How Not To Be Late

Techies are the worst. They sleep in. They drag themselves to work hours after everyone else. They don't seem to respond to repeated criticism about their tardiness. I try never to be late to anything remotely important, and that makes the lateness of others all the more aggravating when it's my time they're wasting.

The New York Times offers some new insights into why some people are late, all the time. It's not entirely their fault, it says. It's force of habit, like smoking, overeating, and watching too much TV, and it's something impossible to break. And yet lateness can have lasting effects on your life, especially at work: Even if your job is not time-sensitive, you're less likely to be promoted if you are often late and thus perceived as lazy. (As a manager, I can attest that this is indeed true.)

I grew up in a family of the chronically late. We never got to a sporting event or a movie before it started. But I give my mom credit for trying: She set the clocks in our house ahead by up to 15 minutes to try to help us lazy kids get to school on time, at least. It worked, for a while, until we just subconsciously learned to take the 15-minute buffer into account. 

What might have worked? It's a hard habit to break, but the Times story (courtesy of author Diana DeLonzor) has some tips to help: Start small by focusing on your lateness problem one day a month. Learn to enjoy waiting by bringing reading material or an iPod. Measure the time it takes you to do things; habitually late people often wildly underestimate this and need to measure it to see for themselves. My strategy: Obsess over your calendar, and make lots of lists of things you need to do and places you need to be; also keep a large clock or two nearby at all times.

More tips, strategies, and advice await at the full story linked below. If you have a unique tip for keeping yourself on time, feel free to share!

LINK: For the Chronically Late, It's Not a Power Trip