Three events, one night: how to choose where to go

It happens almost every weekend in Lagos. You open your phone on Friday afternoon and there is a concert you have been meaning to see, a rooftop party everyone is posting about, and your friend's birthday dinner. You can't do all three, and trying to usually means enjoying none of them.

Here is a simple way to decide.

Ask which one you would be upset to miss

Imagine it is Sunday morning and you are scrolling through everyone's photos. Which event would make you think "I should have gone"? That is usually your answer. Our sense of missing out is a pretty good guide to what we actually care about, as long as we listen to it before we buy the ticket, not after.

Count the real cost, not just the ticket

A cheap ticket on the other side of town can cost more than an expensive one around the corner once you add the ride there, the ride back and the time in traffic. Before choosing, add up:

• the ticket price
• getting there and getting home
• what you will spend once you are inside
• how tired you will be on Saturday

Think about who you will see

A good night is mostly about the people. An average party with your closest friends often beats a great one where you know nobody and leave early. On the other hand, if you have been wanting to meet new people, the event where you know nobody might be exactly the point.

Check whether it happens again

Some events are one-offs. Others run every month, or every week. If the rooftop party happens on the last Friday of every month, you can go next time. A concert by an artist passing through town might not come round again for years. When everything looks equally good, choose the one you can't easily catch later.

Can you do two?

Sometimes the answer is an early dinner and a late party. It works when the two places are close and the timings really don't overlap. It usually fails when you have to cross the city in between. Be honest about Lagos traffic before you promise two hosts you will show up.

Decide, then commit

Once you have chosen, buy your ticket, tell your friends and stop checking the other events. Half the fun of going out is being fully there, not wondering what is happening somewhere else.

If you want to see everything on in your city this weekend in one place, open Globiqo, set your city and filter by price. Save the ones you like, and pick your winner.