Reasons You’re Late and Remedies

Reasons:

• Misperceive the passage of time. Studies show that people who are consistently late underestimate how much time has passed. 
• Underestimate how long things will take.  Those who are consistently late typically underestimate how long it will take to do something, even when there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary…since they do that thing every single day, and it always takes longer than they think it will.
• Engage in “magical thinking.”  When it comes to time, the unpunctual are perennial optimists. They believe they can do a whole bunch of things in a limited amount of time, or that each thing won’t take as long as it really will.
• Procrastinate in general. People who struggle with being late, are often prone to procrastination in all areas of their lives. 
• Be easily distracted. Those who are easily distracted have difficulty being punctual because on the way from point A to point B, they get pulled into point C.
• Need an external deadline to get motivated. Some people feel they work best under pressure, and can’t get going until a deadline is looming. At which point they go into mildly-panicked, hyper-drive mode.
• Enjoy the satisfaction of rushing to beat the clock. For those who are easily bored, enjoy taking risks, and seek bouts of intense stimulation, the rush to beat the clock can feel like an exciting race. Those who are late because they enjoy the rush of trying to beat the clock subconsciously set their own fires to then enjoy the thrill of trying to put them out.
• Feel anxiety.  Folks who struggle with being late tend to be more anxious in general than other people.
• Desire to feel special/unique. This person may view punctuality as the mark of a conformist, mediocre life. It’s a small way of feeling like you’re different, that you’re not one of the crowd and march to your own beat, even if most of the other areas of your life are otherwise very conventional.
• Engage in passive-aggressive rebellion. This man haphazardly rebels against any rules, even reasonable ones, even ones he willingly agreed to himself. When he finds himself in a situation he dislikes, he is unable to make his needs known and to openly confront the problem, and thus feels powerless to change it. 
• Desire to feel powerful. Some men get a kick out of people waiting for them. It stokes their ego and gives them a sense of control, oftentimes when they lack a feeling of power in other areas of theirlives.

How to Always Be on Time:

• Own up to problem.
• Redefine punctuality as a matter of integrity.
• Start taking note of the benefits of being punctual.
• Learn to make your needs known and don’t rebel against something you freely chose yourself.
• See yourself as part of a team.
• Work on your powers of concentration.
• Find more constructive ways of getting your adrenaline rush and feeling special.
• Redefine your concept of “wasted” time.
• Always shoot to arrive 15 minutes early. 

Exception:

If your arriving early will cause others to feel awkward and/or force them to turn their attention to entertaining you when they have other preparations to make, arrive on time or a little after.

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