TIPS
If you're battling chronic lateness, there is hope. According to the
experts, you can avoid procrastination and tardiness by changing your
habits and tweaking your routines. Here are some things you can do to
turn lateness into punctuality
Steps
1. Acknowledge that you are a person who is having a hard time being
punctual. As with any problem, you cannot fix it if you're in denial that
it's a problem at all. But if your chronic tardiness is beginning to strain
your job and/or your relationships, the first thing you need to do is
acknowledge this as a weakness so you can begin to work toward
correcting it. Although if it is a rational problem, like traffic or small
children, there is no needs to feel bad-just keep working on it!
2. Be conscious of the time.
*Keep your watch accurate. For some people, moving up the time
on their watch will help them be earlier. For others, they will
subconsciously know that the time is wrong and so they just
disregard it altogether.
*Keep a clock, phone, computer or anything that displays time in
each room of your house. One of the easiest ways to run late is
simply by not realizing that the time is going by as quickly as it
is.
*Set all your clocks and watches to the same time.
*Don't be an optimist. Things usually take significantly longer
than you'd expect, even without major delays. If you have a
dinner date at 6:30 PM, don't think you can work in your yard
until 6:00, then shower, change, and drive across town and
make it on time. Realistically assess the time you will take on
each step and then add 10 minutes more to allow for unexpected
delays, or you can get to the restaurant first and get a good
seat, or if your date's early too, you can spend more time with
each other!
3. Wake up when you're supposed to wake up. Don't hit the snooze
button, linger in bed, and watch TV at the very start of your day.
Maybe even try setting your clock 10 minutes earlier than you need to.
If you have difficulty with this, move your alarm clock to somewhere
out of reach from your bed; that way, you have to get up to turn it off.
Acquire the habit of sitting up, stretching, and getting out of bed as
soon as the alarm goes off. If you can't get out of bed on time, you
may be going to bed too late. Try sleeping earlier to allow yourself at
least 7 hours sleep. By getting up late you are setting a pattern of
lateness for the rest of the day.
4. Commit yourself to being 15 minutes early for everything. If you
have to be to work at 8:00, don't even tell yourself this. Just tell
yourself (and everyone else who listens- but don’t annoy them or
make them thinks that they are late or early!) "I have to be at work at
7:45." If you do this, you will be on time even with little unforeseen
interruptions. You will be on time even with a traffic jam. And on those
rare times that you actually show up 15 minutes early; you will get
kudos for being an enthusiastic employee. You can also chat with
others who are early, and that will make you happy before work!
5. Bring something you can read in short segments almost everywhere
you go. This makes it easy to be early, since in the 10-15 minutes you
have before an appointment/event, you can get a few pages of reading
done. This makes it feel like you're getting something done (and you
are) while you are waiting, if you do have to wait. You can get a ton of
reading done this way, too.
6. Re-examine how long your daily tasks really take. For example, you
might be under the impression that you take a 15 minute shower,
assuming that starting at 6:30 you can leave at 6:45. But, what about
the time you spend before and after the actual shower? It's quite
possible you really spend 20 or even 30 minutes in the bathroom, and
that's why you can never leave by 6:45. So, think about the things
you do every day, and try and keep an estimate of how long it takes
you. Just saying to yourself” Right about 15 mins for that" can fix your
lateness and takes about 5 seconds.
7. Make a note of where you should be in regards to time. For
instance, if you have to leave your house at 8 for work, tell yourself,
"It's 7:20, I should be getting in the shower." "It's 7:35; I should be
brushing my teeth." This will help keep you on track. It is useful to
think up a morning schedule to get used to this habit.
8. Go to sleep on time. This makes it a lot easier to get up on time
and helps you stay on task during the day. Unless you know
otherwise, assume you need eight hours of sleep every night. By far
the majority of people need at least this much sleep. College students
and younger need more. Most people underestimate their sleep needs.
punctual. As with any problem, you cannot fix it if you're in denial that
it's a problem at all. But if your chronic tardiness is beginning to strain
your job and/or your relationships, the first thing you need to do is
acknowledge this as a weakness so you can begin to work toward
correcting it. Although if it is a rational problem, like traffic or small
children, there is no needs to feel bad-just keep working on it!
2. Be conscious of the time.
*Keep your watch accurate. For some people, moving up the time
on their watch will help them be earlier. For others, they will
subconsciously know that the time is wrong and so they just
disregard it altogether.
*Keep a clock, phone, computer or anything that displays time in
each room of your house. One of the easiest ways to run late is
simply by not realizing that the time is going by as quickly as it
is.
*Set all your clocks and watches to the same time.
*Don't be an optimist. Things usually take significantly longer
than you'd expect, even without major delays. If you have a
dinner date at 6:30 PM, don't think you can work in your yard
until 6:00, then shower, change, and drive across town and
make it on time. Realistically assess the time you will take on
each step and then add 10 minutes more to allow for unexpected
delays, or you can get to the restaurant first and get a good
seat, or if your date's early too, you can spend more time with
each other!
3. Wake up when you're supposed to wake up. Don't hit the snooze
button, linger in bed, and watch TV at the very start of your day.
Maybe even try setting your clock 10 minutes earlier than you need to.
If you have difficulty with this, move your alarm clock to somewhere
out of reach from your bed; that way, you have to get up to turn it off.
Acquire the habit of sitting up, stretching, and getting out of bed as
soon as the alarm goes off. If you can't get out of bed on time, you
may be going to bed too late. Try sleeping earlier to allow yourself at
least 7 hours sleep. By getting up late you are setting a pattern of
lateness for the rest of the day.
4. Commit yourself to being 15 minutes early for everything. If you
have to be to work at 8:00, don't even tell yourself this. Just tell
yourself (and everyone else who listens- but don’t annoy them or
make them thinks that they are late or early!) "I have to be at work at
7:45." If you do this, you will be on time even with little unforeseen
interruptions. You will be on time even with a traffic jam. And on those
rare times that you actually show up 15 minutes early; you will get
kudos for being an enthusiastic employee. You can also chat with
others who are early, and that will make you happy before work!
5. Bring something you can read in short segments almost everywhere
you go. This makes it easy to be early, since in the 10-15 minutes you
have before an appointment/event, you can get a few pages of reading
done. This makes it feel like you're getting something done (and you
are) while you are waiting, if you do have to wait. You can get a ton of
reading done this way, too.
6. Re-examine how long your daily tasks really take. For example, you
might be under the impression that you take a 15 minute shower,
assuming that starting at 6:30 you can leave at 6:45. But, what about
the time you spend before and after the actual shower? It's quite
possible you really spend 20 or even 30 minutes in the bathroom, and
that's why you can never leave by 6:45. So, think about the things
you do every day, and try and keep an estimate of how long it takes
you. Just saying to yourself” Right about 15 mins for that" can fix your
lateness and takes about 5 seconds.
7. Make a note of where you should be in regards to time. For
instance, if you have to leave your house at 8 for work, tell yourself,
"It's 7:20, I should be getting in the shower." "It's 7:35; I should be
brushing my teeth." This will help keep you on track. It is useful to
think up a morning schedule to get used to this habit.
8. Go to sleep on time. This makes it a lot easier to get up on time
and helps you stay on task during the day. Unless you know
otherwise, assume you need eight hours of sleep every night. By far
the majority of people need at least this much sleep. College students
and younger need more. Most people underestimate their sleep needs.
9.Pick out your clothes the night before (don't forget your
underclothes and shoes!). If you need to bring something with you,
set it with your car keys or purse.
10. Old military adage: If you're not 5 minutes early, you're 10 minutes
late!
Warnings
*Remember your reputation is on the line. The power of showing up
is limitless.
*Don’t fool yourself into thinking nobody notices the latecomer. If
you think you are more than occasionally late to work, school,
church, appointments, etc., you can be sure others have noticed
too.
underclothes and shoes!). If you need to bring something with you,
set it with your car keys or purse.
10. Old military adage: If you're not 5 minutes early, you're 10 minutes
late!
Warnings
*Remember your reputation is on the line. The power of showing up
is limitless.
*Don’t fool yourself into thinking nobody notices the latecomer. If
you think you are more than occasionally late to work, school,
church, appointments, etc., you can be sure others have noticed
too.
