In My Mind’s Blog

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO BE ON TIME by Debbie Cafazzo (Tacoma News Tribune)

….The burning question:  Why are some people always late? 

"Some people are perpetually tardy because they don’t have a good sense of time, or try to squeeze too much into the time they have available," says Karen Sherman, a Long Island psychologist and author specializing in relationship and lifestyle issues. "Others are late because it’s a passive-aggressive way to be in control."  In other words, the show can’t go on until the great late ones make their big entrance.

Michael Fritsch, the Austin, Texas-based founder of GizmoPhd.com, which promises "better living through technology" divides tardy people into two categories.

• The Unaware:  They don’t keep track of time and aren’t well-organized.  They say things like "I didn’t know what time it was" or "I completely forgot about the appointment."
• The Overbooked:  They know what time it is, and might be well-organized.  They simply try to do too much.  They say things like, "My 10 o’clock ran over" or "That errand took longer than I expected."

….Whatever the cause, being fashionably late - at work or in your personal life - is not really fashionable.

It’s a habit - a habit that experts say you can unlearn.  But they don’t pretend it will be easy.

Sherman calls the habit of procastination "a soft addiction" that often stems from fear of not measuring up.  You put off what you know you have to do - anything from writing a term paper to getting ready for a date - because you’re afraid the final results won’t be good enough.

"That’s really a self-esteem issue," she says.  "A lot of this stuff gets wired into your brain." But, she adds, "Research says you can rewire.  You have to refocus yourself."

Some tips on timing:

• Give yourself the time of day. Carry a watch, cell phone or PDA.
• Get ahead.  Set your watch ahead by 5 minutes
• Take a tip from the Boy Scouts and be prepared.  Check your appointments the night before, map out where you’re headed throughout the day and calculate how long it will take to get there.
• If you always run late in the morning, try selecting your clothes the night before.  Use a hook, basket, bag or handbag to store important items such as keys, wallet and phone so you don’t waste time scavenging for them every morning.
• Be an early bird.  Plan to arrive at your destination 10 minutes ahead of time.  That way you’ll have time to park, get briefly lost, use the restroom, etc.
• Get real.  Don’t schedule back-to-back appointments that you can’t possibly keep.  Leave buffer time between meetings.  Prioritize your to-do list, and be realistic about how much time each task will take.
• Just say no.  That’s the only way to eliminate time-wasting interruptions and distractions.