"If everything goes right,,,

square1 · Sep 19, 2015

....there is enough time to get <insert your task here> done. If not I'm screwed" has become my new motto

Rain...shorter daylight hours...work...etc...these things are conspiring against me

300UGUY · Sep 19, 2015

square1 said:
....there is enough time to get <insert your task here> done. If not I'm screwed" has become my new motto

****, I know a lot of folks who live that!

newbury · Sep 19, 2015

square1 said:
....there is enough time to get <insert your task here> done. If not I'm screwed" has become my new motto
Rain...shorter daylight hours...work...etc...these things are conspiring against me

It rarely does in any complex task that relies on "If".
Plan on things not going right, allow some recovery time, and if it's done early figure your lucky.

bigtiller · Sep 19, 2015

I agree newbury. We have all had that 10 minute job turn into half a day. Sometimes I just plan on half a day and if i get done before lunch, i'll start another 10 minute project.

2LaneCruzer · Sep 20, 2015

square1 said:
....there is enough time to get <insert your task here> done. If not I'm screwed" has become my new motto
Rain...shorter daylight hours...work...etc...these things are conspiring against me

Hah! That is so apropos! My car club has a big car show every year, and it takes hundreds of hours of work, planning and equivalent dollars to pull it off and make a bit of a profit for a charitable cause; we were right down to the wire. Beautiful show this year, good time had by all, but rain early morning caused lots of no-shows. Chalk it all up to experience, don't dwell on the negative and reminisce on the beautiful classics that braved the elements!

KevT · Sep 20, 2015

Hope for the best, expect the worst. A motto to live by

PHPaul · Sep 21, 2015

My philosophy is "Be a pessimist. If everything turns to crap, it's no more than you expected. If it goes well, it's a pleasant surprise!"

Secondly, there is no such thing as a 10 minute job. You might think it's a 10 minute job, but by the time you factor in the "butfirstigottas", it can take half a day.

Example:

10 minute job: Change the oil in the lawn mower.

butfirstigotta clear out a spot in the garage - 1/2 hour

butfirstigotta scrape all the built-up grass off the bottom of the mower - which turns into an hour because you decided to wirebrush it and hit it with a coat of primer while you were under there.

butfirstigotta find my oil pan - which turns into another hour because you also found that 9/16ths wrench you lost a month ago and that inspires you to clean up the workbench cuz there's a couple of screwdrivers in there somewhere.

butfirstigotta go get some oil cuz I didn't realize I was out of 30wt. Trip to NAPA, and the wife says "Seeing as you're going to town, pick up a few things at the Shop 'n Save for me". Might as well get some beer while I'm in town too. Ran into Jim at the liquor locker, BS'd for a while then stopped by his house to check out his new shotgun.

butfirstigotta eat supper, I was a little late getting home.

Maybe tomorrow?

outinthetalgrass · Sep 21, 2015

The 10 minute job relies on the theory of
"All variables must remain constant" and we all know variables do not usually remain constant, or they wouldn't be called variables.v

2LaneCruzer · Sep 21, 2015

PHPaul said:
My philosophy is "Be a pessimist. If everything turns to crap, it's no more than you expected. If it goes well, it's a pleasant surprise!"

Secondly, there is no such thing as a 10 minute job. You might think it's a 10 minute job, but by the time you factor in the "butfirstigottas", it can take half a day.

Example:

10 minute job: Change the oil in the lawn mower.

butfirstigotta clear out a spot in the garage - 1/2 hour

butfirstigotta scrape all the built-up grass off the bottom of the mower - which turns into an hour because you decided to wirebrush it and hit it with a coat of primer while you were under there.

butfirstigotta find my oil pan - which turns into another hour because you also found that 9/16ths wrench you lost a month ago and that inspires you to clean up the workbench cuz there's a couple of screwdrivers in there somewhere.

butfirstigotta go get some oil cuz I didn't realize I was out of 30wt. Trip to NAPA, and the wife says "Seeing as you're going to town, pick up a few things at the Shop 'n Save for me". Might as well get some beer while I'm in town too. Ran into Jim at the liquor locker, BS'd for a while then stopped by his house to check out his new shotgun.

butfirstigotta eat supper, I was a little late getting home.

Maybe tomorrow?

Hah! So true, so true! Even more so, the older I get. Some day I'll tell you about the time I took on the 10 minute job of retrieving Sharn Jean's contact out of the kitchen sink trap.