Don't rush me...I'm waiting until the last minute

My confession

No matter how hard I try, I just can’t get anywhere on time. Meetings, appointments, picking up kids...I’m always blowing in late, frantic and apologetic. I really hate this about myself. So I made it a goal this school year to get places on time. I have already failed.

Possible explanations

I figure if I really want to work on this, I need to figure out why it’s happening. Maybe you can identify with some of these issues and we can work together to problem solve them.

I lose track of time: Okay, this sounds obvious, but it’s really the biggest cause of lateness for me. I look at the clock, thinking I have TONS of time to get where I need to be. And then suddenly...I don’t. Let’s take mornings for example--one of my least favorite times to be functional. I have to be at work by 8:15, so getting up at 6:00 should give me plenty of time. When the alarm goes off, “plenty of time” translates in my mind to multiple snooze button clicks. The final snooze creates the perfect opportunity to check my texts, emails, Instagram….all from the comfort of my own bed. Just an aside, I love my bed. That could definitely be part of the problem (another possible explanation for lateness: I stay up too late and can’t get motivated). Anyway, now it’s 6:30. Still plenty of time, right? I’m not entirely sure what happens for the next hour and a half. I eat breakfast, shower (you’re welcome, coworkers and students!) and try to put together a decent outfit, but then it’s 8:00 and I’m still doing my hair. Everything in Grand Junction is 15 minutes away, but I inevitably end up giving myself only 5 minutes to travel. It’s as though I think my car will time travel and get there faster than humanly possible. Much to my chagrin, this does not happen.

Another aspect to this is that I try to do too many things. This could mean ‘big picture’ as in having too many commitments on my plate, or it could relate to the choices I make within my routine. In the mornings I just referenced, there are times I have to choose not to make my bed or clean the toilet that I just noticed was filthy…who knew getting ready in the morning could be so complicated? Or maybe it’s just me...

So what?

So I’m late a lot. Who cares, right? Sometimes the other person says nothing--maybe a glare from the receptionist when I check in 10 minutes late to the dentist, but I’m sure she understands.. Sometimes I get grace: “It’s okay, I get it. Life is busy.” Or the other person is late themselves, so we are fighting the same battle. But sometimes, the other person cares. I’ve had many appointments where they insisted on rescheduling because I missed my designated time, which is fair but frustrating. Or friends who were offended that I expected them to wait when I promised to be there at a certain time. That’s also fair--and it has made me realize something: punctuality is really about respect. If I am late, I am not respecting the other person’s time. I learned this by being on the other end of things with my children. On several occasions I told them it was time to leave and got the typical “Just a sec” response, which really means ‘whenever-I’m-done-watching-this-video-and-feel-

like-putting-my- shoes-on.’ Or there were the times I sat outside the school for 15 minutes while they finished up a project they forgot to tell me about. How rude and disrespectful. What a waste of my time. Oh geez, excuse me for just a minute while I take the plank out of my own eye….I also try to help my children see the natural consequences of their actions. The reality is, being late can lead to all kinds of negative results: getting in trouble (e.g. being late to school can land you in detention), losing your job, missing an opportunity, or upsetting the people who are waiting for you. I don’t want to be that kind of person nor do I want to model that for my kids.

Possible solutions (please chime in if you have others):

Make a plan: Since I clearly misjudge how much time things take, I intend to map out a schedule including timeframes for preparing to go somewhere. It sounds kind of ridiculous that I would time myself in the shower, but I obviously can’t figure out how to fit it all in! So here’s an example using my morning routine:

6:15 Alarm goes off--no snoozing

6:30 Eat breakfast and do devotional (this tends to get skipped if I wait until the end because I’m more likely to run out of time)

6:45 Shower

7:00 Get dressed and beautified (okay, just try not to scare children), gather up items for day--I actually try to do this the night before, including packing my lunch

8:00 Pull out of driveway--like I should be leaving at this time-not just ready to leave or thinking about leaving, but actually leaving!

Plan for transition time: It has also occurred to me that when I have somewhere to be, I should plan to arrive 15 minutes early. Think about it--if you have an appointment at 2:00, you really shouldn’t be pulling into the parking lot at 2:00. You need time to collect your things, get in the building and find where you’re going. Leaving early also accounts for traffic or other minor tragedies that occur (bearing in mind that my previous example didn’t even include my children--although I will say they are very low drama in general!!!).

Get more sleep: I need to set a consistent bedtime and stick with it. This will not only help with morning routines, but give me more clarity throughout the day to stay on track.

Do my best not to overschedule: If I plan too many things, I’ll never get to them on time. I need to prioritize things in my routines and be willing to save some for later. I need to be more aware of the amount of stuff I can fit into a period of time--hours and days!

I hope you have gained some insight from my reflections and confessions about tardiness. I am now officially making myself accountable--so the next time I see you, expect me to be early :)