Project week – the perfect event planning practice you NEED today! Chock-full of fun obstacles to encounter that will befuddle and infuriate you to the max.
Accompanied by 100 unique logistical details to sort through, all while listening to the contradicting opinions of YOUR team! You would think choosing a destination would be simple, until you’re two months in, having switched groups multiple times, and still haven’t decided on a location.
Want to get over your fear of meetings and presenting? We have a simple solution! With our interactive supplier list, you’ll need to interact with uncooperative activity and service providers who may or may not back out at the last minute (“We really did just update our policy last month so minors can no longer go unaccompanied on the trips we offer”).
Want to feel the exhilaration of Visa application difficulties? Not a problem when you’re on an Indian passport trying to apply for a Vietnam visa (where your one-time permit costs more than a 10 year, multiple-entry visa to the US.
The total cost comes to a cool grand and several weeks of your time.
However, all of it is worth it.
For one, based upon the other experiences I’ve had with event planning (the annual MS and HS conferences the MUN club runs), everything I’ve encountered during the project week planning stages is entirely realistic.
For instance, difficult providers (i.e. those that back out last minute and forcing you to change your plans during PW) are likely to be a constant no matter what you’re planning. The key skill here is adaptability, and effective scheduling (implementing buffer time into your plans to account for unpredictable variables).
The idea of contradicting ideas in a group setting is a certainty. Through this experience, I’ve learned to be more effective at compromise (knowing what points to stand your group for, and when to let go). For instance, I made sure that my group performed service by working with the Blue Dragon NGO, but didn’t oppose the idea of adding hiking to our PW experience as well
I’ve commented on the idea of being selective with my time in the post ‘Till I collapse – a million things hit me at once’. Project week has emphasized this idea. I’ll admit, in the weeks leading up to the December break (when we were given time to plan for PW), there were times when I had to rely on my team to pick up my slack. During the December break then, when they were busy, I took the lead – completing all components required to have the service aspect of our trip approved (as service coordinator). This included filling out the Service preparation document where I went through the 5 stages of service-learning to set up CONCRETE goals and objectives for our trip to the Blue Dragon NGO.
I also took it upon myself to create a timeline for creativity during our visit (since our activity provider had backed out, we needed to swap activity to creativity). I delegated tasks that were required (i.e. researching options for cooking courses – one of our planned activities under creativity) to be completed. As of now, we are comfortably situated to achieve our goal of completing PW planning by the February 2nd deadline realistic.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a9m-qiN1jn0U3L6pqmXCiuKPcgwgSMKvlBmz2oG-m8A/edit?usp=sharing
