This guide is for people who run events. That might be your whole job, or one part of it. It works for conferences, launches, dinners, meetups and team days away.
An event has many parts. Venues, caterers, speakers, guests and sponsors all need things from you. You need things from them too. When those details live in inboxes and in people’s heads, the team spends its time chasing.
The 16 plays in this guide help you answer five questions:
The event home: Can anyone on the team find what they need?
Vendors: Does each vendor know what we need, and by when?
People: Who is coming, and who has said yes?
Event day: What happens next, and who is doing it?
After the event: What is still open, and what did we learn?
You do not need to read the guide from start to end. Start with the question that matters most to you now.
How each play works
Each play starts with a familiar problem. It then shows one way to set it up in Humble, what to check and what gets easier.
These are ideas, not rules. Change them to fit the way your team already works.
How every play works in Humble
A few simple ideas come up again and again:
One home per event:Keep the links, files and tasks for an event together, so nobody has to ask where things are.
One owner per task:A teammate or a vendor can own a task. Each task has one person for the next step.
Dates from the event day:Set due dates by working back from the day of the event.
Context on the task:Link the email, quote or contract to the task it belongs to.
The year in every event tag:Use tags such as #Summit-2026, not #Summit on its own.
Look at what is late:Spend review time on tasks that are overdue, stuck or waiting on a vendor.
Chapter 02~8 min read · four plays
The event home
Can anyone on the team find what they need?
This section helps you give each event one home. Anyone on the team can open it and start work, without asking you where things are.
The plays in this section
Give every event one home.
Hand over an event without a meeting.
See every event in one view.
Work back from the event day.
Play 1: Give every event one home
The situation
The Luma page is open in one tab. The guest list is in a spreadsheet. The brief, the venue contract and the floor plan are in three different inboxes. Someone new to the event has to ask for each one.
One way to set this up in Humble
You can create a shared space for the event, such as Summit 2026.
Add a note called Event home: Summit 2026. Write the date, the venue, the goal of the event and who owns it.
Open the Luma page and use the browser extension to add it to the event home. Do the same for the guest list, the brief and the run of show.
Link the venue contract and floor plan from where they already live, such as Google Docs or an email.
Check this
An event home is most useful when it always holds:
The Luma page, or your other event page.
The registration or guest list.
The brief and the budget.
The venue contract, address and floor plan.
The run of show.
A contact for each vendor.
A useful test is: Could a new teammate find the Luma link and the guest list in under a minute?
What changes: the whole team works from the same links, and nobody has to ask for the latest version.
My NotesAdd note
Recent 1
Event home: Summit 202612 Nov · The Hall, London · 300 guestsSummit 2026Guest listEvent briefRun of show#Summit-2026#Venue#Catering
Every key link in one note
An event home note in Humble, with the Luma page, guest list, brief and run of show linked to it.
Play 2: Hand over an event without a meeting
The situation
Someone joins the event late. Or you are away for a week. The details they need are spread across your email and your memory.
One way to set this up in Humble
Add the new person to the event’s shared space.
Point them to the event home first.
Filter the tasks by the event tag. They can see what is open, who owns it and when it is due.
Link key emails to their tasks, so the history stays with the work.
For jobs you do for every event, such as writing the event page, write a process note. Link the steps doc and the team’s AI chat for that job, such as a Claude chat that helps write event descriptions. Anyone can then do the job the same way.
Check this
A useful question is: If I were away tomorrow, could someone else run this event from what is in Humble?
What changes: a handover takes minutes, and less of the event depends on one person.
Play 3: See every event in one view
The situation
You run more than one event at a time. Each has its own dates. It is easy to miss something on one event while you focus on another.
One way to set this up in Humble
Give each event its own tag with the year, such as #Summit-2026 or #Dinner-Nov-2026.
Tag each task and note with its event.
Connect your Google or Outlook calendars. Event dates and site visits then sit in one view.
Start each day with what is due today, across every event.
Check this
Useful views might include:
Everything due this week, across all events.
One event’s tasks only.
Tasks that are waiting on a vendor.
What changes: you can move between events without losing track of the others.
Play 4: Work back from the event day
The situation
A deadline only feels real when it is close. By then, a catering cut-off or a print date may have passed.
One way to set this up in Humble
Start with the event date. List the fixed cut-offs you already know about.
Make each cut-off a task with a due date and one owner.
For hard cut-offs, add a second task a few days before, so the date appears in your day early.
Check this
Here is an example countdown. Your venue and vendors will set their own dates.
12 weeks out: venue booked and deposit paid.
8 weeks out: speakers asked and registration open.
4 weeks out: menu agreed and print sent.
2 weeks out: final numbers sent to the venue and caterer.
1 week out: run of show agreed.
What changes: deadlines appear in your day before they become urgent.
Chapter 03~9 min read · four plays
Vendors
Does each vendor know what we need, and by when?
A lot of event stress comes from waiting on vendors, and from vendors waiting on you. This section helps you agree what each vendor sends, give them their tasks in Humble and see progress without chasing by email.
The plays in this section
List what you need from each vendor.
Assign tasks to your vendors in Humble.
See every vendor’s progress in one place.
Keep vendor emails with the work.
Play 5: List what you need from each vendor
The situation
Every vendor needs different things. The caterer needs numbers and dietary needs. The AV team needs slides. These lists live in your head or in old emails, so something gets missed.
One way to set this up in Humble
You can make one note for each vendor, such as Vendor: Green Kitchen, Summit 2026.
List what you need from them, and what they need from you.
Make each item a task with a due date.
A starting list to copy
What each vendor sends, and what they need from you
Vendor
You need from them
They need from you
Venue
Insurance, risk assessment, access times
Final numbers, floor plan, deposit
Catering
Menu, allergen information
Final numbers, dietary needs
AV and stage
Tech needs, stage plan
Slides, run of show
Photographer
Shot list agreed, delivery date
Run of show, people to capture
Print and signs
Proofs to check
Artwork, amounts
Transport
Pick-up times, driver contact
Guest arrival list
Before you sign with a vendor, ask: Does the list say who sends what, and by when?
What changes: each vendor’s needs are written down once, and you can use the list again next time.
Play 6: Assign tasks to your vendors in Humble
The situation
You email a vendor a list of five things you need. Two weeks later, you are still chasing three of them across three email threads.
One way to set this up in Humble
Take the tasks from the vendor’s list in Play 5.
Assign each task to your contact at that vendor, with a due date.
Link what they need to do the task, such as the floor plan or the run of show.
Tag each task with the event, so it appears in the event’s views.
Check this
A useful question is: Does every open vendor task have a named person and a date?
If a task has no date, the vendor can’t plan for it. If it has no person, nobody will do it.
What changes: vendors know what is due and when. You write fewer chasing emails, and the team can see where things are without asking you.
My Tasks
Now 3
Send insurance certMHOct 20
Send insurance certMHDone
Send risk assessmentMHOct 24
Send final numbersSLOct 29
The vendor ticks it off
A vendor's tasks in Humble. Orange tasks belong to the vendor, who ticks them off when they are done.
Play 7: See every vendor’s progress in one place
The situation
A teammate asks, “Has the caterer sent the menu?” You search your inbox, then ask someone else.
One way to set this up in Humble
Filter the event’s tasks by owner, to see each vendor’s open work.
Look first at tasks that are overdue or due this week.
Share the event space with your team, so they can check for themselves.
Check this
Before your weekly event meeting, look at late vendor tasks first.
The useful question is: Which vendor do we need to talk to this week?
What changes: anyone on the team can answer “where are we with the caterer?” without asking you.
Play 8: Keep vendor emails with the work
The situation
The quote is in one email. The changes are in another. The final deal is in a third. When there is a problem on the day, it is hard to find what you agreed.
One way to set this up in Humble
In Gmail or Outlook on the web, use the browser extension to link an email to the task it belongs to.
When you agree something on the phone, such as a new price or a later start, add a short note to the vendor.
Link the signed contract to the vendor note.
If you keep vendors in HubSpot, Airtable or Notion, the extension icon turns green on the vendor’s website and shows what you already have on them.
Check this
A useful test is: If a vendor disagrees on the day, can I find what we agreed in one minute?
What changes: what you agreed stays with the work, not lost in an inbox.
Chapter 04~6 min read · three plays
Speakers, guests and sponsors
Who is coming, and who has said yes?
This section helps you keep track of the people who make the event: what you told them, what they need and who has said yes.
The plays in this section
Keep a record for each speaker and sponsor.
Know who has said yes.
Share the context with your team and partners.
Play 9: Keep a record for each speaker and sponsor
The situation
You talk to a speaker on LinkedIn, by email and on a call. A month later, you can’t remember what you told them about travel or timing.
One way to set this up in Humble
If speakers apply through an Airtable form, connect Airtable to Humble. On a LinkedIn profile, the extension then shows if that person is already in your speaker database.
Open their LinkedIn profile. Use the browser extension to save them as a contact and add a note.
Link tasks to the person, such as Send travel details or Get photo and bio.
Link the person who introduced you, if there was one.
Open the person to see their timeline of notes, meetings, emails and tasks in one place.
Check this
Before you call a speaker, open their timeline and ask: What have I promised them?
What changes: you start every call knowing what was said last time.
Play 10: Know who has said yes
The situation
Speakers and sponsors move from “maybe” to “yes” over weeks. A tracking spreadsheet goes out of date fast.
One way to set this up in Humble
Tag people into lists, such as #Summit-2026-Invited and #Summit-2026-Confirmed.
When someone says yes, move them to the confirmed tag.
Open a tag to see everyone on that list.
Keep guest sign-ups in Luma, and link the Luma guest list to the event home.
Check this
Two weeks before the event, open the confirmed list and ask: Does every confirmed speaker have a task for slides, bio and travel?
What changes: you can see who is in and who still needs a reminder, without a separate tracker.
Play 11: Share the context with your team and partners
The situation
A co-host, a sponsor lead or an agency partner needs some of what you know. Giving them access to everything is too much.
One way to set this up in Humble
Share your notes on a person with your team.
Share the event space with the people who work on the event.
If you keep sponsors in HubSpot, Airtable or Notion, you can share that view with partners outside your company. They don’t need extra seats or full access.
Check this
A useful question is: Does each person have what they need for their part, and no more?
What changes: partners work from the same facts, and you stop forwarding emails.
Chapter 05~6 min read · three plays
Event week and the day
What happens next, and who is doing it?
This section helps the team know its part on the day, find what it needs on a phone and write down problems as they happen.
The plays in this section
Build the run of show on your timeline.
Carry the day on your phone.
Capture problems as they happen.
Play 12: Build the run of show on your timeline
The situation
The run of show is a long document. On the day, nobody reads it. They ask you instead.
One way to set this up in Humble
Add the key moments of the day to your calendar: doors, talks, breaks, food and pack-down.
Add a task for each moment, with one owner. A vendor can own a task too.
Link the full run of show to the event home.
An example day
A sample run of show
Time and moment
Owner
07:00 · Venue opens for set-up
The venue
08:30 · Sound and screen check
The AV vendor
09:30 · Doors open
Your welcome desk lead
12:30 · Lunch served
The caterer
17:30 · Pack-down
The venue and the AV vendor
The day before, ask: Does every moment have one owner?
What changes: each person knows their part, and the day depends less on one person holding the plan.
Thu 12 Nov
07:00
Venue opens for set-up
Owner: The Hall
08:30
Sound and screen check
Owner: SoundCo
09:30
Doors open
Owner: Priya K
12:30
Lunch served
Owner: Green Kitchen
17:30
Pack-down
Owner: The Hall
One owner for each moment
The run of show on the day: each moment at its time, with one owner.
Play 13: Carry the day on your phone
The situation
On the day, you are on your feet. Your laptop is in a bag somewhere.
One way to set this up in Humble
Add Humble to your phone’s home screen. You don’t need an app store.
Open the event home to find the Luma page, the guest list and each vendor’s contact.
Tick off tasks as they happen.
Check this
The night before, open the event home on your phone and ask: Can I find the venue contact and the guest list in one tap?
What changes: what you need on the day is in your pocket.
Play 14: Capture problems as they happen
The situation
A speaker is late. A dish has no allergen label. The venue asks for an extra hour. By the debrief, you have forgotten half of it.
One way to set this up in Humble
Send Humble a voice note, a photo or a short message in Slack. It appears on your timeline.
After the event, turn each one into a task or a note for the debrief.
Check this
At the end of the day, ask: What went wrong today that we should fix next time?
What changes: problems take seconds to save, and the debrief starts from facts, not memory.
Chapter 06~4 min read · two plays
After the event
What is still open, and what did we learn?
This section helps you finish the event properly and make the next one easier.
The plays in this section
Close the loops with vendors and guests.
Run a debrief and show what was delivered.
Play 15: Close the loops with vendors and guests
The situation
The event is over and everyone is tired. Invoices, thank-you emails and sponsor reports slip.
One way to set this up in Humble
Before the event, add the tasks for afterwards: pay invoices, send thank-yous, share photos and send sponsor reports.
Assign vendor tasks, such as Send final invoice or Send photos, to the vendor with a date.
After the event, filter by the event tag to see what is still open.
Check this
A week after the event, ask: Is every vendor paid, and every guest thanked?
What changes: the event is truly finished, not left half-done.
Play 16: Run a debrief and show what was delivered
The situation
Your manager asks how the event went. Next year, someone asks what you would change. The answers are in people’s memories.
One way to set this up in Humble
Create a note called Debrief: Summit 2026. Write what worked, what did not and what to change.
Link the problems you saved on the day, and the final numbers from Luma.
Use your timeline to show what the team finished, task by task.
Keep each vendor note. Next year, you can start from the same lists.
Check this
A useful question is: If we ran this event again next year, what would we start from?
What changes: each event makes the next one easier, and your manager can see what was done.
Chapter 07~3 min read
The event countdown
Events don’t run on a normal week. They count down to one day. The plan below is a starting point. Change the dates to fit your event.
Every day: check across your events
You can start with a short look at:
What is due today, across every event.
Which vendor tasks are late.
Which calls or site visits need you to prepare.
During the day, save things close to where they appear:
A vendor email → linked to its task.
A deal on the phone → a note on the vendor.
A new request → a task with an owner and a date.
12 weeks or more out: set up the event
Create the event space, the event home and the event tag.
Add the brief, the budget and the Luma page.
Book the venue and list the fixed cut-offs.
8 weeks out: agree vendors and speakers
Write a vendor note for each vendor.
Assign each vendor its tasks, with dates.
Tag speakers and sponsors into lists.
4 to 2 weeks out: check progress each week
Late vendor tasks.
Who has said yes, and who hasn’t.
Final numbers for the venue and caterer.
Event week and the day: stay on your phone
Run of show on your timeline, with an owner for each moment.
The event home ready on your phone.
Problems saved in Slack as they happen.
The week after: close and learn
What is still open?
Is every vendor paid?
Is every guest and sponsor thanked?
What goes in the debrief?
Chapter 08~4 min read
How to organise this in Humble
There is no single correct setup. The structure below is a simple place to start.
What goes where
When you have…
A useful place for it
An event
Shared space and an event tag with the year
The Luma page, guest list and brief
Links on the event home note
Something someone on the team needs to do
Task with an owner and a date
Something a vendor needs to send or do
Task assigned to the vendor
What a vendor needs, and what you need from them
Vendor note
An email about the work
Linked to its task
Something agreed on the phone
Note on the vendor or task
A job you do for every event
Process note, linked to the steps doc and the team’s AI chat
Speaker applications
Your Airtable speaker database, connected to Humble
A speaker, sponsor or guest
Contact, with notes and a timeline
A list of people
Tag, such as #Summit-2026-Confirmed
A moment in the run of show
Calendar event plus a task with an owner
A problem on the day
Voice note or photo in Slack, then a task or note
What you learned
Debrief note
Shared spaces
One shared space for each event is usually enough. For example:
Summit 2026
Customer dinner November 2026
Team day spring 2027
Share each space only with the people who work on that event.
Always include the year. The same event often comes back next year, and old work should not mix with new.
Naming
Event spaces: [event name] [year], such as Summit 2026.
Event home: Event home: [event].
Vendor notes: Vendor: [name], [event].
Tasks: start with a verb, such as “Send final numbers to caterer”.
Process notes: How we [job], such as “How we write event pages”.
Debrief: Debrief: [event].
Chapter 09~2 min read · 60 min to do
The 60-minute event setup
You can use this checklist to set up your next event in one hour. It does not need to hold everything to be useful.
0–10 minutesConnect Google or Outlook Calendar and install the browser extension.You’ll have: Your meetings and the web pages you use, next to your tasks.
10–20 minutesCreate the event space and the event home. Add the Luma page, guest list, brief and venue details.You’ll have: One place anyone can start from.
20–35 minutesWrite a vendor note for each vendor: what you need from them and what they need from you.You’ll have: A clear list for each vendor.
35–45 minutesTurn the lists into tasks with dates. Assign vendor tasks to your vendor contacts.You’ll have: Vendors who know what is due.
45–55 minutesTag speakers and sponsors into lists. Add Humble to Slack and to your phone.You’ll have: People lists, and a way to save things from anywhere.
55–60 minutesAdd the countdown check-ins to your calendar: 8 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 weeks and the week after.You’ll have: A rhythm that keeps the event on track.
The end state
You should be able to answer:
Can anyone on the team find what they need?
Does each vendor know what we need, and by when?
Who is coming, and who has said yes?
What happens next on the day, and who is doing it?
What is still open, and what did we learn?
You bring the judgement, the relationships and the calm on the day. Humble keeps the details connected, so nobody has to hold the whole event in their head.
Summit 2026Search tasks…Filter
Now 2Today
SLSend final numbersDue 29 Oct#Venue
SLWrite the Luma page#Marketing
Next 2This week
LGSend allergen infoDue 22 Oct#Catering
ARInvite top speakers#Speakers
Later 1After the day
PKPay final invoices#Venue
A vendor’s task
The finished setup: team and vendor tasks for the event, each with a tag, an owner and a date.
See how it works in Humble
The plays in this guide use features available in Humble today.
See how Humble keeps your tasks, notes, people and the context around them connected.
This guide was written by the Humble team, based on how people who run events can use the product in their day-to-day work.
It is a practical guide to one way of working, not the only way to run events. Every team and every event is different, so use the parts that help and change the rest.
Luma is named as an example of an event page you might link to. It is not a Humble integration. The guide describes Humble as of September 2026. Some product details may change over time.
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Want to try it yourself first?
No team rollout and no commitment. Use Humble for your next event and see whether having your tasks, vendors, people and links in one place makes the work easier to hold.
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Guest list
Event brief