It's Conference Time Again!
The annual ASHA Convention is coming up in one week, so I’m gearing myself up for traveling, seeing some fantastic colleagues, and learning as much as I can. It hasn’t been long since I last attended a conference, and I’m looking forward to taking the lessons I learned there and bringing them to #ASHA15. The ASHA Convention is, by my rough estimation, just shy of ten times as large as the more intimate ASHA Healthcare and Business Institute (this estimation includes this year’s combination with ASHA Schools). While I think I prefer the intimacy of the smaller conference, I am nonetheless very excited for the convention ahead.
A little prep work can go a long way to ease the stress of such an enormous event. Here’s some things I’m doing this year differently than I have in years past, which I anticipate will make for a smoother and more productive experience.
As I did for the Healthcare and Business Institute, I took the day off Wednesday so I could fly in earlier in the day. The extra time to check in to my hotel, unpack a bit, and explore the area has a huge impact on the experience as a whole. When you have three solid days of learning ahead of you, be good to yourself and don’t start the experience off with so much rushing.
Though I will be tweeting throughout the convention, I will not be live-tweeting my sessions. I also won’t be typing notes on any of my various devices. I love my technology, for sure, but I found such a significant difference in what I took away from my sessions by writing my notes by hand that I will be doing so again. I may write a tweet here and there, for various powerful points during sessions. As always, you can find me tweeting @ProjectSLP.
I have been planning my sessions ahead of time, and giving myself a few options for back-ups if I need. This alone reduces the stress of trying to figure out where to go, freeing up cognitive resources to better attend to what I’m trying to learn. It also has the benefit of making it easier to meet new colleagues along the way.
I’m bringing a small backpack to carry around my convention program, my notebook, some pens, a water bottle, and snacks. I purposely keep the bag small to help keep me from acquiring too many things along the way. The exhibit hall is a wonderful place to visit but the number of papers and freebies really can add up. By making sure I have limited space, I only acquire things I know I will find useful, and it has the added benefit of keeping things simple. As the saying goes, less is more.
Also, if you want to come visit all the #SLPeeps from the internet, do consider joining in at the “unofficial” (non-ASHA-affiliated) tweet-up.
