? We get caught up in the commotion, move from session to session in a frenzy, and end up missing connections with half the people we set out hoping to see.
Don’t get lost in the chaos this time! As you prepare to join us in Chicago later this month, use the below checklist to ensure you’re building a strong, intentional agenda and making the most of your time.
Still need to register? No problem! There’s still time to secure your spot to attend online or in person. We’ve got some exciting things to share with you, and you won’t want to miss a minute of Relativity Fest.
#1: Read and ponder the session catalog before you leave home.
This is probably already on your to-do list, but here’s your reminder to consider it a non-negotiable part of your pre-travel prep. There are 100+ different activities to choose from throughout the three days of Relativity Fest, and showing up unfamiliar with your options is a great way to guarantee you’ll miss something really good.
Visit our event platform to browse the session catalog; you can log in with the email address you used to register to add activities to your own personal agenda. That way, once you’re onsite, you’ll have a quick guide in hand to point you from place to place—and you can avoid the worst of any FOMO feelings by knowing you’ve browsed the agenda in full and selected the most appealing sessions to attend.
#2: Officially book meet-ups with your peers—even if they’re open-ended.
There will be 2,000+ people alongside you at Relativity Fest, so finding all the familiar faces in the crowd might be tough without a little forethought. Catch up with your industry peers before you head to Chicago and see if they want to meet up.
You don’t have to schedule formal meetings or coffee plans with each of these people; just make sure you know where to find each other at some point during your stay. For example, if you both have a particular interest in a certain session or speaker, invite them to meet you there and sit together. You can chat a little between sessions, or make firmer plans to have dinner or attend a networking event.
#3: Give yourself a break (or two).
You might go through both of those previous exercises and find yourself with a completely packed itinerary for your time in Chicago. That’s understandable—there is so much to do and so many people to see. But make sure you give yourself time to rest, check emails, and recharge to avoid burnout and ensure the best possible retention of everything you’ll learn.
Most of the time, we’ve left a good 30-minute break in between sessions to help with that. Use those pauses to take care of yourself and move from place to place at a comfortable pace! But consider leaving a bigger gap in your schedule here and there, if you can. This will help you accommodate spontaneous meetings, time to rest, or putting out fires back at the office. Remember: your ticket gives you access to on-demand content as well, so you’ll be able to catch up on many of our sessions as time allows if you need to miss them live.
#4: Make note of the speakers that leave you starstruck.
As you’re parsing through the session catalog, take note of the speakers you see (you can also find the full list here). Do any names stand out? Maybe you notice someone you used to work with, or someone whose insights you’ve always admired, or someone who recently wrote an article that struck you.
Relativity Fest is all about learning and connecting with our community, and the vibe throughout the week is always friendly and conversational. Build your personal agenda based not just on session titles, but speakers, and see if you can catch up with anyone who deserves a pat on the back or a thoughtful hello while you make your way through the conference. Odds are, they’ll be thrilled you did—and so will you!
#5: Build in some time to reflect and turn lessons into action.
Studies show that time passes approximately 189 times faster when you’re at a conference (okay, maybe not actual studies, but observationally that’s totally the truth). Even if you do a 10/10 job fulfilling each of the four previous tips, the simple fact of the matter is that you’re going to gather a whole lot of information during a very short three-day adventure at Relativity Fest. How will you make sure it all stays securely in your brain, so you can bring it back to the office and make a real impact with it?
Be intentional about sitting down to reflect on everything you’ve learned and refine it into actionable takeaways you can put to work right away. What tips did you hear that you want to experiment with in your own environment? How did a really exceptional speaker make you feel, and how can you help bring that feeling back to your team?
We’ll have a special session to help facilitate this on Thursday afternoon. It’s called “Community & Culture Roundtable: Reflect on What You’ve Learned at Relativity Fest”—go ahead and add it to your agenda if you’d like to put this into practice right at Fest instead of on your flight home (or back at the office a few days later).
You can also revisit the on-demand content for a short time after the live conference; know that you can refer back to these materials as you’re putting your next steps together, so you don’t need to be heads-down taking copious notes during each session.
What Does Your #BestFest Look Like?
We truly can’t wait to see you in Chicago in a few short weeks. As you build your agenda and get your plans together, connect with the entire truly amazing Relativity community on social media. Use #BestFest and #RelativityFest to share your plans and make connections ahead of the conference.
Sam Bock is a member of the marketing team at Relativity, and serves as editor of The Relativity Blog.
