Tired of Being Late? Do This First.
I admit it, punctuality and I were not always the same team. There came a time where I found myself apologizing daily for showing up late.
And then I read an article a few years back claiming that running late is actually a sign of creativity and optimism. Man, if only I could have embraced this perspective and went on with my merry lateness! But I couldn’t, because my lateness was not very merry. I was rushing and stressed, and I knew that there were others relying on me. If I were late for my own date, maybe I could have embraced my optimism!
But, the truth is that there are others involved and my lateness was affecting their time as well as how I was showing up and being received.
Not to mention, and as I’m sure you know, time is critical to our communication as leaders. When you rush you are more apt to lack the focus and presence you desire in meetings and conversations. And when you are late your time appears more valuable than everyone else’s time, which leads to distrust and lack of connection. Everything we do creates meaning and stories. The same goes for being late.
And so I set out to change my ways. I made not being late a non-negotiable, and I began a process that changed my perspective on time, not even knowing that I had one.
If you are tired of being late, here is one logical step to consider when thinking about changing your ways.
Start with Your “Logistical Container.”
Work from the outside in.
As a transformational coach I know the long-lasting, sustainable, valuable goodness in working from the inside out when over coming any challenge. This is where the good stuff is. However, I also believe there is an inspiring practicality to starting on the outside and taking a look at what strategies and structures are working and which ones are not. Sometimes small changes can have big impact.
Quite possibly there are a few structural tweaks you can make as a leader at work that could change everything. Here are examples:
Schedule your meetings or time blocks for 50 minutes opposed to 60.
Schedule in 10 minutes of prep time for each event.
Set 30 minutes in the morning to prepare for the day (or the afternoon before) and make it a non-negotiable.
End your meetings on time (you can do it, I know you can!) and communicate your hard stop to everyone involved.
If based on past evidence you know a meeting will run over and it’s out of your control, plan accordingly.
Let the facilitator know that you have a hard stop, or
Don’t schedule anything immediately after this meeting, or
If you’re going to be late to your next meeting, let the people affected know about it as early as possible.
Take a look at your calendar and see whether you can time batch or time block. Align your tasks and meetings so there is more flow.
Communicate to your team when you are not available so you can focus your time and increase productivity and be fully present and available during scheduled times.
Take time to organize your office and clear your space.
What can you eliminate, delegate and automate so you can free up more time for what matters most?
This is step is about becoming aware of how you’re spending your time and what changes will bring more clarity and flow to your day.
Effective time-management is a process. View our other related articles on this topic to dive deeper.
Christy Venza is the Founder of Career Loved, a career coaching firm specializing in leading-edge strategies for high-achievers. To read more articles by Christy, visit www.careerloved/blog.