July 17, 2019 • 8 mins
Good time managers become masters at the skill of estimating time
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to figure out how long things will take.
This way you can make wise choices about how to
plan your life. I decided to do an episode on
(00:25):
this topic after getting a note from Before Breakfast listeners Zoe,
who has learned how useful time estimates can be. Zoe
wrote in that I once heard a rule that if
a task takes under five minutes, don't add it to
your to do list, just do it. She says that
I lived by this for quite a while, but found
that it didn't always work. For example, when I'm grocery
(00:47):
shopping and I randomly remember that I need to reschedule
an appointment, I wasn't going to call the office in
the middle of the cereal aisle, so I adapted the
rule just a bit. She says that my trick is
when I write things on my to do list, I
include a time estimate in minutes next to the task. Then,
when I am ready to tackle my to do list
(01:09):
and I become overwhelmed by the length and don't know
where to start, I knock off the tasks that are
under five minutes. First. This boosts my motivation because I
can cross off some quick winds and my list is
already shorter. She also says that the other benefit of
the time estimate is that when I have free time,
(01:30):
I can pick which task fits the time frame I have.
I think that this idea of including time estimates on
a to do list is wise. In general, having an
accurate sense of how long things will take is what
separates time management masters from everyone else. It is a
very useful skill. I also know that it is a
(01:54):
rare skill. Time estimation is really really hard. It's challenging
for a number of reasons. Sometimes people are just oblivious.
There are people who think it takes thirty minutes to
get to work, even though it takes forty five minutes
every day and has for the past week. I don't know,
(02:14):
Maybe the last five days have all been atypical. Maybe
in this person's fantasy world, no one else should be
on the road at eight am. In any case, the
estimate is wildly optimistic. Other times, we're dealing with complex
or highly variable tasks. If you've never done something before,
it's hard to know how long it will take. Or
(02:36):
maybe there are a lot of what ifs. This past spring,
I learned that the length of my nine year olds
little league games varied widely based on the skills of
the other team's pitchers. Nine year olds are still figuring
out the pitching thing, and sometimes there would be long
innings with lots of walks, and then some really good
(02:57):
pitchers would strike out three batters in a row, appelling
the game forward with rather ferocious velocity. So time estimation
is hard, but it's also really important. As Zoe pointed out,
it helps you figure out what you can fit in
any given unit of time. If you've got an hour,
you can't do four tasks requiring twenty minutes apiece. Frankly,
(03:21):
you'll probably have trouble getting through three because switching between
tasks takes time. But maybe you could do to twenty
minute ones and then to five minute ones and emerge
on the other side of the hour feeling accomplished. Or
you could skip this estimation step and just hope Superman
will reverse the Earth and turn back time. I'm always
(03:44):
amazed by how persistently hopeful people can be, and by
hopeful I mean delusional. People will create to do lists
that are completely unrelated to the amount of time available.
You cannot fit fourteen hours of tasks into an eight
hour work day. This is what leads to people feeling
incredibly behind. But it's not about discipline, it's not about talent,
(04:09):
it's about physics. In any case, accurate time estimates can
help you make more reasonable task lists. They can also
help you figure out when to say no or to
ask for help. Ten hours of tasks that are due
in six hours must be spread over more than one person,
and as Zoe points out, accurate time estimates can also
(04:32):
help you use bits of time. I have ten minutes
before this call, and I estimate that calling to move
an appointment will take five minutes. Bingo, we have a winner.
Of course, this raises the question of how we can
learn to estimate tasks correctly, or at least get better
at this skill. This is one reason I suggest people
(04:52):
try tracking their time. You can start to see there
in black and white how long things take. It is
hard to write down day after day that a drive
takes forty five minutes and persist in believing it takes thirty.
You can try, but hopefully rational sorts will respond to
a preponderance of evidence. You can also start to see ranges.
(05:16):
We do this naturally for some things. For instance, the
drive to the airport is forty five to sixty minutes,
depending on traffic. You can come up with a range
for any variable task, then budget your time based on
the upper limit. If you get lucky, great you can
go find some other stuff to do. But if you
hit the top of the range, you're still okay. You
(05:38):
can break big tasks down into constituent parts. Preparing a
presentation is vague, but you could budget thirty minutes for outlining,
another thirty for finding the stats that will help make
your case. In an hour or so to make the slides,
build in another hour to practice twice. You can also
ask other people. Maybe you've never written this sort of report,
(05:59):
but Pete, who used to be on your team, has
budget ten minutes to call Pete see what he says.
Of course, Pete might be wrong, because, as we've noted,
many people are bad at estimation, but his estimate gives
you a starting point that you can then revise as
you go, and finally, when all else fails, bid high.
(06:22):
If Zoe puts down that it will take five minutes
to move an appointment, but she calls and the receptionist
solves her problem in thirty seconds. She's not going to
be unhappy, whereas if she tells herself it will take
one minute and she tries to slip it in between
other things, and then she starts hearing that hold music
and then her manager is calling right at the time
she said she would. Well, that sounds stressful. So when
(06:44):
you're making your to do lists, be sure to include
time estimates and then, just for fun, add up the estimates.
Does this number look like less than the amount you
plan to work today? If so, right, If not, time
to go back and change something. I promise this will
(07:05):
help you feel less busy while getting more done in
the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
(07:29):
Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's B the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i
heeart media dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled out
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
(07:57):
I heart Radio. For more podcasts from heart Radio, visit
the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows. H
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to figure out how long things will take.
This way you can make wise choices about how to
plan your life. I decided to do an episode on
(00:25):
this topic after getting a note from Before Breakfast listeners Zoe,
who has learned how useful time estimates can be. Zoe
wrote in that I once heard a rule that if
a task takes under five minutes, don't add it to
your to do list, just do it. She says that
I lived by this for quite a while, but found
that it didn't always work. For example, when I'm grocery
(00:47):
shopping and I randomly remember that I need to reschedule
an appointment, I wasn't going to call the office in
the middle of the cereal aisle, so I adapted the
rule just a bit. She says that my trick is
when I write things on my to do list, I
include a time estimate in minutes next to the task. Then,
when I am ready to tackle my to do list
(01:09):
and I become overwhelmed by the length and don't know
where to start, I knock off the tasks that are
under five minutes. First. This boosts my motivation because I
can cross off some quick winds and my list is
already shorter. She also says that the other benefit of
the time estimate is that when I have free time,
(01:30):
I can pick which task fits the time frame I have.
I think that this idea of including time estimates on
a to do list is wise. In general, having an
accurate sense of how long things will take is what
separates time management masters from everyone else. It is a
very useful skill. I also know that it is a
(01:54):
rare skill. Time estimation is really really hard. It's challenging
for a number of reasons. Sometimes people are just oblivious.
There are people who think it takes thirty minutes to
get to work, even though it takes forty five minutes
every day and has for the past week. I don't know,
(02:14):
Maybe the last five days have all been atypical. Maybe
in this person's fantasy world, no one else should be
on the road at eight am. In any case, the
estimate is wildly optimistic. Other times, we're dealing with complex
or highly variable tasks. If you've never done something before,
it's hard to know how long it will take. Or
(02:36):
maybe there are a lot of what ifs. This past spring,
I learned that the length of my nine year olds
little league games varied widely based on the skills of
the other team's pitchers. Nine year olds are still figuring
out the pitching thing, and sometimes there would be long
innings with lots of walks, and then some really good
(02:57):
pitchers would strike out three batters in a row, appelling
the game forward with rather ferocious velocity. So time estimation
is hard, but it's also really important. As Zoe pointed out,
it helps you figure out what you can fit in
any given unit of time. If you've got an hour,
you can't do four tasks requiring twenty minutes apiece. Frankly,
(03:21):
you'll probably have trouble getting through three because switching between
tasks takes time. But maybe you could do to twenty
minute ones and then to five minute ones and emerge
on the other side of the hour feeling accomplished. Or
you could skip this estimation step and just hope Superman
will reverse the Earth and turn back time. I'm always
(03:44):
amazed by how persistently hopeful people can be, and by
hopeful I mean delusional. People will create to do lists
that are completely unrelated to the amount of time available.
You cannot fit fourteen hours of tasks into an eight
hour work day. This is what leads to people feeling
incredibly behind. But it's not about discipline, it's not about talent,
(04:09):
it's about physics. In any case, accurate time estimates can
help you make more reasonable task lists. They can also
help you figure out when to say no or to
ask for help. Ten hours of tasks that are due
in six hours must be spread over more than one person,
and as Zoe points out, accurate time estimates can also
(04:32):
help you use bits of time. I have ten minutes
before this call, and I estimate that calling to move
an appointment will take five minutes. Bingo, we have a winner.
Of course, this raises the question of how we can
learn to estimate tasks correctly, or at least get better
at this skill. This is one reason I suggest people
(04:52):
try tracking their time. You can start to see there
in black and white how long things take. It is
hard to write down day after day that a drive
takes forty five minutes and persist in believing it takes thirty.
You can try, but hopefully rational sorts will respond to
a preponderance of evidence. You can also start to see ranges.
(05:16):
We do this naturally for some things. For instance, the
drive to the airport is forty five to sixty minutes,
depending on traffic. You can come up with a range
for any variable task, then budget your time based on
the upper limit. If you get lucky, great you can
go find some other stuff to do. But if you
hit the top of the range, you're still okay. You
(05:38):
can break big tasks down into constituent parts. Preparing a
presentation is vague, but you could budget thirty minutes for outlining,
another thirty for finding the stats that will help make
your case. In an hour or so to make the slides,
build in another hour to practice twice. You can also
ask other people. Maybe you've never written this sort of report,
(05:59):
but Pete, who used to be on your team, has
budget ten minutes to call Pete see what he says.
Of course, Pete might be wrong, because, as we've noted,
many people are bad at estimation, but his estimate gives
you a starting point that you can then revise as
you go, and finally, when all else fails, bid high.
(06:22):
If Zoe puts down that it will take five minutes
to move an appointment, but she calls and the receptionist
solves her problem in thirty seconds. She's not going to
be unhappy, whereas if she tells herself it will take
one minute and she tries to slip it in between
other things, and then she starts hearing that hold music
and then her manager is calling right at the time
she said she would. Well, that sounds stressful. So when
(06:44):
you're making your to do lists, be sure to include
time estimates and then, just for fun, add up the estimates.
Does this number look like less than the amount you
plan to work today? If so, right, If not, time
to go back and change something. I promise this will
(07:05):
help you feel less busy while getting more done in
the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
(07:29):
Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's B the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i
heeart media dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled out
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
(07:57):
I heart Radio. For more podcasts from heart Radio, visit
the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows. H
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
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