Conference survival

#1

Came across this article, and it got me thinking…is five days too long for a conference? To me it would appear to be almost grueling; our PI planning sessions are two days of intense concentration that leave me completely wiped, I can’t imaging concentrating for 5 days in a row…and then throw in the evening festivities? I’m sortof thinking 1 day conferences, maybe 2 is where it’s at. Thoughts?

#2

5 days in a row is def a lot… (and that article does provide good ideas to survive)

1 day is tough to make the travel time feel “worth it”
2 days is a sweet spot for me…

5 will be a marathon…

#3

It all depends who you are with… and how much pedialyte you bring. It is also about mental health I have a 4 to 5 session a day limit. To accommodate hallway convos. If we can line up enough hallway chats I reduce the session. I also bring an audio recorder to capture audio to re-listen just Incase I went HAM the night before and the brain is foggy. I like a 2 day format with travel day before and after.

#4

I personally love the 2 day format which is usually enough for me. I’m not sure how I’m going to make it 5 full days at Agile 2019 this year as I’m going to that for the first time in years. Thank you for sharing the article @JayH as it is timely for me. I’ll definitely use a few of those tips for sure. Being a natural introvert being that engaged with that many people for 5 days is going to be extra draining for me.

#5

What is too much is 7-8 sessions per day in 8-10 tracks (so 70-80 things a day) trying to claim your attention. Just 1 or 2 days of that kind of scheduling would seem too much to consider that I had a chance to choose much, including impromptu talks with people in the hallways. So I would not mind 4-5 days at all if there wasn’t the effort to cram so much pre-planned stuff in.

Of course, what keeps me away these days is the incredible cost of the conference plus room plus transportation (air and local). For example, the Agile Alliance conference in DC this year is located nowhere near any option besides the conference hotel and food.

#6

Cross post from: Liberating Structures - a new find

See this retro: https://www.agileplayconsulting.com/post/agile2019-retrospective-with-a-twist-or-liberating-structures-for-the-win write up via @Dana_Pylayeva

What can you do to guarantee that by the end of the month, you remember nothing from this week [long conference], you lost all inspiration, abandoned all ideas and lost a drive for change?