How do you reconcile your knowledge of how long a project will take with others’ estimates? For me, it’s knowing you’re going to need one extra day – and secretly building it in.
The more projects you work on, the more you are able to plan effectively, and a big part of that is with knowing how long it will take from done? to done.
When I was young, I had no sense of being able to estimate how long it would take to complete a project. Similarly, my son’s Eagle Project, recently finished, required an extra work day at the last minute, for example, because the work took significantly more man-hours than he had estimated. That isn’t a fault, it’s simply a skill to develop.
Now, I usually have a pretty good estimate of how many hours of work to complete a project, and can plan accordingly. That said, my students are often in need of false deadlines because they aren’t able to see how long it will take. Giving them concrete, real deadlines that allow for post-deadline growth is essential to enabling my students to perform at their peak.
One extra day: knowing you’re going to need it is the key.