How to Reduce Admin When Planning Events

Originally Published: February 10, 2026

One of the biggest issues you face when it comes to arranging an event is the admin. And while the event itself and the logistics might not be complex, when you factor in what goes on behind the scenes to get it up and running—the messages, information coming in via different formats, and having to piece it together—it’s not hard to see where things can go wrong. All it takes is for one thing to be missed, and all your hard work can become undone.

When you need to remove all the unnecessary steps from your admin to streamline what you do, and just make life easier.

Decide what needs managing and what doesn’t

The first step is to be honest and understand all the decisions involved with your particular event. Don’t overlook anything. From here, you can decide what needs managing. Not everything needs your explicit attention, and your primary focus should be on the aspects that impact cost, logistics, timing, or delivery, as well as catering numbers, room capacity, equipment, staffing, or access.

You can set aside opinion preferences or nice-to-know details. These aren’t as important as the financial part of organizing an event, and the less admin you have to control, the easier life will be.

Choose one way to collect information

The last thing you want is to be chasing multiple channels trying to round up all the information you need. You don’t want to be sifting through emails, text messages, social media messages or comments, or even trying to remember verbal updates.

Decide on one channel to get the information you need and stick to it. Make sure everyone knows how they are to send information or contact you, and from here it’ll be easier to chase detail or find it when you need it. This is especially important for time-sensitive details.

Standardize requests for reliable replies

Here’s the thing: when you’re in a busy environment, there is a very real possibility you’re not giving everything your full attention. However, if you’re standardizing all requests using the same structure for all questions, clarifications, and data pertaining to the event, your replies will come through following the same structure, making it easier to skim and find what you need.

Your messaging needs to be clear about what people need to reply with and the information that is required, or what isn’t. For even easier responses, use methods such as a text message RSVP, as replies can arrive in a consistent, usable format instead of long explanations you need to read and sort through.

Set deadlines and stop chasing

This is really important, as chasing details will eat into your time and make life harder for you. Avoid open-ended requests. Always have a deadline and ensure it’s effectively communicated. Build in one reminder, then leave it. If people can see clearly upfront when they need to reply by and still haven’t, despite your own reminder, then move to your default assumption and plan around it.

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