How an Agenda Reduced My Stress Levels and ‘Saved the Date!’

Not accomplishing what I need to get done drives me absolutely freaking nuts. Project tasks at work, projects at home, planning for my upcoming wedding, dropping returned Amazon items at the post office, and the list goes on.

It makes me so insane because the delayed work/tasks begin compounding to the point where I’m spending 70 hours doing a “40-hour a week job” and my weekends turn into one never-ending trip from Target to Whole Foods to Home Depot and back again. Keep in mind that I currently have zero children to occupy my time, and I pray for those of you who do, but I do have an Andrew and a Leia that keep me plenty busy in the best way possible!

With my upcoming wedding, just 8 short months away and counting, it seems like every weekend has a wedding-related task that I need to take care of. Recently I realized that we still needed to send out save the dates. The problem was I didn’t have any good photos to use.

So this past weekend, we needed to do a photo shoot to cross that item off the list.

As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, the last thing I had time for was a photo shoot that lasted the whole day rather than the half day that it should take.

In order to help me accomplish the photo shoot in an efficient manner, I had to take charge and plan the task in the most efficient and timely way possible. In business, there is always that one guy or gal that always highjacks the meeting and goes way off topic which ends up throwing everything off. The last thing I needed was a disorganized photographer, a fiancée with ADD or a hyperactive dog going haywire throwing off the photo shoot.

So, I decided to employ a solution that I use on an almost daily basis in my day job. Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, it’s a good one!

This solution, and it’s a tried and true one, is to put together and use an agenda. Yup an agenda! The Merriam Webster defines an agenda as a list or outline of things to be considered or done.¹ I’m sure many of you have seen or used agendas in professional settings and we can all agree that good agendas help keep meetings/teams on track. Many of us have probably also been in meetings without agendas. These probably look something like a terrible first date – disorganized, non-productive and attended by individuals who would probably rather watch paint dry.

Agendas can also be very useful in our personal lives such as when planning various time-bound events or series of tasks. Agendas are particularly useful in keeping things and timeframes running as scheduled.

Back to the save the dates and how an agenda saved the day… After realizing that we couldn’t use any of the pre-engagement photos we already had due to most of them being selfies, I coerced Andrew into agreeing to an engagement photo shoot. Since we were on a bit of a time crunch, I decided to utilize an agenda to ensure that no time was wasted and to ensure that we didn’t spend an entire Sunday posing.

I also think engagement shoots must be a new development because on my weekly call with my Oma, (Oma is grandmother in German) she had never heard of such a thing and could not get over the fact that I was going to hire and pay a photographer to do this. She then proceeded to offer to take the pictures herself; thanks, but no thanks Oma, I’ve seen your handiwork on your Motorola flip phone… Good thing I didn’t mention that I’m having Glam Squad come to my house to do my hair and makeup!

With Andrew’s support (and I would have planned this even without it) I started out by establishing my goal for the photo shoot. When creating an agenda, you need to establish the purpose of it and the goal of whatever task you want to accomplish. For me, the goal was to get as many amazing pictures as possible to choose from for our save the dates as quickly as possible. I also hoped to get some great ones to start filling some of the beautiful frames we received earlier this year as engagement gifts. We also have a lot of empty walls in the new house that could use some Bri and Andrew love.

Before I could create the agenda, I needed to select a photographer, date, time and location. This required a little research. I looked for recommendations, scoured all of my friend’s engagement photos for photographers and locations I liked and finally settled on one with a reasonable price. With my photographer, locations, date, time, hair and makeup and somewhat enthusiastic fiancé on board, I was set. I then created the agenda which outlined how I wanted the day to go. Below is what my agenda for the photo shoot day looked like:

To keep everyone on track and to ensure that I accomplished my goal, I shared the agenda with my photographer a few days prior. I also added Andrew and Leia to the distribution list to ensure all participants were on the same page. And to make sure that I was doing my part to get the very best photos, I even practiced my smiles in the mirror the night before!

I’d say the entire shoot was a success and I accomplished exactly what I set out to do!  We finished on time, there were no accidents from Leia (or Andrew for that matter). What do you think of the photo I choose for the save the dates?

If you’re wondering, it was extremely awkward to have someone I had never met before witness and “direct” such intimate moments with Andrew. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous and was ‘sweating like a whore in church’ a bit in the beginning. There are some things that even an agenda can’t solve, but in no time things started to feel very natural.

Also if you’re debating whether or not to do engagement photos, I would now without a doubt say DO IT! Yes, it is another frivolous item to spend yet more money on but you’ll thank yourself in the long run. Well played wedding industry, well played. I digress and only hope that these frilly wedding traditions help encourage those guests who cannot attend to send a really, really nice gift. By the way, Bloomingdales and Crate & Barrel were an absolute pleasure to register with!

Use it Or Lose It:

  To create an agenda, start by selecting the goal for the meeting, ‘engagement,’ or task. This will help you understand what elements you wish to discuss and the things you wish to accomplish.

  Next, identify the date, time and location (when applicable).

  Then identify the items that need to be discussed or accomplished and list them out. Where possible, add an “owner” or person responsible for them. Keep in mind that agendas are not meant to be a laundry list of to-dos. They are meant to be time-bound and focused. For example, on mine, I didn’t add all the items required for scheduling the hair, makeup, and photographer. The information included was pertinent to the day of the shoot.

  Finally, share the agenda with the parties involved; ahead of time if possible.

When to Use an Agenda

  Events

  Parties

 School

 Professional settings – meetings, retreats, huddles, etc.

What Do You Think About Agendas?

Do you have a good example of how you used an agenda? What did you think of the photo I chose? Also here’s a super cute photo of Leia! Enjoy!

Remember pets are part of the family too and keep priming that pump!

Xoxo Bri

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Sources:

Agenda. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agenda