Surrounded by Clocks – but Still Late. What’s the Problem?

SURROUNDED BY CLOCKS – BUT STILL LATE. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

I guess most of you know this kind of situation: 

  • You were planning to meet a friend at certain time.
  • You checked when you should leave from home. 
  • You planned what you have to do to be ready on time. 
  • You were regularly checking the time to make sure you won’t be late. 
  • The result: Even when you kept your eyes on the phone and planned everything, you arrived late...Why?

In the end, your late arrival made you feel bad during the meeting. You felt sorry and ashamed. Your mood more likely changed the whole character of the meeting and strongly influenced the other person. 

 

I was wondering...is there a way how to be always on time?

I did a small research and came up with the most common ways how to be on time. Here are my time management tips:

 

Firstly, if you don’t write daily schedule, write it down as the first thing in the morning. Schedule appropriately time to work, commute, relax, meals and everything you want to achieve during the day. 

Next thing to do is to include at least 10-15 minutes between the meetings. That’s in case your appointments take longer or the other person is late.

We're often interrupted by people when we're in hurry. It happens every day so don’t schedule too many tasks to be able to accommodate unexpected interruptions. 

Furthermore, finally learn to say “NO”! We try to do too many things and make everyone happy, but you have to realize, that you aren't Superman, you won’t make it!

Spend time with reevaluating about how much time your routines and tasks really take. Especially schedule travel time in your to-do list. 

In addition, try to use less your phone, social media and apps that are disturbing you. It’s easy to waste too much time on the phone, when you should be already leaving for your next appointment. It’s is really helpful to place a wall clock in front of you. It will help you to keep track about time. 

Stop trying to do “one more thing” when you know you should be leaving for your appointment! When we are in hurry, we don’t prioritise tasks and try to finish all when we should be leaving.  

The final and my favourite advice: REWARD yourself for being on time ☺  

 

To be always late is a bad habit we developed and we can easily change by following at least some of the above recommendations. I believe you agree with me, that to be on time make us much happier than finding excuses or explanations about why we are again late.