by Deborah C. Washington

Created on: July 26, 2010

“He’ll be late for his own funeral!” Could someone say this about you? Do your friends have to tell you to meet them an hour earlier just to be sure you are there on time? If so, you are allowing time to slip away instead of controlling it.

 There are different reasons why people fall into the category of perpetual latecomers, and if you really want to overcome this habit, you can.

One reason for constant tardiness, is trying to do too many things before you leave. The key to leaving on time is to be prepared. Don’t wait until the last minute to decide what you will wear, if it is clean and to gather what you will need to take with you. If you can, you need to plan a day ahead. If not, don’t wait until an hour before you need to leave. Start as early as you can.

Don’t get sidetracked by other things that take your attention from the task at hand. Stay focused on your goal of being there on time. Only tackle the necessary actions that will get you out the door. You can water the plants or check your emails when you get home. They will be waiting for you and they wait more patiently than people. Ask yourself, “Is doing this helpful in getting me out the door?” If not, skip it.

Set your clocks ten minutes ahead. Even though you know this, it can help motivate you. Have a clock in every room. Set a timer to go off fifteen minutes before you need to leave. When it goes off, take only the fifteen minutes to do what you need to do to get out the door. If you organized your things ahead of time, you will have no problem meeting this deadline.

Perhaps money talks for you. Make a pact with your friends that you will pay them a “late fine”-$1 for every minute that you are late. Being accountable to other people will help you stay focused. If you don’t want to pay your friends, fine yourself. Put that money aside in a savings account. Soon you will see how often you’ve been late and although it is a bad habit, you will reap some rewards by fattening your savings account. You may need it if you are late to work too often and find yourself without a job.

When you are late you are spending other people’s time too. This disrupts their schedule, wastes their time and gives the impression that they are not important to you. It is disrespectful. Stop and consider the repercussions of your actions on other people and maybe that alone will provide you with the motive to break this habit.

 Time is limited. Use it wisely. Stay focused and with determination you can learn to be in control of time and as a result, will feel better about yourself. Who knows, maybe you’ll even be early once in a while.

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