Pressing Matter: Chronic Lateness

[Lilith]

For as long as I can remember, chronic lateness has been an issue for me. It seems that I have an innate tendency to be late, for ANYTHING you can name. I want to be punctual for things. I want to be self-sufficient. How? Perhaps my having O.C.D., which I've had also for as long as I can remember is linked to this.


I need help in the form of enlightening advice. Thanks.

 

[user 115627]

Hmm, I've never been particularly unpunctual but I never wanted to rely much on my biological clock either. So I just set multiple alarms on my nightstand clock, my watch and my phone for every important thing: Getting up, leaving the house, etc. Having a regular sleeping cycle helps a lot as well and limits the probability of sleeping in. Avoid "night shifts" (dicking around on the internet late-night ad nauseum). I plan ahead much since I don't have my own car and have to walk everywhere. Better 15 minutes early than 5 minutes late - that's especially relevant for using public transport. When I need to get somewhere, I plan my route carefully so I don't have to make things up on the go.

Every appointment is equally important to me. In the personal and in the professional area. Sometimes being punctual matters a lot more to myself than those I have an appointment with.

I think once you turn punctuality into a habit, you can also rely on your biological clock much more. When you wake up at 5:59 and the alarm goes off at 6:00, you know you're there.

 

[lonelydoc]

Have multiple staggered alarms. Keep a calendar that you review every single day. Those are things that pop up in my mind, I have to do that otherwise I wouldn't even go to work as I generally don't care about anything.

 

[ladyforsaken]

I get a bit OCD too most of the time. But I hate being late. So I always make sure to plan my leaving so that I don't run late. Like if my appointment is at 3pm, and it takes just an hour to get there, I will make sure I leave 15 to 30 minutes before that hour just to make sure I'm early. I always think it's better to be early than late.

Not sure if there are other better ways to deal with this, but I hope you can find a good way to improve on this! Good luck, Lils!

 

[user 108508]

I keep all of the clocks in my house, phone and car set 10 minutes ahead of the actual time. So, even if I am 'running late', I end up being on time.

Hope that helps!

 

[kamya]

Like others have said, I just plan on getting there a lot earlier than I need to be. If I don't then I always end up being late.