Working as a group can be very difficult for some people. For me personally, I also find it challenging at times. When you work as a team, you have to make sure that your teammates are, “on the same page,” in a sense, or things will quickly unravel.

I’ve talked about brainstorming ideas collectively in the past, but after that I never really wrote much about my joint projects. Today I’d like to touch upon a few things that I feel are crucial when working with another person or even a group of people.

Management of Tasks

This is usually the first thing that people do when they start a group project because of the amount of work that has to get done. However, if you don’t do this, two or more people might work on the same thing. One person might do nothing. Then again, and it’s highly unlikely, everyone will do what they need to reach the goal.

So the first thing that you have to do when starting a group project is to layout or outline every task that needs to be done. The process is quite easy and I don’t think I need to go into it in too much detail right now. Just make sure that you write down everything, and then make a task out of it. A simple example is, “The website needs a better design.” Let’s have someone work on the logo. Get the point? You just want to make sure at this stage that you have tasks. It doesn’t matter what the tasks are, just as long as you and everyone else know what they are.

Deadlines

I read an old JohnChow post awhile back about success and dreams. Even though I have lost the link to the post, I still remember the basic idea he was trying to get across. If you don’t set deadlines on your dreams, then they will remain dreams and never become goals. The same goes for any project you are working on, even a group project. Don’t set a deadline on that logo, and it will remain a dream that may never reach completion.

Setting deadlines is a lot easier than people think. Deadlines are already all around us in our every day lives and we usually are so used to abiding by them that we forget they are there. If you work for someone else, then you know how to follow deadlines, and that is the best place to start and even learn.

The simplest way to set a deadline is to be completely realistic. In your head or on paper, layout everything that you are currently working on, then place the item you want to have a deadline with all the others. Will it take a day, a week, a month? - It’s up to you. Pull up a calendar and write down that event on that day and stick to it.

communication

We work in groups to get things done more quickly than we would if we worked on our own. Another advantage to working in a group that should be fully exploited is the fact that you have multiple minds converging on one goal and should have a much richer, fuller, and developed product. Communicating with your fellow developers is the key to reaching the ultimate goal and also staying on track. Without the necessary means of communication, your project will reach a standstill while you sit around and wait for someone else to give you their input.

Here are a few tips on communication within a group:

• Find an efficient way to communicate. Use Gmail and Google Documents to share information easily.
• Be clear, concise, and to the point. Using e-mail is just like any other form of communication, you have to learn how to express yourself effectively.
• Pick up the phone or get on a video chat. You’re still a human, so why stick to written forms?
• Break down confrontation and conflict before it even starts. This is actually a lot easier than most people think. Conflict usually occurs when you didn’t take care of a problem weeks ago. So stay on top of problems and deal with them as they arise.

Do you have any experience working with other people on a project? I’d love to hear what you have to say…

For a long time I used to feel disheartened by other’s innovation because I felt that I could not create something as profound.  Yet, when I began to create ideas left and right, the ideas never stopped coming.  It was at this point in my life that I realized how easy it really is to create something.  The only thing that stands between you and greatness is the passion you apply towards it. 

Did the light in your head turn off awhile ago; Too long to remember?  Well if it has, and the ideas just stopped coming to you, then let me point you in the right direction again. 

Change your Mind

Your mind is always coming up with solutions to problems you present it with.  If you don’t give your brain something to solve, then you will not get any answers.  This is why you might go for weeks without having any intriguing thoughts that just seem to come out of nowhere.  So the first step to get your brain working on some problems.  That might not sound exciting, because most of us have taught ourselves to generally avoid problems.  The first thing you need to realize is that you do no need avoid or becoming or become stressed in order to find a problem and try to solve it.  Problems are all in the eye of the beholder.  Some people see a problem, and others see a question that is yet to be answered.  Let the hesitation you have with the stresses associated with problems slip away, and recognize that you are only fundamentally trying to answer a question.

After all of that, it’s easy.  Once you find something to solve, you can go about your day and let your unconscious mind do the work for a change.  An example of this would be if you were trying to create a website, but had no idea what you wanted to create.  Rather than focus on not knowing what to create, you instead come up with a list of your hobbies, goals, aspirations, etc…  You later go to sleep that night, wake up, and go about your day as you usually do.  All of the sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, you have an epiphany.  The idea comes to you like a lighting bolt, and sends that tingling feeling of excitement from head to toe. 

Answer a Question

It is not difficult to determine what is going on in this instance.  You first recognize something you want to do.  Then you clarify what questions you need to answer.  In the above scenario, you had to answer the question, “What type of website will I create?”  By taking action towards the question’s answer, you found your solution very easily.  That last part of the process usually occurs on its own.  During some sort of an unconscious process throughout your day, while your mind is free, the answer comes to you.  For me, I tend to get answers just as I lay down to sleep for the night.  Right after I close my eyes, a thought hits me and I have to climb out of bed and document it for the next day.

I hope this has been of help to those of you who have trouble solving problems, answering questions, and creating amazing ideas.

Yes. You read the title right. Today we are going to push your head back up into the clouds like it used to be.

You may have heard the exact phrase while growing up, “get your head out of the clouds,” or something like it. What does it mean? It means that you need to stop day dreaming and get to work. Buy why, you ask? Well, you parents or teachers were only looking out for you when they said it, but it usually doesn’t do any good to reinforce the belief. Most people around you stopped dreaming along time ago. They found that it was easier to roll through life on autopilot. Go or don’t go to college. Get a job. Then put your head down in a submissive manner and set engines to medium speed. So it’s no surprise that there were so many teachers (the bad ones) who told you this. A dreamer today is rare. You would have had to have survived this onslaught of adversity and come out shining to still possess this quality.

But don’t fret. I can help you again float back up into that cloud filled sky of creativity, intrigue, growth, inspiration, etc… All you have to do is open your mind.

The only thing you have to do to get your mind back in this mindset is to focus on experiencing life in your own unique way, and stop following a path. Stop listening to what you friends or neighbors are doing and follow your heart. Do you like to write? - Then write. Don’t let that voice in the back of your head tell you it is too difficult or not worth your time. Express yourself in anyway that you feel fit.

Here are some quotes to set your mind on fire:

Michael Korda

No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to flee and fly high. No government, no legislature, has a right to limit your dreams. You should never agree to surrender your dreams.

Seneca

What you want to do, and what you can do, is limited only by what you can dream.

You’re either here because you lost your drive to finish something, or you finally gave up on it. Well, luckily I’m here to help you never get stuck again.

We have all had it happen to us, we start something with so much motivation, and then somewhere down the line we lose it. It might be the stress of seeing it to completion that pushes motivation out the door and makes room for more stress. Then again it could just be that the project doesn’t look as appealing as it did two weeks ago. Whatever the case, you need to make change, and you need to make it now. Stop making excuses about difficulty, learning curves, expenses, etc… If you have a will and a passion for it, you can do it.

Here are some things that I do to stay motivated when I feel it starting to slip and fade:

Take a Break

Even though you’d like to show the world how quickly and efficiently you can complete this awesome project, take a break and recollect on what you have already done. Your mind needs time to process what you feed it. So go for a walk or do something off topic for fifteen to thirty minutes. Not only does it strengthen you ability to return to the project again and again, but it might just pop another amazing idea in your head while you relax.

Reinforce by Redefining

Pull up your word processor and outline your goals again. You might have already have done this when you first started the project, but your mind changes and so do your goals. Reevaluation helps you stay on track while you tediously work into the wee hours of the night. When you set goals and complete them, you have achieved something. You have achieved something that you had written or planned- that my friend is one of the best feelings in the world.

Journal

I have learned that it doesn’t matter when you do it, but only that you do it. Journaling is the best way to archive your thoughts away and make sense of everything that happened that day or week. Instead of carrying a burden, stress, or thought with you all week, you can instead write it or type it out and always come back to it later. You wouldn’t believe what a relief this will give your mind after you do it for a day or two. Another thing to realize about journaling is that you don’t ever have to share these thoughts with anyone. I have a folder on my computer called, (as you would have guessed) “Journal.” I never go back and read my previous entries, but just keep adding to the folder.

Well I hope this information has given you some proven steps to making you motivation muscle stronger than ever before. If you have any other ideas or tricks that work for you to stay motivated, feel free to comment below.

Do you ever have trouble writing?  I’m talking about actually sitting down and writing something on the computer or in a note book etc..?  If you do, don’t be discouraged because I found a way for you to still get the words down on paper in a sense yet still portray an express yourself. 

I recently started using a program called Dragon NaturallySpeaking.  It is a program used for dictating what you say through a microphone and it in turn creates text on your computer.  That is the simplest way I know to explain this program.  The interesting thing I’m finding about the program though is not the complexity of its inter-workings, yet what it allows me to do on a more creative level. 

Now I have never had a problem typing quickly, but that’s not the reason I tried using this software.  I was actually more interested in seeing the difference between my writing and my speaking voice.  That’s right the voice inside of my head versus the voice that I use when actually speak.  I like to think of it in the simplest terms as telling a story versus writing a story.  The two are very different indeed… 

When you sit down and start writing on your computer or in a notebook, you are allowing your mind to synchronize itself with the speed at which you type.  Most people do this but don’t realize that it is happening- most just see the keyboard as an extension of the written voice.  The same goes for the past before computers were created and before people use computers to type their thoughts, people used the pen to express themselves.  Of course, I’m sure that speed was limited by the wrist. 

On the other hand, when you use your actual voice to speak and tell a story, a completely different process occurs.  Instead of overcorrecting what you say, planning your thoughts, and deciding, you are instead allowing your thoughts to stream endlessly. 

Both forms of expression have their place.  Writing, whether hand written or typed gives you time to make order of your thoughts.  On the other hand, speaking allows you to pour out thoughts in a pure form.