This is gonna be easy…
Some times I will bid on projects calculating the time and bid according to how much time I think it will take me. many times it seems I find a project that will take 2hrs and I will do a good job on it and it ends up creeping to around 4+hrs after rounds and rounds of revisions. These projects tend to compensate for the ones that actually end up being easier than I thought. I end up dissapointed and frustrated because the project took so long. Did it take so long or were my expectations unrealistic?
I am starting to see I should approach each project the same and really think out the time and worst case scenarios before I make a commitment. I could end up eating a lot of hours as I have on a recent project. There is a difference between being competitive and just plain out cheap and quoting a low price in order to get the job. We will definitely learn our lessons on these types of commitments and the importance of considering what we are going to have to sacrifice.
This makes me think of a verse that has to do with really thinking about the price of be a Christ Follower.
Luke 14:28-30
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”
Jesus is sharing that people will have to pay a great price in order to follow him and it’s not going to be “fair” but it will be worth it. The sacrifice is not doing what you want to do any more, but dying to yourself and really surrendering your will to God.
A lot of times as a Christ follower we want the heaven and blessing part but are not willing to suffer the persecution nor are we willing to surrender our will to God’s will. It is important to consider and think about the price and the reward. Some may feel discouraged at first but if you think deeper the reward of Jesus is more than worth it. True followers take the persecution and will surrendering part but it is only by His spirit that we are able to stand firm and reap the benefits.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I have been building sites since 2007 and I have a feel for how long a site is going to take with in my skill set. I don’t keep a log of what I do but I usually work in 3-5 hr increments and have been for over a year now. I have a feel for what I am able to accomplish in this time. Say someone already has a design and they want me to code it. that will take me around 2 hrs. if don’t have a design yet that will another 3-5hrs and if the want a blog that will be another 2-4 hrs. No numbers are precise but I am learning it is better to round up than to round down because when putting out a product where you are going to make it look as good as you can it will end up taking the longer time.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
How do you guess how long a project is going to take? Do you keep a log of what you do and how long it takes?