Late Again?  Fixes (page 1 of 2)	
Late Again?  Fixes	
Is lateness common?
Experts estimate that 15% to 20% of people develop habits of chronic (l
ong-term 
or happening for years) lateness or tardiness. Chronic tardiness affects all types of 
people — young and old.  Tardiness affects the way others see you and the way 
you see yourself.  Arriving late is a way of saying that your time is more valuable 
than the time of the person you made wait for you.  Employers do not bel
ieve that 
your time is more valuable than the company's time.  Employers fire workers who 
are often tardy.  Employers do not give raises and promotions to workers who are 
often tardy.  To help break the habit of tardiness, here are some ideas:
Tips to Prevent Tardiness
•  Reframe Your Thoughts:   Rearrange (reframe) your thoughts to give your mind a correct picture
 of 
the good things about being on time.  To do this: Write down all the good that come with being on time, 
and how being on time helps you, your friends, your coworkers, your supervisor , and your career.
•  Snooze and Lose:  Get up when the alarm goes off.  Do not hit the "snooze" button.  
To wake up:  stretch; turn on lights; and splash your face with water.  If you cannot 
wake up, you are going to bed too late!
•  Measure Morning Tasks:  How long does it take you to:  Take a shower?  Brush 
teeth?  Style your hair?  Prepare lunch?  Get dressed?  Drive to work?  1)  Time each morning task.  You 
may think a shower takes 15 minutes but discover that when you time it, the real shower time is 30 
minutes.  2) Add up the times for all morning tasks to get the  total time it takes you to prepare for work.  
3) Add 30 extra minutes to  total time to allow for delays and driving to work.  4) Use this  total time to 
figure out the exact time to get up in morning, and exact time you must walk out the door for work.  
•  Post Notes:  Keep posted notes around to remind you of the time to start a morning a
ctivity so that you 
get to work on time.  "6:30 Shower Time!"  "6:50 Finish breakfast!" "7:35 Leave for work!"
•  Organize:   Get everything ready the night before — position breakfast (and lunch) food for easy      
preparation, lay out clothes you will wear, pack your purse or bag with everything you will need.     
Complete tasks the night before that you usually do in the morning.  
•  Create Launch Pad:  As you go about your daily activities at 
home, think of items you need to take to work and place the 
items on your Launch Pad — a table near the door.  And, as 
you get ready in the morning, put your phone, wallet, lunch and 
other items on the Launch Pad.  When you are ready to leave for 
work, visit the Launch Pad to pick up everything that you need to 
take with you!  Your Launch Pad prevents wasted morning time 
searching for things.  Your Launch Pad will help you get to work 
on time.

• Create Landing Pad:  When you return home from work, 
do not leave your phone in one room — your backpack, 
purse, or wallet in another room — empty your pockets in 
another room — and drop your keys somewhere.  Create a 
Landing Pad  — such as a large bowl on a table — to place 
all personal items when you arrive home from work.
•  Fill Time Sinkholes:   Think of what activity eats up time in 
your morning routine.  This activity can be called a "time sinkhole."  Is it when you stop to check social 
media?  Is it when you step outside to go for a short walk?  Is it your hair care?   When you discover a 
sinkhole, take steps to avoid or fix that time-wasting activity such as;  1) Ignore social media until you 
arrive at work early; 2) Bring a watch on your walk so that you return on time; 3)  Visit a hairstylist for 
an attractive and easy-care hair style. 
•  Enjoy Idle Time:   Reward yourself for arriving to work early.  Bring an e-reader to enjoy.  Read your 
messages.  Visit on social media.  Or, enjoy a cup of tea and 
chit-chat with others who arrive early. 
•  See Success — Visualize (or imagine) yourself as punctual (on-time) 
person. Visualize yourself arriving early and taking time to relax and talk 
to others before work.  Visualize your supervisor and coworkers smiling at 
you for getting to work early.  Imagine your employer, friends, and other people 
thinking of you as a reliable person who can be trusted.  Visualize that you earned a 
raise and promotion because of your excellent social and on-time work skills. 
QUICK CHECK:
1.  What percent of people develop habits of 
  chronic lateness?
2.  Arriving late is a way of saying what?
3.  What do employers not believe?
4.  What do employers do to workers who are often 
tardy?
5.  a) Why do you need to rearrange (reframe) your 
thoughts?  b) To do this, what do you write 
down?
6.  a) What button should you not hit?  b) If you 
cannot wake up, what are you doing wrong?
7.  List the 4 steps to Measure Morning Tasks.
8.  Why should you keep posted notes around?
9.  List 3 tasks to organize the night before you are 
scheduled to work the next day.
10.  a) What is a Launch Pad?  b) Describe how you 
use a Launch Pad  to help you get to work on 
time. 11. 
a) What is a Landing Pad?  b) Why do you think 
a Landing Pad helps you get to work on time 
the next day? 
12.  a) What is a time sinkhole?  b) Give one 
  example of a time sinkhole.  c) List 3 ways to 
avoid or fix a time-wasting activity.
13.  List one way to reward yourself for arriving to 
work early.
14.  a) What do you imagine to see success?  
  b) Give 2 examples of what you can visualize or 
imagine.
15.  a) Which of the Tips to Prevent Tardiness do 
you think would help you get to work on time? 
b) Give a reason for your answer.
16.  a) Pretend that you are a manager of a pizza 
  restaurant.  In essay of 30 words or more, 
  describe what you would say to a cashier who 
  always arrives late for a work shift — to help 
the worker get to work on time.  b) If this 
worker continues to be tardy, what will you do?	
Late Again? Fixes (page 2 of 2)	Permission to use with usworkworld.com subscription.