Make a guess, double the number, and then move to the next larger unit of time. This rule scales tasks in a very interesting way: a one-minute task explodes by a factor of 120 to take two hours. A one-hour job explodes by "only" a factor 48 to take two days, while a one-day job grows by a factor of 14 to take two weeks.

—Poul-Henning Kamp