Showerthought: my old mentor told me to always double my time estimates for ABQ clients back in 2017

I laughed it off then but after a $300 web dev job in Rio Rancho taking 4 weeks instead of 2, I finally see why he said that - has anyone else had a local gig balloon way past what you guessed?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_daniel2d ago

It's wild how that rule applies to almost everything in life, not just jobs. You see it with people planning home renovations or even just fixing a car, they always forget that real life throws random curveballs at you. The whole "double it" thing is just a cheat code for dealing with the fact that nothing ever goes exactly to plan. Once you start paying attention, you notice it's basically the hidden rule of trying to get anything done that involves other people or weather or materials.

troyc172d ago

Double down on @lisas78's dirt comment, honestly. I've seen concrete work in ABQ get messed up just because the ground dried out too fast after a pour. That whole area near the river has that weird clay-sand mix that shifts like crazy when water hits it. You nail down a timeline and then a sudden storm rolls through and you're waiting three days for everything to dry again. Plus clients always forget that you can't rush certain stuff like foundation settling or curing times. That mentor of yours probably saved you a ton of headaches even if it felt like overkill at first.

lisas782d ago

Five years ago I took on a little flagstone path job for a guy in Corrales. Said it would take three days tops. Thirteen days later I was still out there trying to level the stupid base because the soil kept shifting. My mentor used to say New Mexico dirt has a mind of its own in the summer heat. He was right. Now I always tell clients a week even if I think it's a two day job. Take this with a grain of salt but I've learned the hard way that shade trees and monsoon season will wreck any timeline you set.