How to Never Be Late Again

I tend to run late. For pretty much everything!! Typically, I’m a good 10-15 minutes late for meeting someone. If it’s work I’m walking in the door pretty much at the exact time that I’m supposed to start. A habit that I hate and one that I’ve worked hard to break. I definitely needed to come up with some strategies on how to never be late!

Running late leads to being stressed out. When I am rushing to get somewhere on time I always end up anxious. Every little thing can frustrate me in these moments. I also tend to drop things which of course just slows down the process!!

How to Never be late

So, how can you make sure you are never late again?? Simple, just follow the 10 steps listed below. With these tips not only will you never be late but you will also start to decrease some of the stress in your life! Win-Win

1. Be honest about the time it takes to get ready. This is the area that I struggled with the most. I was constantly underestimating just how long it would take me to get ready. If I need to shower, style my hair and do my makeup I need to give myself at least 90minutes to get ready. Minimum. 2 hours to be safe. Which leads to my next tip…
2. Plan ahead. Once you know how long it’s going to take you to get ready, plan for it!! If you need an hour to get ready before work, then make sure you get up an hour before you have to leave. Also…
3. Don’t press the snooze button. Pressing the snooze button is a guarantee way to make you late. Don’t lie to yourself – you know your not going to press it just once!! Besides, you can’t actually get a decent “sleep” in 10 minutes, so it’s really kind of pointless. You end up feeling more tired than if you actually just got out of bed when the alarm went off. 
   How not to be late? Tip #3 Don’t press the snooze button

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4. Identify the problem. Figure out what is preventing you from being on time and work out a way to solve it. Are you not getting up on time? Are you trying to get one. last. thing. done before you leave? Or are you wasting time on Facebook or Pinterest? (I’m often guilty of this) Either build in the time, or move it to a later time of the day
5. Make punctuality the priority. Being on time shows that you are professional and that you respect the time of other people. Plus, by prioritizing your morning routine, not only are you getting to work on time but you are giving yourself the chance to enjoy a morning routine. I like to sit down with my cup of coffee and oatmeal in the morning. It’s a chance to just sit and not do or think if anything else. So I make sure that I schedule this time into my morning routine.
6. Set new and realistic goals. If it realistically takes you an hour to get out the door in the morning, don’t make your goal to get out in 45 minutes. Make your goal to get up with enough time, or even extra time, so that you don’t end up feeling rushed. Bonus: if you aim for being early then you won’t be worrying if there is extra traffic on your commute
7. Don’t negotiate. “I’ll do my makeup really fast and walk really quickly to the bus station” Does this ever work? I don’t think so. Give yourself the time you actually need instead of just trying to rush everything at the end. 
   Resist the urge to do one more thing

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8. Resist the urge to do one more thing. “I have time to just send this one email…” Except, it’s never just one email and it’s never as quick as you think it’s going to be. “I have 10 minutes before I have to leave, I’ll just… (insert any social media platform here).” And now you’re late. Things tend to always take longer then you expect them to. It’s a much better idea to leave them for later in the day when you actually have time to spend on them.
9. Embrace the wait Learning how to be comfortable with waiting is a skill. Having a few minutes of downtime can be a great way to plan out your day, schedule some tasks, or figure out what you’re going to do for dinner. You’ve arrived where you need to be so you can take the time to relax and focus on something else. Since I started my mindfulness practice, waiting has become so much easier. You learn how to embrace your downtime. Doing nothing can actually turn out to be really productive!!
10. Aim to be early. Instead of trying to get one more thing done, try to be there early. People who are always on time try to arrive a little earlier. If something comes up to delay you, you’re all set. This way you aren’t running in flushed and flustered cursing the traffic. By aiming to be early you arrive relaxed and ready to go. You are covered for any delays along the way. The worse that can happen is you get there early and have to wait.

Learning how to never be late is really about changing your habits. With these 10 tips you can go from rushing in the door at the last possible moment, to instead arriving calm, cool and collected.

Do any of these tips stand out for you? Which one do you think will work best? Let me know in the comments below.

Interested in learning more about mindfulness and how it can help you?

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