Oh No! You are LATE again!

Can you imagine the embarrassment of arriving at an appointment late? You realize that nobody cares about your excuses even though you have a good one. You promise yourself not to be late again next time, but guess what? It happens again and again. Have you noticed that usually it is the same people who are late? Just look at your friends and you should be able to pick out some of the regular "late arriver's".

Being late can be dangerous because you have the tendency to speed. Many accidents occur because people drive recklessly to arrive at an appointment on time in order to avoid the embarrassment of being late. I strongly believe what separates people who are always late and those who are not are habits. If you can develop habits that allow you to be on time every time, you will actually find it hard to be late for your appointments again.

Here are the habits that most of the "on-time arriver's" share:

1.) They don't allow any distractions when they are preparing for the appointment.
They won't turn on the TV when they have 10 minutes to dress. They don't start making a phone call nor do they turn on the computer to check their email. Since they hate to be late, they do not allow any distractions before the appointment.

2.) They don't wait for their gas to be empty to fill the tank.
They get their tank filled when they have time to do so. They seldom go to the gas station just two minutes before their appointment.

3.) They write their schedule down and make sure they have enough time to travel from one location to the other.
These people plan their schedules carefully and they understand that some appointments may take longer than expected. That's why they do not typically schedule two appointments back to back.

4.) They may even arrive early.
Instead of risking the chance of being late, these people like to anticipate problems that may occur (eg. busy traffic) and may decide to arrive early. They take something with them to work on to occupy their waiting time.

5.) They are very organized.
One of the main reasons why people arrive late is that they have to look for something at the last minute. People who arrive on time are usually the people who are very organized and seldom lose things

6.) They call in early if there is a cancellation of the appointment:
People who are always late are usually also the people who fail to show up and not make a cancellation phone call. In contrast, people who are always on time may sometimes cancel their appointments, but they usually cancel it very early to minimize the inconvenience. They also attach to their cancellation a sincere apology.

7.) They set their clock and watch 5 to 10 minutes ahead.
This really works! You will find yourself waking up 5 to 10 minutes earlier than you would have otherwise. You will brush your teeth earlier, so you will eat your breakfast earlier, and so on. The end result is that you will be ahead of your schedule all the time.

8.) They write down the exact date and time of their appointments.
They don't allow the worst thing to happen to them; that is, to forget about an appointment and not show up.

9) They keep their mobile phone turned on.

They realize that there may be location changes or appointment cancellations requested by the other party.

10.) They confirm the time and location before the appointment.

They realize that sometimes miscommunication does exist and confirming the appointment is probably the best way to reduce the risk.

11.) They would rather go to the appointment by themselves instead of going with a partner who is chronically late.

People who are always on time simply avoid car-pooling with a partner who doesn't have the habit of being on time. If they have no choice, they will warn their partner about the importance of the appointment and ask him/her not to be late.

There you have it-- the habits of people who never arrive late for an appointment. Don't just read this, but also implement it into your daily life and personally experience the results.

Can you afford to live without managing your time efficiently?

Stanley Cheng


Tag Late efficiently life Stanley+Cheng