I am deep into must get project completed mode, since it is due in 2 weeks (although I am pretending that it is only one week until the deadline). As I work on this project I have noted a strange but deeply meaningful phenomenon, which I have dubbed Wall’s M.Ed. Project Principle (Wall’s Principle, if you want a shorter version).
The project will always be ready in 3 weeks.
This is true regardless of the amount of time spent working on the project, or the time until the deadline. When starting, one thinks This should only take me about 3 weeks. When in the midst of the project, one thinks I should have things wrapped up in another three weeks. When the deadline is 2 weeks away, one thinks Gosh, I wish I had another 3 weeks instead of only 2. Even when the project is complete, one thinks Hmmm - I could really make this a lot better with a few quick revisions; It would only take me about 3 weeks.
I’d like to refine this principle if I can. I should have it all worked out in about … well, check back in a while and we’ll see how things are going.
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March 14th, 2007 at 13:21
I think this would be a sibling of the “Scotty Principle” where things always are quoted as taking longer than they actually will.
In a perfect world, the completion of any sigular task should only take 3 weeks.
Good luck with that.