I’m headed to Las Vegas for the show next week and am trying something new for my VMworld prep. I’ve got two a last-minute purchase, a goal, and an on-going action for my run-up to the show. By the way, if you’d like to meet up and chat, hit me up on twitter: @vJourneyman. I don’t know if you’re looking forward to anything specific at the show, but I was re-reading my post about VMware Validated Designs in 2016, and am looking forward to seeing what the Integrated Systems Business Unit announces for VVD and Cloud Foundation.
Purchase: Conference Charging
Conferences tend to intensely use phones these days. You keep your registered session schedule in the app, map the conference in the app, network with other attendees in the app, etc. You might take pictures of slides, get on a phone call for your day job, text with other attendees, and so on. So, I recommend a USB battery pack which can provide two full charges for your phone. Why two? Because sometimes you forget to charge overnight… I’ve got a phone and tablet which both USB-C, so I’ve got that additional requirement.
Here’s The Wirecutter’s article on USB-C Power Banks.
In addition, I’d recommend a USB hub to recharge multiple electronic items overnight. I’m charging my phone, a tablet, Bluetooth earbuds, and the USB battery.
Here’s The Wirecutter’s article on USB-C PD (Power Delivery) chargers. I use USB-A to USB-C cables to charge my phone and battery pack while the USB-C PD port charges the tablet. And one port for USB Micro Bluetooth headset. That means I need a USB-C port and three USB-A ports as a worst-case scenario.
That being said, you can get batteries as giveaways on the show floor, but they’re generally lower capacity. Its right up against the latest time you can buy something from Amazon for home delivery before traveling. Staying juiced up is a critical part of my VMworld prep.
Goal: Get fully packed by Friday for my early morning Sunday flight
I need to break out of the pattern of staying up all night doing laundry and packing the night before the flight. Before the early, early morning flight. I did that in February and knocked out on the plane before it took off. I was out so hard that it took my seatmates more than a few minutes to wake me up to get past me for the bathroom. Not good.
Good VMworld prep for me involves not stressing about packing the night before the show. I’d prefer to spend that time with my family.
Action: Start waking up on my conference schedule
My goal is to get to the conference breakfast as the doors open, usually 7 am. That means getting out of the hotel room by 6:30 am. So I have to wake up by 5:30 am.
I think I mentioned this tactic in the Nerd Journey Trailer episode about conference success. As much as I value the late-night networking, I want to maximize my daylight time at the conference. I don’t quite have a job which focuses more on the after-hours networking than the in-conference attendance, and the cost of my pass came out of someone’s budget.
So this part of my VMworld prep means I’m waking up pretty early. And getting a solid week of good sleep before the show means I’m going to bed early.
What are you doing for your VMworld Prep?
image sources
- Prepped: Pixabay
