For some people, being on time is not only a challenge, but it is also an impossibility. Straying in late to every event they attend from work to dinner engagements to movies to parties and more, latecomers seldom realize the true inconvenience they place everyone else at when they consistently arrive late. Somehow, they have never learned the simple task of being on time.
What is it that makes latecomers fail to arrive anywhere on time? Do they misjudge the time they need to travel to their destination? Are they trying to prevent themselves from having to wait for someone else? Do they simply not care that they are inconveniencing others? Are they always gambling with time and circumstances and thinking that they will make it to their destination on time? Whatever it is that causes them to be late rather than on time, this behavior is not going to change without a conscious effort.
Once a habitual latecomer decides to improve his timeliness, a few specific things can be done to help him achieve his goal. Change won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if the following strategies are practiced consistently.
Tips to Help You Be on Time
Have your transportation ready – The first part of being organized is to always have your method of transportation ready. If you are driving your car, make sure the tank has enough gas to get you to and from work. Whenever you need more gas, fill up the gas tank after work rather than before. Make sure that you always place your car keys in the same spot. This way, you will never have trouble finding them. If you are taking public transportation, make sure that you always have a sufficient supply of tokens or change. If a pass is required, make sure that you always know where it is. In fact, always keep your tokens, bus fare, or pass in the same place.
Give up procrastinating your departure – People have a tendency to put off their departure if they are going somewhere that they would rather not be. Realize that if you leave with enough time to arrive on time, you will get it over with that much sooner. Moreover, putting off your departure only increases the risk of not being on time. Therefore, if you refuse to procrastinate, then you increase your chances of being on time and pleasing everyone else.
Calculate the time you need to travel correctly – If you are calculating the time you need to get to work, for example, from the time you make your first turn, then you are doing it incorrectly. Time your travel from the moment that you step out of the door of your home. Maybe it is taking you two minutes to get in the car, another two minutes to warm the car up, and three minutes to travel down your road to the corner. If it is, then you might need to add those minutes to your number of expected minutes for traveling. No wonder you are always late!
Fudge the data – If you add an additional five minutes to the amount of time that you need to travel to your destination, then you will probably increase your chances of arriving there on time.