Comments | adults_add: Out of the loop?

velvetinepuppy in adults_add

Out of the loop?

Aug 18, 2010 17:52

I'm doing research with a group of people and it seems like every week at our research meeting I'm out of the loop on something. Like, I got my samples in the mail and someone moved them to the lab and no one told me but then everyone was upset at me when I didn't know. I was supposed to go to another school equipped to do a particular analytical ( Read more... )

Comments 5

sheepykins August 19 2010, 04:01:32 UTC

Man, group projects can suck. I'd suggest having a shared space -- a GDoc or wiki -- where everyone agrees to record next steps, planned meetings, changes, etc. Then you can "watch" the page and be notified of changes. The tricky part is getting everyone to use it.

jakejynx August 19 2010, 08:12:17 UTC

With it happening that often, I'd start asking how they found out about X change or Y situation, and make sure to let everyone know that if you're not psychic. Make sure the whole group has your email or phone number, and remind them that when things change or there's big news about important things (like your samples arriving!), they need to make sure you know about it.

Honestly, I'd be pretty annoyed by the situation, myself. I used to have to deal with the same situation when I was younger. Now I refuse to stand there and take the blame for other peoples' oversights.

velvetinepuppy August 19 2010, 08:36:58 UTC

Hey thanks everyone, I feel a lot better about it knowing I"m not just some kinda crazy ( ... )

estarsign August 19 2010, 16:58:05 UTC

Group work can be difficult, especially when you are picking up on some vibes that make you feel like people are looking down on you. That in and of itself is enough to make anyone angry ( ... )

velvetinepuppy August 24 2010, 23:51:05 UTC

Sorry for being so late getting to this! The situation that prompted me to post here resulted in a HUGE load of work I needed to sort out.

I had fully intended to post a letter and ask for some advice but the subtle 'we're angry at you' attitude the other students have been emanating at me turned into an angry text message about how I'm irresponsible. I was supposed to go in today and work on some things with them but after that text there was no way I was going to be able to face them without doing something I'd regret (like yell a lot of mean things) so I didn't go in. Which meant somebody needed to know why. So I emailed my advisor. It went exceedingly well actually. I was expecting more of the 'Get your shit together and be responsible for yourself' stuff but she was very understanding and outlined all of her expectations and made a log of suggestions about how to make things run more smoothly. I posted my email and her response in my journal if you're interested in reading it. I think I love my advisor now..