Do You Have the Time?

In a recent post, I mentioned a blog I have been reading. In his post, Cognition and Chance, Kent Blumberg makes some great points about how we think, assess information, and make decisions. One of the conclusions he drew really resonated with me. "Our estimates of time and cost are almost always too low. "

I saw this in action this month when I had my house painted. The estimate I received from the contractor was a very reasonable price, and he said that it would only take a weekend. In fact, the job took two weekends--effectively raising the costs to him as an independent contractor.

How does this relate to us in our profession? When we lose sight of the fact that time is a resource that requires management, we set ourselves up for the inevitable costs: money, morale, quality, credibility, etc.

If you are interested in taking a look at how you can be more effective with the time you have, browse through this slideshow on Time Management.