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Are you chronically late? These 3 simple tips will help you learn how to stop being late and how to start being on time. Great for individuals and families!
You pull the door open, inch by inch, desparate not to make a sound.
You slip into the room with care, straining not to disturb the ether.
Thump. Eyes. All on you.
You tried, but it’s no good. The heat rises up your neck and flushes your cheeks, the stain of embarrassment on your face.
You know they’re all thinking it: “She’s late AGAIN.”
How Being Late is Hurting You
You probably already know this by now, but chronic lateness can have a negatively impact on your overall well-being.
Being chronically late can:
- Increase stress
- Hurt relationships with friends and family
- Cause you to be less organized
- Make you seem irresponsible or unreliable to others
- Prevent you from doing you best in your day-to-day life
Are you convinced? I thought so! Now that we know how chronic lateness is detrimental to you, let’s talk about how to stop being late for everything, and how to start being on time.
How to Stop Being Late
Here are 3 simple tips for how to stop being late. These tips will help you to be on time to work, school functions, and everything else filling up your calendar.
Create a Family Calendar
The first step for how to stop being late is to create a family calendar. You’re more likely to be on time for events if you know exactly which events are scheduled when! Having a family calendar is a big part of getting organized at home.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many families have their time commitments floating around on school calendars, flyers, scraps of paper, and to-do lists. A centralized family calendar puts all of that information in one place, where everyone in the family can see it.
Here are some of the benefits of a family calendar:
- Fewer late or missed attendance at events
- Less stress over events you weren’t aware of or forgot about until the last minute
- A clear idea of how busy each day and week will be
- Easier to plan time together as a family
- Helps you avoid over-committing to multiple events during the same day or week
A paper family calendar that you keep in your kitchen is a great solution. Record events on your family calendar as soon as you become aware of them. Review your family calendar in detail at the beginning of each week. You should also briefly review it each morning, so you know what’s up for the day ahead.
Use Cushion Time Strategically
Another solution for how to stop being late is to use cushion time to your advantage.
What’s cushion time? Cushion time is a period of time before or after an event which is scheduled for preparation, travel, and accommodating unexpected occurrences.
Put simply, cushion time is extra time that you give yourself to ensure you are on time.
Here’s how to use cushion time to stop being late.
First, leave “white space” in your calendar so your schedule isn’t jam-packed with events. Try to leave at least an hour or two between the end of one event and the start of the next, depending on the type of event, travel and preparation time, etc.
Next, schedule travel time into your calendar, so it’s already accounted for. For example, if you have an event at 3:00 pm and it takes 40 minutes to get there, schedule “leave for xyz event” at 2:20 pm in your calendar. You should also check traffic about 30 minutes before you need to leave!
To add even more cushion time, plan to leave 15-30 minutes earlier than you need to. As a result, you’ll still probably be on time, even if you get stuck in traffic, get lost, or need to stop for gas. Drawing from the example above, you could schedule “leave for xyz event” at 2:00 rather than at 2:20, to provide some cushion time.
Set Intentional Reminders
My third tip for how to stop being late is to us reminders intentionally.
My favorite form of reminders is to set alarms on my smart phone. It’s always with me, and I never miss a reminder as a result.
So what sorts of reminders should you set to help you be on time? It depends on how much help you need getting out the door. Here are 3 basic types of reminders that you might want to use.
- “Preparation” reminder – When it’s time to start gathering any needed supplies for the upcoming event (Pack the pool bag, load backpack, etc)
- “Get ready to go” reminder – When it’s time to get yourself and others ready to go (Put on shoes, coats, grab personal belongings)
- “Must leave” reminder – When it’s time to get out the door and in the car
The timing of a “preparation” reminder depends on the event and supplies needed. It could be scheduled for 20 minutes to an hour before you need to leave. The “get ready to go” reminder often works best about 10 minutes before you need to leave, especially if you have kids. The “must leave” reminder should be set for your scheduled leave time.
If you’re generally good with time management, you will probably be fine using just the “must leave” reminder. However, if you tend to lose track of time, get overwhelmed with other tasks, or have kids in the mix, you might also want to add the “preparation” and “get ready to go” reminders.
How to Stop Being Late: Conclusion
Chronic lateness can be detrimental to your well-being. A few simple strategies will give you more time to prepare for events, and ensure you arrive on-time. Here’s a summary of my 3 tips for how to stop being late and start being on time.
- Create a family calendar, keep it up-to-date, and review it each day and each week
- Use cushion time to build breathing room in your schedule, so you have more time for preparation and travel, plus extra time between events
- Set reminders on your smart phone for when you need to prepare for the event, when you need to get ready to leave, and when you need to head out the door
I hope this post has given you some valuable tips for how to stop being late and how to start being on time. What is the biggest reason you tend to be late? Let me know in the comments below!