Managing+Impulsivity

=== When doing group projects I have a tendency of trying to control every member of the group's actions so that the experiment or lab we are performing goes exactly the way I had planned. I don't think that trying to get the most precise measurements is wrong, but I do think I need to cut back a little bit on trying to control people. When working in groups, I have a feeling that I make people feel frustrated because I send of signals that basically say, "my way or the highway". ===

=== When we get assignments for group activities in the classroom I immediately begin to think of different ways to go about the lab. By the time we start the lab I have a solid idea of what I want to do, and I try to make everyone follow along with this plan, because in my mind it's perfection. However, I've learned that I need to allow other people to contribute to activities, because they often have something value to add to the discussion or design of the lab. Lately, I've tried to allow other people in my groups to control things more. It annoys me so much to allow people to do something there way instead of my way, but I need to back off and stop being so controlling if the team is going to be able to communicate and work together efficiently. ===

=== In our last group activity, my group and I had to design a mechanism so that we could burn 2 different types of alcohol to heat 100 mL of water in a can above the glass burning contraption. However, we also had to perform this in the most efficient way we could think of. I decided that we would put a type of foil curtain between the can and the glass that contained the burning alcohol. My group agreed, and so we went forward with our plan. However, as the procedure went on, my group members tried to edit the design of the foil curtain. At first I started to get really annoyed, and disagreed with them when they tried to change the design. I realized a few minutes later that I was being super controlling and I needed to back off and give my group some room to edit the design and do what they thought would be the most efficient. Even if their ideas didn't quite work, they need to figure it out for themselves so they can visually see flaws in their designs. Sometimes I too have flaws in my designs, another reason why I need to collaborate with my group members. They can point out my mistakes and I can point out theres so we can create the best plan possible. === === In the lab that class I backed off and recorded the results of the experiment while my other group members burned the alcohol and measured the change in mass of the alcohol and change in temperature of the water. Even though I hadn't strictly controlled every aspect of the lab, my group still got good results. ===

=== I know that being impulsive and controlling and thinking my ideas are the best is a big problem for me. Therefore, I've tried to take it down a notch and not try to force my ideas and opinions down other peoples throats. While I still add ideas and contribute to the lab, I feel like I've created a group setting where everyone can contribute to the lab/experiment equally. ===