I wrote a previous post on why being punctual in important towards your career. But what if you are not good at being on time or one of those friends that is always late to events. There has to be some tips on trying to break this habit so that you can gain all of the positive benefits from my previous post. Based on my experience and reading other articles, here are some rules you can follow to try and break your habit!
now how long it takes to get to work.
When I lived east of Pittsburgh which has horrible traffic regardless. Taking the bus on the east busway was a simple way to avoid any traffic headaches on the parkway, but then you need to factor in another timetable to stay punctual. Don’t have your usual bus be the one that gets you to work right on time. Buses run late or sometimes don’t show up. I have my early bus, normal bus, and late bus. The late bus still gets me into the office slightly before my desired time. This article says you should add 33% more time to the total time of your morning routine and commute. (http://www.developgoodhabits.com/being-punctual-importance/). This can also apply to driving to a meeting.
Know when you need to be somewhere and plan to be there early.
You have a responsibility to the client and your Project Managers/Principals to be early. A client will remember you being late to a meeting. The client can be late, but you should never be late. They value their time and want to be comforted to know that you value their time as well. If you are running late to the office to go to a meeting with your Project Manager, they may leave you behind to make sure that they are still on time. It is about keeping up the reputation of your office that is valuable to them.
Arrange important items the night before.
Have important items out in one spot ready for you to grab in the morning. Print out anything you need from the office the day before your meeting. Having it ready to go gives you more time to make sure you have everything and that everything looks presentable. Another way to look at this rule is to make a list or email yourself a reminder to see when you get in to the office. It will help you remember everything you need to grab before heading out the door.
Never let your gas tank go under ¼ tank.
The last thing you want is to be running late or stuck in traffic and have an empty tank of gas. You should be able to get to your meeting without having to worry about stopping at the gas station. Get in the habit of getting gas on your way back to the office rather than on your way to meeting a client. If you have to get gas before a meeting, give yourself even more time regardless if you think you can rush through getting gas.
Work tasks putting you behind?
When a project manager has a task for you, they usually follow up with the question of how long you think that task will take. Especially when it is something that just pops up that needs to be done asap it can throw off your other tasked items. When someone asks how long you think something will take come up with your answer and then double it! That leaves time so that you are not frantically working to the final minute, you have time to review your work, if revit (or another program) crashes, if something else unrelated comes up, or if you need to get out the door for a meeting you will still be ready in time.
Don’t schedule meetings back to back
As you get further along in your career, you will find that your schedule gets busier and busier. It is important that you do not schedule your meetings back to back in case the earlier meeting runs over, if there is traffic or if you simply need a break between meetings. Don’t skip important meals like lunch for meetings because you want to be awake, aware, and focused in that second meeting.
And if all else fails simply try to follow these simple rules:
Early is ON TIME
On time is LATE
Late is UNACCEPTABLE
It takes baby steps to break a habit. Start by looking at your routine and where things need to change. Is it your morning routine that gets you behind from the start? For instance, take into account you’re going to hit snooze twice. Or if you need to put meetings in your calendar for 30 min ahead of time so you can make it there. Do whatever works best for you to help you succeed!
Written by Katelyn Rossier