How to Finish a Group Project on Time

No matter how talented you are, some opportunities are only available by working in a group. Sometimes, working in a group is necessary for a class grade or keeping your job - in which case you'd almost certainly want to do it. The distributed nature of group responsibility combined with the individual interests of each group member, however, pose the difficulties that have led to the well-known problems of working in a group: free riders and/or project failure. Here are some tips to make sure that you make the most out of your group project experience.

Before you say 'Yes,' if you have a choice...

You should ask yourself these questions: are you sure that you are ready to commit the time needed to produce the end product? Are you flexible enough to be able to attend time-sensitive project related-events (conferences, presentations, seminars, etc.)? Will you commit to meeting with your group members and respect those commitments?

If you answered "no" to any of the above, then perhaps you should reconsider entering the project. If it's a work or school project, seek a workaround if possible. If anything beyond that, inform your group-mates of these constraints. This will at least give the group a chance to work around your limitations, helping avoid the typically blind-siding effect of unreliable group members. Remember, if one person doesn't do their part, everyone is affected!

Time Management Skills

It can be hard to juggle school, work, family life, leisure, and your project, but here are some tips to make your life easier: get an agenda or calender and mark the dates that you know the internship will be meeting. Digital calendars are also very handy and easy to use; Google Calendar is one example of a free and powerful planning tool. Set weekly goals for yourself (i.e. by Friday contact John Doe about the speech he gave) and stick to them. Balance time between other work and the project. If you know you have a major midterm paper due the week you are scheduled to meet a project milestone, do the paper well ahead of time. After all, you do have uncertainty about how long it is going to take you to complete that paper; don't risk putting yourself in an impossible situation.

Deadlines

Deadlines are crucial to the creative process of any project. Team members must work together to establish the exact dates and times of assignments. Putting together any major product takes time, effort and dedication, all of which come together at the deadline times.

One needs the sufficient resources to write whatever one is working on. You need to be proactivein your own writing process:

For Example: Make sure to set appropriate appointment times for interviews, consultations, or subcontractor meetings and have sufficient time to both work with the outsider and properly integrate their contribution. In other words: do your research and prepare thoroughly. Also, know what you are doing and why you are doing it - make sure you and your group members all understand how it will fit into the final product. Finally, ask for help when you need it. Humility will save your group a lot of heartache in fixing problems that could have been solved earlier or avoided altogether.

Avoid cramming to meet deadlines. Learn how to use your time wisely. (This can never be overstated). It's best to have plenty of time to finalize the assignment and avoid off-loading half of your work on those who have to edit it, revise it, or integrate it into the end product. Indeed, often times the "finalizers" of projects end up bearing the brunt of the project's work. This is not fair and creates resentful finalizers. Use time management skills in accordance with your own comfort zone, but remember that many people are counting on you specifically to finish that piece of work so the best policy is to turn the work in on time.

If you are not able to meet the deadlines for any reason, big or small, contact your group members and let them know immediately. They are there to complete the project too, and have a stake in your performance as you have a stake in theirs. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Keeping in Touch

All your fellow group members must specifically carve out time from their individual schedules to meet and discuss the project's progress. It is highly imperative that you do so.

Here are some suggestions: exchange email addresses and phone numbers (obvious); create an online group with file uploading capabilities. This will provide a place where group members can submit some work or pitch ideas, and see the submissions of other group members, on their own time. Yahoo.com is one place where such groups can be created. Especially if the timeline for the project is very long (in excess of what is necessary to complete the project), make sure the project is moving forward by scheduling routine meetings, calls, or emails to keep everyone updated on the status of the project.

The success of most projects is about creative teamwork, so it's very important to have each other's encouragement and active input. Keep everyone informed and on the same page about current happenings. Encourage others to respect deadlines by respecting them yourself.Working as part of a team involves keeping each other accountable. Understand that it is nothing personal, mean, or vindictive to constantly remind other group members to get their work done. If a group member is indeed posing a problem for everyone else, first address the group member and explain that their behavior is troubling you. If reasoning with the member fails or if they understand but simply can not comply, do not be afraid to appeal to your superiors for a solution.