Steps to Punctuality

If you're battling 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.

If this doesn't work, or you are helplessly late all the time, try addressing the deeper issues by reading How to Stop Running Late.

Edit Steps1Acknowledge 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 need to feel bad - just keep working on it!

2Be 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. It may be helpful to set your watch just two minutes ahead instead of five or ten. This will make you less likely to "factor in" those extra few minutes.

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...