Scheduling Based on Circumstances
Understanding
Another way to manage time is scheduling time around the circumstances. This is for events that are heavily dependent on external factors such as government regulations. To use this method, the team would need to communicate every time something major happens during the event. During the meetings, the team would need to plan their next course of action in regards to the external circumstances. This means that forward planning becomes difficult during the course of executing the project. After the meeting, the team would then go on to execute the various tasks. A good way to display how much time is left is through a linear timeline. This method is not only neat, it shows team members which stage they are at in terms of executing the project.
Application
During the planning of the workshop, my team planned our time based on the circumstances. As we were working with an external organisation in the middle of a pandemic, there was many stakeholders involved. We had to consider the organisation’s limitations and situation as well as follow the government’s safe distancing measures. Because of these reasons, we could not plan everything ahead of time which was why we chose to adapt according to the situation. Whenever a major change happened, my team would meet up immediately and discuss our next steps.
One instance was during the Phase 2 Heightened Alert, the workshop had to be moved online. Because of this, we were forced to move the workshop completely online. Furthermore, the Programme Executive, Mr Christopher commented that our proposed 3 sessions initially could bore the participants and requested for only 2 sessions. This resulted in the team having a meeting to make the necessary changes and allocating deadlines for the various tasks.
Values and Challenges
By agreeing to schedule the timeline based on circumstances, the team would easily adapt to various situations. This would make the team flexible which can be advantageous. Furthermore, using this method would mean that the team would be working towards smaller goals at a time. This can reduce the stress on team members, as they would not be burdened by all of the deadlines and just focus on the task ahead.
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However, using this method would mean that the team members themselves would have flexible personal schedules as you never know when an unexpected external circumstance will occur. Furthermore, as this method is dependent on external factors, there will be limited time given to react to the situation which can get stressful.