Ah, group projects. They can be a time to put your heads together – and a chance to see who is willing to put in the work and who is willing to sit back and let others do all the hard bits. Whatever the case, they can be an important part of school, so it might be time to learn some tips for working on a group project.
Dedicate a leader
It can be tough to know what to do, where to start, and where you need to be heading without someone taking control. That’s right; many people might try to talk over one another and step up as the leader. It can be important to nominate a leader that everyone agrees on to make sure there is always someone ready to make the final decision and lead the group in the right direction. Sometimes, a small vote can be all it takes to save lots of arguing in the end.
Set deadlines
While you might know what needs to be done, you may not know when it needs to be done by. This can be just as important as agreeing who will do what task as setting deadlines should help to make sure that everyone is working at the same pace. Do you need to make sure that one part of the project is complete before you can move onto the next task? Thankfully, there are so many ways to make sure that everyone agrees with the deadlines thanks to communal calendars and group chats.
Agree group work times
Many people believe that group projects mean that you always need to work with one another. However, that’s not always the case. In fact, it can be just as important to make sure that you schedule some work time on your own so that you can fully concentrate on the task at hand. That doesn’t mean that you never have to work alongside one another. Make sure to schedule in some time to work with the others, such as meeting up every few days or once a week – depending on how long you have on your project.
Be honest
Did you skip out on finishing your part of the project? Honesty is the best policy. After all, it could be pretty embarrassing when everyone else is ready to hand their part of the project in, but yours is nowhere to be seen. This also goes for when the group is deciding what to do for the project. If you don’t like some of the ideas or you find that other people aren’t pulling their weight. It’s best to keep everyone on the same page and not try to hide your emotions if you want things to work.
Be a team player
Yes – group projects mean that you need to work as a team. Who would have thought? This is everything from making sure you ship in on the coffee runs to keeping up with your deadlines and being there for every meeting as well as helping someone else catch up with their work if they have started to fall behind. Group projects can be a great opportunity to help grow your teamwork skills.
While many of us love to work at our own pace, group projects can be a great way to use other people’s advantages and have fun along the way. Thankfully, group projects don’t have to be as tough as they seem.
