Help! How do I prioritize tasks effectively for my junior-level Computer Science project due next week with a tight 5-person team and multiple professor requirements?

You’re not alone in feeling this crunch, and honestly, it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed when the deadline is looming and the team dynamics are tricky. The short answer is to stop trying to manage everything at once and start triaging based on what actually matters for your grade right now. Since you’re a junior, you’ve probably been taught that every detail counts, but in a tight week, perfection is the enemy of done. You need to shift from a "nice-to-have" mindset to a "must-have" survival mode. Think of your project like a house you’re building in a storm: you don’t have time to paint the trim or install the fancy light fixtures if the roof isn’t even on yet. Focus entirely on the structural integrity of your code and the core arguments of your report first. To make your Trello board actually work for accountability, ditch the complex workflows and simplify it to three columns: "Now," "Next," and "Later." Move only the absolute critical path items into "Now." If a task doesn’t directly contribute to a functional neural network or a key section of the report, it goes to "Later." For the less productive teammates, try a quick, low-pressure check-in. Instead of accusing anyone of slacking, frame it as a resource issue. Say something like, "Hey, I’m stuck on the data preprocessing part, can we pair program for twenty minutes?" This often reveals if someone is overwhelmed, confused, or just distracted, and it gets them back into the flow without the drama. It’s about collaboration, not policing. Remember that your professor likely cares more about a working, understandable project than a flawless, over-engineered one. If the neural network runs and produces results, that’s a win. If the report explains those results clearly, that’s another win. Don’t let the presentation polish eat up your coding time. Keep your team meetings short and focused on blockers, not status updates. You’ve got this, and once you strip away the noise, you’ll see a clear path to finishing strong.