I decided that my event will be called "your most productive hour". The purpose of the gathering is implied by the name of the event; I want to help attendees get a lot of studying or work done in an hour. It'll be held on Thursday of this week, so I need to configure the details for it and send out invitations today.

First, I decided on the themes and schedule for the event. I have three themes: intention, accountability, approachability. For the sake of these themes, I set structure in place.

7:00 – 7:05 Introduction (Share work) 7:05 – 7:25 1st Work Session 7:25 – 7:30 Break 7:30 – 7:50 2nd Work Session (Share work) 7:50 – 7:55 Debrief, farewell

Second, I used paperless post to send out virtual invitations. I kept in mind that the event begins the moment people find out about it. I wanted everyone to know that this was a special study space, not just a casual study zoom with friends. Giving out formal invitations also incited a sense of excitement and exclusivity, which many of my friends enjoyed.

Third, I set rules in place and sent an email to those to RSVP'd. I set rules based on what would boost productivity and respect the time of each attendee. I had the following guidelines laid out:

1. Please keep your video on at all times.
2. Please avoid checking your phone and social media during this hour.
3. Call in from a quiet, distraction-free environment.
4. If you would like, set your zoom background to your favorite study spot. I have attached some options to the email.

The actual event went by quite quickly. There were 5 people including myself. I was surprised that people were very willing to share what they were working on with other people. I had originally intended on having them private message me what they were working on, but sharing with the whole group created a sense of unity. Though we were all working on different things, it felt like we were all striving towards a similar goal and cheering one another on. My friends' feedback was that they got a lot of work done, which means the primary purpose of the gathering was achieved. I think if I were to host this again, I would experiment with different time intervals, such as a 50 minute work session. I would also make it open to more people that are not just my friends.

I'll end with a screenshot of the event.