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PMI Orange County’s dinner meeting on November 12th, 2025 featured a practical, mindset-shifting keynote from Tammo Wilkens titled “You Always Have Enough Time.” What sounded at first like a paradox quickly unfolded inhttps://pmi-oc.org/blog/you-always-have-enough-time-to a useful toolkit for any project leader wrestling with deadlines, constraints, and the familiar pressure of “not enough time.”

The Central Idea

Tammo’s core message was straightforward and simple: deadlines are set by the customer, but whether a project gets done on time depends on how we choose to approach the work. If you feel like there isn’t enough time, that doesn’t necessarily mean the deadline is impossible. It often means you haven’t yet found the right way to get it done.

Reframing the phrase “Can we do it?” to “How can we get it done?”  is the mental pivot Tammo asked us to make. It frees teams from “business as usual” thinking and opens space for creative scheduling, different techniques, and new technologies.

Scheduling as a Modeling Tool

Tammo emphasized the schedule not as a clerical chore but as a flowchart and modeling tool that makes the project visible. A schedule is a picture of the project’s logic and constraints; used well, it reveals opportunities for rearranging work, uncovering slack, and safely compressing timelines.

One practical concept he highlighted was free float, which is the slack in a task before it affects the subsequent tasks. Free float, Tammo argued, is your best friend: uncovering and using float can create breathing room without changing customer commitments.

Breakout Activity: Build a House without Nails

To drive the point home, attendees took part in a lively breakout exercise: each table brainstormed ways to build a house without nails and still meet a fixed deadline. Ideas ranged from near-term practical options — metal fasteners or alternative joining techniques — to more radical solutions like 3D concrete printing or even  ideas such as an igloo. When Tammo asked whether anyone had used AI, he showed a ChatGPT response, showing how generative tools can quickly surface unconventional solutions the team might not have considered.

Practical Takeaways

Tammo closed with a concise list of practical reminders every project manager can use immediately:

• You always have enough time (if you find the right approach). Reframe problems from feasibility to possibility.
• Think outside the box. Business as usual is often the biggest barrier to meeting tight deadlines.
• Use free float. Identify and exploit slack in the schedule rather than assuming none exists.
• Empower your team to own the schedule. The team should build and maintain the schedule; leaders should clear obstacles and stay out of the way.
• Expect setbacks. When things go wrong, it’s rarely catastrophic; it’s information to replan.
• Leverage AI as a brainstorming partner. Tools like ChatGPT can expand your solution set quickly and cheaply.
  

Why This Matters

Tammo’s talk was a reminder that project time management is as much about creativity and leadership as it is about tools and processes. For PMI-OC members leading projects in diverse industries, the blend of a strong scheduling discipline with a willingness to rethink constraints is a powerful combination.

A big thanks to Tammo Wilkens for an engaging, actionable keynote, and to everyone who participated in the discussion and breakout activity. If last night proved anything, it’s that deadlines are invitations to think differently, to model boldly, and to mobilize teams to find the time that’s already there.