Are you tired of always being late?

Do you find yourself constantly running behind schedule, missing meetings, or arriving flustered to meetings and appointments?

Chronic lateness can be a frustrating and stressful habit to break. It not only causes stress and frustration for yourself but also leaves a negative impression and creates frustration for others.

If you want to break out of your lateness habit, here are a few practical strategies you can put in place to overcome the habit of being late and ensure you show up on time, every time.

Assess Your Time Perception

Understanding how you perceive time is crucial to addressing where your constant lateness comes from.

Some individuals have a tendency to underestimate the time needed for tasks or getting from one place to the next. Typically a desire to do ‘just one more thing’ before they head out to their meeting or appointment.

Begin by analysing your time. Do you tend to overcommit or underestimate the time required or available for a particular tasks.

Once you become aware of your patterns, you’re better able to adjust your mindset and start to plan more effectively.

Set Realistic Time Buffers

One of the most effective ways to combat lateness is to create realistic time buffers between all your key tasks, meetings and appointments.

Avoid scheduling meetings back-to-back. Leave a buffer of at least 15 minutes to allow for meeting overrun, unforeseen circumstances or travel delays.

As well as giving you a break between meetings, if a meeting runs over or you get delayed, you still have time to avoid arriving late. You’ll reduce your stress by not having to rush and end up arriving hot and flustered.

Allow 30 minutes if some of that time also needs to include wrapping up after one meeting and preparing for the next.

Plan Ahead and Prioritise meetings and appointments

Proper planning is key to staying on schedule. Begin by reviewing your calendar the night before or early in the morning to ensure you're aware of all your commitments for the day.

Review the week(s) ahead so you know what’s coming up. Are you overbooked and do you need to reprioritise?

By having a clear plan in place, you'll be less likely to overlook or underestimate the time required for your meetings and appointments.

Use Time Management Techniques

Using effective time management techniques can significantly improve your punctuality.

• Write it down - always add any meetings and appointments to your scheduler as soon as you make them. Don’t rely on your memory. Send a note or email yourself if you don’t have it to hand at the time.
• Set reminders - as many as you need to prompt you before a meeting. The day before, an hour before, 15 minutes before. Even a week before if there’s something you need to do in advance to prepare.
• Time blocking - to allocate specific time slots for different activities throughout the day. Including ‘meeting time’ as part of your time-blocks so you don’t get overbooked.
• Use a timer to avoid spending too long on a task or more time than it warrants.
• Apply the "two-minute rule” - if you can complete a small task there and then instead of delaying it avoids them accumulating and causing delays later on.

Minimise Distractions

Distractions can easily derail your plans and cause delays, especially if your perception of time results in five minutes becoming ten or more.

Take proactive measures to reduce any distractions during your work or travel time.

Turn off notifications on your phone, close unnecessary apps and tabs on your computer, and create a workspace that promotes focus.

By eliminating or reducing distractions, you'll be able to stay focused and on track so you can complete the task quicker.

Avoid Optimism bias

Have you noticed the people who are closest, often arrive late? Because we often have a tendency to think it only takes a few minutes to get from A to B, whereas the reality is somewhat different.

Many people underestimate the time it takes to get from one place to the next. Even when it’s from one area of the office to another.

You need a few minutes to settle in, find your seat, grab a drink, have a conversation with the other people there before the meeting starts.

To counter this optimism, pad your estimates or in the case of meetings and appointments, aim to arrive early!

When arriving early, leave enough of a buffer that if you miss your connection, you can get the next one and still be on time.

If you get delayed by traffic, get lost (SatNavs aren’t infallible) or spend longer trying to find somewhere to park, you’ll feel less stressed if you have a good buffer.

As a rule of thumb, the further away, the longer the journey or number of connections, the more time you need to leave and the earlier you should aim to arrive.

I’ll often get an earlier bus or train to ensure I’m earlier than early!

If you are early, use the time to compose yourself, relax, or get on with the tasks on your list. With smartphones and laptops, that’s much easier to do.

Bonus Tip:

If you're often on the receiving end of someone else's lateness, implement your own optimism bias and give them a time which is earlier than needed.

For instance ... you plan to meet at 7.30pm ... tell them to meet at 7.00pm!

... you need something by a certain date, request it a couple of days before.

Finally, if you are late or likely to be late, let them know.

Yes, life and the unexpected happens. You can’t always allow for every eventuality but people will be far more understanding if you’re occasionally late, rather than you’re always late.

Consistently being late to meetings and appointments can be frustrating for both you and others involved.

Implement the tips above and you can break the habit of being late and become more punctual.

Remember, punctuality is not only a sign of respect for others but also contributes to your own productivity and peace of mind.

Embrace these techniques and start being on time, every time.

Get in touch if you're looking for added accountability and support.