WOW!  Cisco Live #CLUS is approaching, and my planning is in shambles!

Unexpected Requests

This year I have been very surprised (and honoured) to be asked to speak at multiple Live! events and sessions this year.    I am pleased to be speaking at Field Day as well as the Social Panel, and the Mentor-ship talk on Sunday.    I’ve had others as well, and I am trying to get to see everyone.

I’ve also been contacted by vendors on the floor to come see their new wares as well, and I want to make time for the World of Solutions – because I love it in there.

Wish I had 2 more days.

Next year, i’m going on Saturday, simply because some of the personal things I always want to do – I never get to do, so next time I am going Saturday.  I’ve done this in the past, and this year due to a personal conflict (The Galways Cavendish Forest Rally – GCFR is on Saturday here in Ontario)  I was not able to go in Saturday.

So the plan this year will be arrive Sunday, run to the Hotel and check-in and drop my stuff, then rush to the venue to register,  then off to do the ONE shopping trip I planned the entire week (5.11 Tactical has a store in Vegas,  we don’t have those in Canada, so i’m planning 1 Hour to go and shop like mad, to be honest a limited time frame in that store is best anyway) and then rush to the hotel and drop that off, and then head back to the venue for the Tweet-Up / Newbie discussion.       This will probably fail, and if my flight is late – i’m really screwed.

I needed another day, I should have planned my shopping day at the END of the week like I did with Kai @kajtzu in Orlando a few years ago, it worked out quite well.

Planner Needs Improvement

The planning is killing me,  first getting to the scheduler/planner on the Cisco Live! site is a real pain.    You have to go to Learn, Session Catalog, My Sessions, that’s assuming you have logged in – which there is no obvious login button.

You cannot put personal appointments in anymore!   This is horrible, I book my World of Solutions time, I also book my appearances and interviews.

The scheduler this year is a pretty serious let down – especially when planning is so important.   I hope they can learn from it for next year.

Limited Focus for Time Management

The key here is to limit your focus.   I know it sounds bad, but to take it all in – there is so little time.   Get to each place,  learn what you need to – and then move on.

I am totally against walking out of sessions, and I think it’s disrespectful a bit to the presenter – but i’ll say it in public now – this is why I sit at the back, so I can sneak out.  There just isn’t enough time for everything.  If the content isn’t going “as planned” or I “Got what I needed”  – I sometimes will slip out, giving me more World of Solutions time, or to get to my next engagement – or sometimes to just use the rest room before the line up!