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> We get it, your estimate will be off. Many people don't get it. And if you genuinely don't know, then how is claiming you do anything other than writing a ch

> We get it, your estimate will be off. Many people don't get it. And if you genuinely don't know, then how is claiming you do anything other than writing a cheque against an account of unknown balance? If you feel like you don't have a good handle on how to estimate the project, that is an important sign that: - The scope of the project is actually not well defined. - The tools you are going to be using are ones you don't have a lot of experience with and you have a high probability of running into an odd bug that takes a long time to track down - You haven't broken down the task enough. - The task is large enough that you should actually be biting off a smaller piece of it and estimating that. If you think that there is a significant chance of missing a deadline, you should indeed communicate that as soon as possible. That includes during the meeting where you give your estimate. > Stop procrastinating at the start If you find that you do actually have a bunch of time that you're losing at the start, ask yourself what the causes of that are and seek solutions to those causes. - Consistently get good food every day and good sleep every night - Use https://freedom.to/freedom https://freedom.to/freedom to block HN and reddit. - Make sure that you are clear on the projects' goals and the tools you are going to use. - Make sure you know whom you can go to when you need to get clarification on things. But be aware that there are other causes for deadline slip. > this is 100% your fault If you find yourself in on a software team or a state of mind where your top-of-mind question is "who's fault is this?" get out of there. Pointing fingers prevents organisations from making systems-level changes to avoid them. Furthermore, if you get yourself into the mindset of "I failed and am behind on this project and it is my fault and I need to just buckle down, catch up, and fix it." then you will not do yourself or the project any favors. Take a deep breath (or even a brief walk), find a senior engineer that you trust, and ask for their help in thinking about how the project is structured and how it might be estimated.

lojack 10y ago
Keep in mind, these are all things I'd tell myself, not things I'd tell other junior developers. Saying something is my own fault is taking responsibility for things, not pointing fingers. I would never go around blaming junior developers for a project being late and not being told it'd be late. But, when I was a junior developer, I had a tendency to procrastinate at the start of a project and cover up my procrastination by keeping everyone else in the dark. I learned, through time, that over communicating from the outset would help those that relied on my work plan ahead, and it'd also have the effect of helping keep myself on track. A form of personal accountability.

lojack 10y ago

Keep in mind, these are all things I'd tell myself, not things I'd tell other junior developers. Saying something is my own fault is taking responsibility for things, not pointing fingers. I would never go around blaming junior developers for a project being late and not being told it'd be late. But, when I was a junior developer, I had a tendency to procrastinate at the start of a project and cover up my procrastination by keeping everyone else in the dark. I learned, through time, that over communicating from the outset would help those that relied on my work plan ahead, and it'd also have the effect of helping keep myself on track. A form of personal accountability.