Do you have trouble estimating how long it will take you to complete a task or project?
Ever wish you could estimate your time more accurately?
Below are six tips to help you better estimate and manage your time at home, at work, or anywhere!
1. Use similar past experiences and activities as a guide.
There’s something to be said about learning one from one’s past. If you’re unsure as to how to budget your time for a new activity, simply take a stroll down memory lane to see how much time you spent on a similar activity. If you’re unsure how long it will take you change after your Zumba class and head off to your next appointment, you might consider, for instance, how long it took you to change out of your work clothes, shower, put on a clean new outfit and go out to dinner with a friend. Your past experiences don’t have to be exact replicas of your current activities, just look out for similar components such as preparation and travel time.
2. Appropriately identify time-dependent activities and actions.
Which of your current activities are truly time dependent and time sensitive? Are there any specific deadlines you need to keep in mind? It might be as simple as shifting your priorities. For example, estimating how long it will take you to complete your preliminary research for a first draft of a brand-new, 2,500 word blog post that is due at work one week from Wednesday is a bit more important than estimating how long it will take you to browse through this month’s issues of your favorite fashion magazines at home.
3. Track your time.
The best way to make sure you’ve actually estimated your time correctly is to track your time. There’s no denying the read-out on a digital timer or analog clock face; it’s crystal clear how much time has passed and/or how much time you’ve spent. Try tracking your time over a series of repeated instances. You could try tracking the length of your weekly check-in meetings at work or how much time you spend on Google+ each day. Your time log will help you make better decisions and will ultimately help you estimate your time more effectively.
4. Make a detailed list of tasks to complete.
Not sure how long it’s going to take you to plan your grandma’s 90th birthday party? Try writing out a detailed list of smaller tasks related to a larger project. In the example above you might write out, “Create guest list,” “Send out invitations,” “Buy decorations,” “Buy food,” “Order cake,” and so on. You can then estimate how long it will take you to complete each of those smaller tasks. When you’re finished, simply add up all of those time estimates and you’ll have a general idea of how long you’ll need to complete the larger project at hand.
5. Add in a buffer of time.
One of the easiest ways to better manage your time is to simply give yourself a buffer of additional time. A time buffer can be a schedule-saver in case you’re caught in traffic or weather delays, you receive an urgent work request, or you just don’t give yourself enough time in the first place to do something. When in doubt, just give yourself more time!
6. Know how long it takes you to complete a task.
How long does it take you to go through your emails in the morning? How about walking your dog, running a financial report, or putting on the finishing touches to a newly created logo for a client? Think for a moment about how long it actually takes you to complete a specific task. If you still need to further tune your estimates, ask yourself whether or not the task is something with which you are familiar. If it’s a familiar one, you’ll probably be able to complete it rather quickly; if not, it’s probably wise to add in a bit more time to your estimate.
How do you estimate your time? Do you use past experiences as a guide or do you take an educated guess? Leave a comment below.
Featured photo credit: clocks/blue2likeyou via flickr
