People who know me know that I’m a planner, sometimes to the point of obsession. I love to be spontaneous, but I’m a big believer that you can’t do something unplanned if you don’t have an original plan to start.

I’m well aware that most people don’t have me level of anal retentiveness when it comes to making plans. That’s ok. It’s probably even healthy. If nothing else though, make sure you plan one thing while at BlogWorld: Downtime.

While I haven’t attended BlogWorld in the past, I’m not a complete event newbie. No matter what the conference, show, convention, expo, etc., there will always be more to do than you can possibly fit into the time you have. You want to see everything on the show floor. You want to go to every panel. You want to meet and greet with every speaker. And, of course, you want to blog about it all.

I completely understand. I feel the same way.

Yet trying to do everything will only leave you with two feelings. First, you’ll feel overwhelmed. Then, when you figure out that you can’t do everything, you’ll feel like a failure.

What I’d like to suggest is that you actively plan some downtime for yourself to prevent this kind of burnout. Maybe you order room service one night and relax with a bath before heading out to evening activities. Maybe you wake up a hour early and enjoy the paper and a cup of coffee by yourself. Maybe you book a massage while in Vegas and take the time to enjoy pampering yourself for an hour or two.

The point is this: you need some alone time to chill out.

The result? You’ll be more relaxed, seeming less frazzled as you network. Your mind will calm down, making it easier to remember names, appoint times, and other information. You’ll be able to more quickly write posts, since it will be easier to concentrate.

You can’t do everything while at BlogWorld, and no one expects you to (except maybe you!). The key is to what what you can do exceedingly well. You’ll get more out of any event if you focus on excellent in a few things instead of doing everything you possibly can.

I recommend trying to fit in at least an hour of alone time every day while you’re in Vegas. I know that it might now always be possible, so grab what you can – 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there. Just remind yourself that it is ok to skip some events so you have time to cool down. Burnout will only mean that you don’t take full advantage of your trip.

How will you make sure you get time for yourself while at BlogWorld?