How to Stop Being Late for Work

Most people hate being late. But they come late anyway.

They are late for work, for dinners, for parties. There is something about lateness that calms the one being late - it’s both a claiming of power and a way to avoid the anxiety of waiting.

For people who work regular jobs, lateness often drags lots of other things:

• You start work late so you end it late
• You set a bad example for your subordinates
• You waste time making up reasons for being late
• You waste time justifying being late (both to yourself and to your supervisors - you have to convince yourself in order to convince others)
• You set yourself as an obvious, easy target for unimaginative criticism that can affect raise and promotions

How do you stop being late?

There are many solutions for being late. And, fortunately or unfortunately, all of them depend on you - your values, your discipline, your desire to make it happen. You can’t buy a tool to fix the problem. You are the tool that will either solve or compound the problem.

Don’t sleep. Obviously, it’s not sustainable. But I did it several times when I was trying to sleep every other day so I thought I’d throw it in.

Wake up earlier. If you’re late late because you get up late, the simplest solution is to wake up earlier. I believe the best, most sensible guide to that is here. If this is not your problem, then skip.

Set a time-limit from the time you wake up to the time you leave for work. Most people who are habitually late for work are also habitually lazy in the morning. Or they simply have too much to do before leaving. Set a 1.5-hour limit or less from the time you wake up to the time you leave. Schedule each morning chore and stick to it. Do as much chores as you can the previous night: Packing lunch, ironing shirts,helping the kids pack their things, among many other tasks can all be done the night before. Don’t turn on the tv. You’ll just end up watching longer than you intended to. Don’t play video games. You know you won’t want to end it. Make a habit of sticking to the time constraint and you’ll have more productive mornings on top of it.

Reclaiming your passion for work. I’ve been a chronic latecomer in many of my jobs. I used to reason that I really didn’t give a shit. The truth is, I think I just lose real passion for them. It’s really little more than a way to keep body and soul together.

What’s funny is everytime I’m at a new job, I always come early. I used to think it was because I was trying to make a good impression but lately, I’ve realized it wasn’t so. It’s because everytime I start a new job, I’m always excited. I’m eager. An old, dormant passion for creating software gets rekindled and I want to be present to light it aflame.

After a while though the reality of office work - politics, lack of meaningful purpose, and boredom - get to you and you lose those good feelings.

Most people like to blame corporations for it. They blame the office. They blame the system. They blame the managers. While it is true to an extent, it’s still nothing but a convenient way to avoid taking responsibility for your own emotions. Anyone can feel good about the shittiest job if they approach it the proper way.

Strive to find a way to make your work more fulfilling. More than a strategy to get yourself to come early, it is a much better way to spend your time, rather than trudging through another workday listlessly.

Treat work as a daily necessity. Treat work like you treat bathing. You can live without it but you rarely go through the day without it. Unless you’re European, tee-hee. Seriously, treat it like you treat something you do everyday that is not of dire importance but that you do because it adds value to your life. This will make it less emotional and something you can attend to in a more level-headed way. A lot of the time, unprofessional behavior is a manifestation of repressed feelings in the workplace. Considering how restrictive and stifling many office policies are, it is not the least bit surprising.

There are many other ways you can go about fixing the problem of habitual lateness but all of them will boil down to how much work you are willing to put into achieving it.