Collaboration - Reflective Statement

The Collaboration project has been a very challenging one to face on a number of levels. Coming into the project, I did expect that it would be a different experience to all of the independent ones we've had before, which it very much has been. I think this project has been by far, the most stressful and pressuring project yet, but it has still been one of my favourite ones regardless of this. Although struggling to fully figure out the idea right away, once our group was on track it became a very exciting experience to work hard towards the final result. Unlike my previous projects, there wasn't many occasions where I felt really behind on the work or that it would fail to be completed on time, which I can thank my group for. Despite being able to work with others, it didn't feel like three times less work than normal, so I can't imagine how far I would have made it through this project working alone, as I was already constantly working from the start. In terms of how the project made me feel, I struggled mentally to a very intense amount and that is why Collaboration has been the most difficult project to complete so far. Working with other members meant my decisions or amount/quality of work would affect other people as well as just myself this time, which I suppose can be seen as a positive as it forced me to keep working hard and prevented me from relaxing too much. At the same time, my mind was also at ease as I had no doubts in the quality of work that my group members would produce, nor did I have any doubts regarding if they would get their tasks done on time. I think this helped a lot too as I could put trust into them to complete their roles while I could focus on mine most of the time. My weaker areas of working were compensated for massively by the strengths of my group, especially in terms of the presentation of work on our blog, which I personally need to improve on a lot myself. Having members that have strengths I don't really possess was helpful as it boosted the look and quality of my work, and as a whole I think it delivered a sense of confidence among our group's work which helped me remain positive for the remainder of the project and our target. 

I have learned a lot from this project in terms of responsibility and management of time and tasks. I do think this project was a very useful experience to have and that it has taught me lessons that will now stick with me for the future. I've learned that everyone works differently and in groups it is difficult to ever fully know where they're at with their work and how they are truly coping with things too. I've also learned that in a group, for someone else to develop parts of your work and create something that was initialised from another individual, the communication has to be strong so that details and choices can be exchanged and fully understood, and that it is more of your own responsibility to make things clear to others, and not just up to them to be able to perceive what you meant, as everyone thinks differently.

In conclusion, I feel that this project was not very healthy for myself, but I needed to experience it at one point or another, so I am grateful I had the chance to. I have also gained more optimism about group work than what I initially felt, as I have definitely witnessed the benefits of having others work towards the same goal as me, alongside me.