How-to-be-punctual-6-simple-steps

How to be punctual: 6 simple steps

Do you find it difficult to meet deadlines? Are friends always complaining that you’re constantly late? Is making it to work for 9am a daily struggle? If so, you may have a problem with your timekeeping.

It’s an issue that affects so many of us and while it might be a hard-to-shake habit that develops over a long period of time, there are some simple steps we can take to help correct the behaviour.

1. Adjust your outlook. People who are always late often make excuses and try to justify their behaviour so acknowledging that there is a problem is an important first step. Try to remember that your lateness inconveniences others and reflects poorly on your organisational and social skills. Flippancy about punctuality is an attitude that can be changed if you want it to be changed.

2. Be prepared. Many people are late in the morning because they leave themselves too much to do before they leave the house. Preparing the night before can save you a lot of time when you get up the following day while reducing stress at the same time.

Choose and lay out the clothes you are going to wear and put everything else you need in one place, possibly near the door. It might also be a good idea to plan out your breakfast and prepare accordingly.

3. Getting out of bed. If only it were as easy as it sounds! If you’re not a morning person, getting out of the scratcher can be a monumental challenge. Try to ignore the snooze button and jump out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off. Another trick is to put your phone on the other side of the room. That way you have to get up just to turn off the alarm.

If you struggle to wake up on time every morning, you may be going to bed too late. Try to get in the habit of hitting the hay a little earlier. As Benjamin Franklin would say, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

4. Anticipate problems. Sometimes our estimates are thrown way off due to unforeseen circumstances. Printing off that document should only take two minutes, but what if the printer is offline again? It might take you fifteen minutes to drive to work, but what if there’s bad traffic or poor weather conditions? Little things like this pop up all the time. Make sure they don’t completely disrupt your day by planning ahead.

5. Re-assess your routine. If you’re consistently running late, it may be because you’re underestimating how long everyday tasks normally take you. For instance, you might think that you can shower in 15 minutes, but do you? If you actually time it you might find that the whole process takes much longer. Once you find out how much time you really spend getting ready, you can re-evaluate your routine and get your timing down to a T.

6. Notice the change. You might not think that always racing against the clock is a big deal but being punctual definitely has its rewards. It removes so much unnecessary stress from your life and will almost certainly improve your relationships with friends and co-workers alike. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!

For more information on a whole host of interesting topics, check out our earlier blog posts or get in touch with us today.

Best wishes,

The Team at GMIB.ie