&gt;&gt;When I was doing more project work I outright refused to give estimates... Instead I offered broad time ranges that would narrow down to more accurate ones as work progressed.<p>Broad time ranges can also be risky, because people will hear what they want to hear, which is usually the lower end of the range.<p>Which is why I only discuss effort (in hours) rather than timeframes. All of our projects are fixed bid, so the conversation usually goes, &quot;this project will take 150 hours of effort. We don&#x27;t know how long those 150 hours will take to expend.&quot; And in rare cases where we absolutely have to mention a timeframe, we make sure it is <i>not</i> in writing anywhere.