We all have been late for something in our lives. It is absolutely normal. There are days when life happens, and nothing goes as per the way we wanted. Maybe you forgot to buy the groceries from the store, didn’t put the fuel in the vehicle a night before, or the newborn didn’t let you sleep. But there are some people who, even in the absence of any such thing, show up late, almost always. These people have a chronic case of lateness, and they don’t seem to fix it for themselves. These people do not honor the workplace meetings, submit projects and assignments on time, and forget about their appointments, dinner meetings, and other necessary obligations.
If you are one of those who have trouble being or making things happen on time, or if you are around such people, you have a clear idea of what lateness entails. Many problems can be caused due to just merely making a habit of not honoring time. Forgetting about things or making it late is like the tip of the iceberg. The consequences can be severe. Being late can put stress on you, deteriorate your friendship and other relationships. Being late on occasions like a job interview and even a date can change a person’s life direction.
Why people with chronic lateness fail to be on time
There are largely three reasons why people with chronic lateness have issues with being on time. Firstly, it is their inability to make realistic plans. Secondly, it is poor time management skills. Lastly, it is not able to sustain motivation for anything long-term.
Efficient Planning
In the absence of an organized plan, there is a possibility that you will never be able to estimate the real-time for an activity or a project. For that matter, you will also struggle to align your skills and actions in one particular direction. You will not have a clear idea of how to get where you want to? What resources do you need to get there? How do you ensure that you are motivated all the way through the journey towards your goals? Without a plan, you are much likely to get sidetracked or distracted from your path, hence wasting your time. Therefore you must plan with the utmost care and in a realistic manner.
Time Management
Everyone on this planet has 24 hours to get their work done on any day of their lifetime. What puts someone ahead or behind is how they utilize and manage the given time. Time management ensures that you get done with the delegated work within the stipulated time frame. Time management moves correspondingly with your priorities. Next time when you make a to-do list or set your priorities for the day, try adding a set time frame within which you would like to finish it. The more you practice time management, the better you get at it.
At the end of each day, just assess whether things actually took more time than your estimate? or Does the time allotted add up more than the time you actually have? The answer to both the question is re-prioritized. You will know what can be moved up the list and what needs to be shrunk.
Sustained Motivation to be on time
Most people tend to put away their work until they reach a point where they can not anymore. Even before you are aware of it, you become part of an inextricable circle of self-pity. Whatever may be your goal, if you do not have the motivation to be on time, it won’t be easy to stick to the track for long.
How Punctual People Plan differently?
Three traits are widespread with every punctual person, i.e., Being Organized, Cautious, and Realistic when they plan. For all the things that a punctual person do regularly, he/ she have a planned routine in their head. They do not keep tabs on all their accomplishments and things they need to do, and they know what they are doing and what they plan to do next. This is not something that they consciously have to do. It gets wired in mind with time and becomes automatic. In most cases, they do not have to stop and think, “What do I do now?” People who value time and honor it in real-time have a knack for time budgeting. They can better isolate tasks and estimate the time each task would take, which helps them plan better and more efficiently.
When they plan for things that do not fall in their day-to-day routine (like catching flights or reaching an examination center), punctual people list everything that goes into preparation or gets that thing done in detail. They can distinguish between what is important and what is not. Packing essentials, ironing clothes, and making other preparations well before time.
Guide to be more punctual in life
1. Stop checking your messages right before you leave
Many people have this habit of checking their mobile phone’s notifications, messages, e-mails, and voice mails before they start something new. We more often than not know it on the inside there is going to be nothing urgent or even important. We want to see what is that thing hogging space on our phone’s home screen. Once it takes your attention, you will be more likely to lose track of time and start getting late. The bottom line being, if that there is no important message for you on your phone, do not even bother checking.
2. Anticipate certain failures and account for them in the scheduled time
Never forget to add roughly 25% of the time you think we will require to finish a task. For example, if you have to make it to the city center and it generally takes you 30 mins to reach your place. Make sure you are out and going at least 40 mins before the meeting time. If you think you need 12 hours to finish an assignment, give yourself 15 hours. What is the worst case that is gonna happen? You will have some spare time left in your hands to glam your work up. Or at least the person you are supposed to report or deliver will think of you as a man of promise since you can deliver the product within the said time.
3. Prepare a night before for big/ early morning events
Especially for the ones who are not a big fan of the mornings, make sure you make all your preparations that can be made a night before done in place. Laying out your clothes after due deliberation, fetching, and keeping your keys and wallet out, arrange documents or goods you need to carry around in a bag. If possible, have your lunch or any other meal put together or at least decided a night before. This way, when you wake up the next, all that’d be left for you to do would be to getting ready and picking up the things you had already set up.
4. Set your clocks ahead by few minutes as per your need
There are high chances you would have used this technique to wind your clock 10-15 mins ahead of time. If I recall it right, I started using it when I was in middle school, and I used to find a lot of trouble getting out of bed, especially on winter days. I was the person who will always hit the snooze until it is already late. I still use a clock that tells me the time, which is a little ahead of the actual time. A new application I discovered in the app store very recently called “Procrastinator’s Watch” shows you a random amount of time ahead of within 15 mins. This technique works almost always because we take the clock by its face value without thinking much, especially when we think we are getting late.
5. Learn to make better predictions and estimates of time
Many people are terrible at estimating the time. It often happens that we estimate a certain thing and keep it in our heads. We plan and act according to the estimate and end up reaching late. It would help if you talked to someone who has been into the thing you are entering. For example, if you have an examination center far from your place, you know someone who regularly commutes to the location. It is wiser to seek the help of that person in the estimation of the time. Do not forget to leave early than your estimated time.
6. Make scheduling for 10 minutes early a habit
If you have an appointment for, let’s say, 5 pm, make sure you enter 4:50 pm in your schedule. This way, even if you get a little late (as per the time in your schedule), you will actually be at the right time. It is important to make it in your scheduled time (or 10 mins early). Have some work to do in that 10 mins of the time slot and not waste it doing nothing.
7. Set Reminders
Most of us can not literally afford to have a secretary who will remind us of the work that we have scheduled ahead of us. As an alternate, a cheap one, you can use a reminder app on your iPhone or set reminders on the calendar. It will send you text reminders of the work you have to do ahead of time. Like I like my reminder to intimate me 1 hour before the scheduled time. This way, I am able to better plan things and then another intimation 15 mins prior. The last reminder helps me know where I stand in my planning.
8. Try and schedule meetings and important events in “off-peak” times
Estimations fail all the time when you have to travel to work during peak hours. I remember, once I had to make it to the office at 8 in the morning. It usually takes me 30 mins from my place, but that day it took me 1.5 hrs. You can not simply estimate the time traffic will hold you back. It is better to avoid having meetings during peak hours. Give yourself at least one-hour minimum before meetings and reach the office before time. Even if you are getting late, you will at least be on time for the meetings. Also, try and avoid meeting soon after lunch (often people get caught up and end up being late) and even on the holidays (traffic on the roads).
9. Make it a habit to refuel your car when the mark reaches 1/4 th
I am sure you would have experienced pulling over at a gas station in emergency cases. Imagine you have to make it to someplace in time, and you’re getting late, you happen to realize that you can run out of gas at any moment. You let the queues at the gas station make you even later. Since most people experience it with their cars while commuting, it is best to refuel a habit when the tank mark reached 1/4th of full. Also, I read it somewhere that doing so is better for your car’s engine’s health. I cannot confirm how true is that.
10. Use Countdown Timer
Intuitively, a countdown timer gets you to do things faster than any other clock (stopwatch, etc.) It creates a sense of urgency when you literally see time slipping right before you. When I am doing my writing job, I set the countdown for 1 hour and try to finish my assignment for the day. Speaking from first-hand experience, it helps you be more efficient and get things done in time.