Making Yourself More Punctual

How timely are you? For many people it seems like being punctual is an unobtainable skill, and it’s no surprise that regular tardiness can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. Whether it be work, school, or personal obligations, continuously being late will damage your reputation and can cost you countless social and professional opportunities.
You probably don’t want to be known as that person who’s strangely incapable of any kind of punctuality. Arriving late shows that you don’t prioritize whatever venue you were tardy to, often leaving a very poor impression on anybody who noticed (and if you’re regularly late, people WILL notice).
Some people try setting multiple alarms to keep them on time. Others try turning their watches a few minutes earlier (a trick I never really understood). Some just give up and pray to god that time will magically slow down or reverse so that they can be on time. No matter what method you use, punctuality can be a hell of a challenge if you don’t focus on the root of the problem. For this purpose we’ve outlined a few base-level techniques that can help you curb your lateness habit and be punctual wherever you may go.

Organize Your Obligations
What kinds of things do you have to do each day? Work and school are common destinations, and depending on your lifestyle you probably have many other tasks and travels mixed in as well. Multiple obligations and poor organization will inevitably lead to lateness, mostly because our minds can easily become overwhelmed when forced to internally track all of that scheduling.
This can be fixed with even a small amount of planning. You don’t necessarily need to organize your day minute by minute, but writing down a loose time frame for each of your obligations will at least ensure that you’ll know if you’ve strayed away from your schedule.
A common practice is to keep a whiteboard on your wall with the day’s activities written out. Remember, you don’t need to be too meticulous; your workout doesn’t need to start at a precise minute for you to avoid lateness. Writing down a schedule carries the additional incentive of cementing your goals in your mind, along with plenty of other benefits listed here.
Other people prefer to invest in a planner. Most phones nowadays come with apps that can help keep track of your schedule, but this can be dangerous since we usually use our phones for plenty of other purposes that can distract us from our plans. I like a nice paper planner; it gives you the opportunity to write and organize everything you need with full focus. Plus, I always know where to look when I need to add an event or plan an appointment.

Plan Tasks Ahead of Time
One of the most common reasons why people are late is poor planning. Small things can add a lot of time to an already cramped schedule, and this in turn can lead to unforeseen lateness due to avoidable mistakes.
You may know the feeling; you’re ready to step out the door when you realize that you’ve forgotten something necessary (such as packing a lunch, or bringing along an important document). These tasks don’t take a lot of time on their own, but when added to the end of a busy schedule they can make punctuality next to impossible.
The solution? Learn to plan ahead. If you need to pack a lunch, make an effort to do it the night before. Keep everything that you’ll need together and in plain sight (such as on a counter or table) to ensure that you won’t waste valuable minutes scrambling around.

Realistically Gauge Commute Time
Do you know how long it takes you to travel to your daily obligations? You probably have a rough idea, but many of us don’t track this sort of information as carefully as we should. There are all sorts of variables that can affect commute time, and these can easily destroy any hopes of punctuality if you don’t factor them in correctly.
A good method is to track how long your commute takes each day. It’s not too difficult; simply get in the habit of looking at the clock when you enter and exit the car. You’ll probably find that your daily travels range a few minutes depending on the external variables.
The most important piece of this data is your longest commute time. This number is your base; you should give yourself that many minutes each day to complete that part of your travels. Statistically speaking, by using the highest number you can assure that you’ll almost never be late.
There are obviously certain times when your longest commute time doesn’t make for a realistic measure. Circumstances like holidays and special events can drastically alter traffic patterns, and this in turn can increase commute times significantly. I’ve had some rides take twice as long due to external variables, but events like this are uncommon and should be viewed as flukes.

Leave 15 Minutes Early for Everything
When all else fails you can always resort to leaving earlier. This is usually unnecessary if you’ve successfully completed the other methods outlined above. However, if you still can’t manage being punctual it can be effective to add a few minutes to any commute time. 15 minutes is almost always enough, as it gives you a strong buffer without sacrificing too much time. Plus, phones and other gadgets make waiting much less of a hassle if you do arrive with time to spare.