How good are you at estimating how long something will take to do?

[welsummerchicks]

I think that some people have an awful hard time estimating time for a given task.

How do you do at that, and how do you see others doing at it?

 

[SillyChicken]

that's a pretty vague statement... depends on what it is... who's doing it.. how much experience they've had...............

 

[33yardbirds]

When I worked full time I was pretty good at it. Now I seem to underestimate coffee breaks, smoke breaks and BS sessions with stopper bys.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I'm generally bad at keeping track of how much time has lapsed. But, at a job like my current one, everything is so routine that I know how long a room will take me down to the seconds more often then not. Unfamiliar rooms or days when things are out of order/emergencies or annoyances pop up...all bets are off. I can generally have a pretty accurate estimate of how long an unfamiliar room will take though if I know the exact cage type, hood status and position, type of rack, water bottle type, who was in there the day before (ie. do they do an awesome job or leave their work for you), and number of cages. That usually doesn't happen though.

Outside of work, I'm all too happy to throw away the clock. I hate feeling like I'm living by a timer. Heck, I only know what day and date it is if I'm at work. ...Which is probably why I've forgotten my own birthday before.

 

[Fierlin1182]

I generally know how much time it'll take me to do something: not enough. Once I get down to work, I can whack off a major paper in a couple of hours... People are always going on at me to keep busy and do more as I have so much free time. I'll have to think of more projects to start on

(The hard part is getting down to work. Right now I'm meant to be preparing revision notes for English. Instead I'm working on my latest movie script... anyone know much about themes and character relationships in Pride and Prejudice or Much Ado about Nothing? I can't seem to find any notes from the beginning of the year.

)

 

[faerielady]

Depends on what I need to time.

I can tell you how long it takes me to do my job (not long), how long a paper will take after reading the rubric, etc. Ask me how long it'll take me to fix something electronic or mechanical and I'm going to have to act like Scotty. Take my original estimate, multiply by 2, and add a bit more just because. That way MAYBE I can pull off a "miracle".

 

[justbugged]

I am terrible at estimating time. I also find that there are times where I know that I am working as hard as I can. The faster I try to go, the slower I seem to move. It's like trying to run in deep water. It makes me crazy, because I can see from the clock that I am not moving as fast as someone else would have moved.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

The hard part is getting down to work. Right now I'm meant to be preparing revision notes for English. Instead I'm working on my latest movie script... anyone know much about themes and character relationships in Pride and Prejudice

Ugh, I'd work on the script instead. I'm going to get whacked for this...but I find Jane Austen to be terribly overrated.

I prefer Thomas Hardy.

Pride and Prejudice is the only reading test I did not ace in junior high (I flunked it). My teacher said, "oh, it's alright dear...I know the symbolism is really hard for young minds to comprehend". I was too shy to tell her that I couldn't stomach anything past the third chapter. It was assigned as reading three more times within my life, and I had to watch two movie versions. I can't say I warmed up to it.

My husband assures me that "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" is a much worthier read.​

 

[Fierlin1182]

Quote:
Ugh, I'd work on the script instead. I'm going to get whacked for this...but I find Jane Austen to be terribly overrated.

I prefer Thomas Hardy.

Pride and Prejudice is the only reading test I did not ace in junior high (I flunked it). My teacher said, "oh, it's alright dear...I know the symbolism is really hard for young minds to comprehend". I was too shy to tell her that I couldn't stomach anything past the third chapter. It was assigned as reading three more times within my life, and I had to watch two movie versions. I can't say I warmed up to it.

My husband assures me that "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" is a much worthier read.

I've never been a fan of Jane Austen, or pretty much anything with the word "classic" associated with it

I still don't get the symbolism: there's meant to BE symbolism?! I get okay marks for the essays, but they usually leave my brain feeling sore for several days. My total interest in the subject amounts to about zero.

We are, however, watching Erin Brockovich in another class, which is more up my alley.

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

I'm good at guessing anything OTHER than when the babies would show up. Mostly because they totally ran on their own schedule, not mine.