Quite happy to see this one go
I’ve had the worst time getting started on this new project.
It just felt directionless. I really wasn’t clear on what was going on, and had actually asked them for clarification several times, only to end up only moderately more comfortable with a still awkard project. This week I’ve had to just throw everything else aside to make a last ditch effort to create something to show them by Wednesday or Thursday. And I just couldn’t do it.
Well, it turns out I wasn’t the only one in a bind! What does this all mean? Well, the project got put on hold.
That is a wonderful thing indeed!
Now, projects being put on hold can be bad or, rarely, they can be good. Most of my projects are on a proposal basis. So, I generate an estimate, and the client either accepts or not. Accepting the estimate is accepting the project contractually. If a proposal project gets put on hold, this is bad. From a cashflow perspective, an accepted estimate means that we will plan on that amount being available as income the moderately near future. If the project gets put on hold, it means that income is no longer dependable. This is one of the best reasons why you should always take a certain percentage of the estimate up front, so that you are at least somewhat protected in case the project is put on hold. But it still isn’t pleasant. A lot of effort goes into creating an estimate, not to mention the fact that I usually have to set aside time for the project, and navigate other projects around on this assumption.
So since there is no problem financially with having the project on hold, and it was giving me problems to begin with, I’m very happy to see it put on hold. It’s not like I’m not busy enough!