Health & Wellness Magazine Live + Thrive Magazine - Summer 2018 | Page 16

GRETCHEN RUBIN
Are You Chronically Late?
8 TIPS FOR SHOWING
UP ON TIME
BY: GRETCHEN RUBIN, AUTHOR
MANY PEOPLE have the habit of
constantly running late — and they
drive themselves, and other people,
crazy.
I have the opposite problem — I'm
pathologically early, and often arrive
places too soon. This is annoying, as
well, but in a different way. As I write
this, I'm realize that I assume that
chronic earliness is very rare. But
maybe it's not. Are you chronically
early?
In any event, more people seem
bothered by chronic lateness. Feeling
as though you’re always running 20
minutes behind schedule is an
unhappy feeling. Having to rush,
forgetting things in your haste, dealing
with annoyed people when you
arrive…it’s no fun.
If you find yourself chronically late,
what steps can you take to be more
prompt? That depends on why you’re
late. As my Eighth Commandment
holds, the first step is to Identify the
problem — then you can see more
easily what you need to change.
There are many reasons you might be
late, but some are particularly
common. Are you late because…
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1. YOU SLEEP TOO LATE?
If you’re so exhausted in the morning
that you sleep until the last possible
moment, it’s time to think about
going to sleep earlier. Many people
don’t get enough sleep, and sleep
deprivation is a real drag on your
happiness and health. Try to turn off
the light sooner each night.
2. YOU TRY TO GET ONE LAST
THING DONE?
Apparently, this is a common cause
of tardiness. If you always try to
answer one more email or put away
one more load of laundry before you
leave, here’s a way to outwit
yourself: take a task that you can do
when you reach your destination and
leave early. Tell yourself that you
need that 10 minutes on the other
end to read those brochures or check
those figures.
3. YOU UNDERESTIMATE THE
COMMUTE TIME?
You may tell yourself it takes 20
minutes to get to work, but if it
actually takes 40 minutes, you’re
going to be chronically late. Have
you exactly identified the time by
which you need to leave? That’s
what worked for me for getting my
kids to school on time. As I write
about in Happier at Home, we have
a precise time that we’re supposed to
leave, so I know if we’re running
late, and by how much.
4. YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR KEYS/
WALLET/PHONE/SUNGLASSES?
Nothing is more annoying than
searching for lost objects when
you’re running late. Designate a
place in your house for your key
items, and put those things in that
spot, every time. I keep everything
important in my (extremely
unfashionable) backpack, and
fortunately a backpack is big enough
that it’s always easy to find.
5. OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR
HOUSE ARE DISORGANIZED?
Your wife can’t find her phone, your
son can’t find his Spanish book, so
you’re late. As hard as it is to get
yourself organized, it’s even harder
to help other people get organized.
Try setting up the “key things” place
in your house. Prod your children to
get their school stuff organized the
night before — and coax the outfit-
changing types to pick their outfits
the night before, too. Get lunches
ready. Etc.