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I just found an excellent paper:
BIAS AND ACCURACY IN ESTIMATES OF TASK DURATION
Author(s): JOSEPHS RA, HAHN ED
Source: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES 61 (2): 202-213 FEB 1995
From the abstract:
When asked to estimate the duration of various academic-type tasks (e.g., the time needed to complete a writing assignment, solve a series of problems, or read a manuscript), subjects demonstrated a marked tendency to trade accuracy in favor of minimizing cognitive effort in their selection of planning strategies. This tendency resulted in a drastic underestimation of the time required to complete the task.
This might be well known for all academics (most people I know underestimate time needed to complete an assignment).
Reading estimates are particularly bad, and this could easily be solved by tracking (automatically) how long it takes you to read each article (extremely easy if you read them off the screen).
It seems that improving your estimation skills can take you a long way. Currently I’m trying to construct a todo list with all steps that a project needs till completion (using the granularity ideas previously mentioned, and the program toDoList with time estimation visible next to each task). Hopefully I won’t be late for my next deadline, which is in 15 days!
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AMA citation:
Quesada J. Bias and Accuracy in Estimates of Task Duration using Academic Tasks. Academic Productivity. 2007. Available at: https://academicproductivity.com/2007/bias-and-accuracy-in-estimates-of-task-duration-using-academic-tasks/. Accessed July 29, 2011.
APA citation:
Quesada, Jose. (2007). Bias and Accuracy in Estimates of Task Duration using Academic Tasks. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from Academic Productivity Web site: https://academicproductivity.com/2007/bias-and-accuracy-in-estimates-of-task-duration-using-academic-tasks/
Chicago citation:
Quesada, Jose. 2007. Bias and Accuracy in Estimates of Task Duration using Academic Tasks. Academic Productivity. https://academicproductivity.com/2007/bias-and-accuracy-in-estimates-of-task-duration-using-academic-tasks/ (accessed July 29, 2011).
Harvard citation:
Quesada, J 2007, Bias and Accuracy in Estimates of Task Duration using Academic Tasks, Academic Productivity. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from
MLA citation:
Quesada, Jose. "Bias and Accuracy in Estimates of Task Duration using Academic Tasks." 15 Jan. 2007. Academic Productivity. Accessed 29 Jul. 2011.
This entry was posted on Monday, January 15th, 2007 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Reading, Time management, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 17th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Nice find!