You’re always late for meetings. How can you be on time without losing your cool?

Being late is a lack of time, a lack of priorities, and a sign of poor scheduling skills or tools. If you set your priorities at the start of a day or week without a broader model of your desired life of which those priorities are a part, they will inevitably conflict with one another as your day unfolds. Being late becomes a simple effect of desperate attempts to squeeze too much into your day. What may help is VERY thorough scheduling. By "thorough" I mean to the minute. I do it for three days ahead. That is as far as you can realistically schedule. It sharpens your time assessment skills and ensures everything on your list gets an adequate time slot. Try it for three days, and you will see the magic of being on time without effort.

Si ?siempre? llegas tarde a las reuniones, es hora de analizar tus hábitos. La falta de planificación, motivación o disciplina puede ser la causa. Empieza por establecer recordatorios y tiempos de viaje realistas. Prioriza la puntualidad y visualiza el impacto positivo. Practica la puntualidad como un hábito diario para fortalecer tu disciplina y mejorar tu imagen profesional.

One key strategy to guarantee NOT being late to certain meetings or events is planning AHEAD of time, essentially preparing for unexpected events or emergencies. For instance, if you find yourself frequently late to work in the morning due to traffic and your commute time is 30 minutes, consider leaving 45 minutes early next time. This will enable you to prepare for unexpected events such as traffic. Moreover, if you know your meeting is going to be in another building that is 10 minutes away, consider leaving 15-20 minutes earlier to account for possibilities if you get lost or chit chatting with a coworker in between. Thus, for important events, always allocate extra time to accomodate for the trivial or unexpected!

The Top 2 reasons for being late to the meeting. 1. To make yourself important 2. Genuinely late If the focus is to make yourself important then you have made the point. If you are late, I have a few things for you to consider. Is it a one-off time or does it happen regularly? If it happens regularly, could you step back and identify the reasons? Are you rushing to get papers/handouts before the meeting? Or checking with the IT team if all the things are working properly? In such cases, it is better to have everything in place at least 1 hour before the meeting. The simple policy that I follow is to be available at least 2 minutes before the meeting and settle down. Make yourself valuable not important!

I think planning and discipline are the key factors here. No matter how many calendar reminders or "To-do" tasks you've noted or automated, it all depends on personal habits. So aim to develop a knack for planning the entire day well in advance and then add a buffer to tasks that are not "time-bound" (for eg: your post-lunch stroll) Secondly, there's no meaning to loosing your call (easier said than done), but literally, even though you're late, work on how you could make up for the lost time and being focused would be very helpful here. So to consolidate the keys here: 1. Discipline 2. Organized planning 3. Focus 4. Objective thinking

Mastering time management is crucial for punctuality. If overwhelmed with competing priorities, prioritize and delegate efficiently using tools like the Eisenhower matrix or productivity apps. Focus on tasks that are both urgent and important, delegate or outsource those urgent but less crucial, and schedule or eliminate tasks that are important but less time-sensitive. Streamlining your approach ensures optimal productivity and punctuality.

Recognize your priorities and delegate when necessary. Task Prioritization: Identify essential tasks and prioritize them to allocate your time effectively. Delegate Responsibly: Delegate tasks that others can handle, allowing you to focus on critical responsibilities and maintain punctuality.

It is easy to think that you need to say yes to everything and that everything is important – especially if it is given to you by a senior. Reflecting on your job description and discussing with your manager what the main outputs of your role should be can be a great step before doing this. Once you have a clear understanding of whats most important to your role delegating/prioritising becomes a whole lot easier. Or if you're ever unsure make sure your manager is aware of the extra pressure on your plate.

Urgent and important tasks come first. Start to plan your time with these in mind. How long does it take to complete these, including any meetings that go with these. You can then either delegate or postpone the others.

If you are at a senior level and not in a position to attend all the meetings. Use the Eisenhower matrix to do, decide, delegate, or discard which meetings to attend. 1. If you have TO attend the meeting, prepare and be available. 2. If you need to DECIDE then update the organizer at least 30 minutes before if you are not able to attend. 3. If you are DELEGATING, then ensure the organizer is aware of the person who will be attending in your stead. Likewise, give clear instructions to the attendee about your expectations from the meeting. 4. If there are any meetings wherein you are NOT required, then inform the organizer and request to be removed from such meetings. By doing so, you will -build TRUST -gain RESPECT -develop LEADERS!

é fundamental avaliarmos e escolhermos as reuni?es que realmente precisamos participar. Essa prioriza??o evita estarmos apenas de corpo presente, sem aten??o e sem trazer nenhuma contribui??o aos alinhamentos que participamos. Verifique os temas e os objetivos das reuni?es, se prepare com antecedência, fa?a sua parte para que os encontros sejam objetivos, gerem resultados e otimizem o tempo de todos os envolvidos.

Minimize distractions to stay focused on meeting commitments. Silence Notifications: Turn off non-essential notifications on your devices during meetings to avoid distractions. Create a Dedicated Workspace: Establish a quiet, focused environment for meetings, whether in-person or virtual.

Learn to say NO. Being in demand may feel good but does it serve the right purpose? Set your boundaries and use your diary to reflect the time you need for yourself.

Effective time management hinges on conquering distractions. Craft a focused environment by silencing notifications, closing unnecessary apps, and minimizing interruptions. Employ tools like timers or pomodoro apps for concentrated work intervals with short breaks. Clear communication with co-workers, clients, and family about your availability and expectations enhances productivity. Overcoming distractions is the key to meeting deadlines and achieving optimal results.

Luchar contra los ladrones de tiempo para llegar puntual a reuniones es clave. Un paso esencial es rastrear tus actividades por una semana para identificar patrones de procrastinación. Descubre qué consume más tiempo, como revisar emails o redes sociales, y establece límites claros. Utiliza la regla de los dos minutos para tareas rápidas y evita que se acumulen. Planifica reuniones con un margen de tiempo antes y después, creando un espacio para prepararte y para imprevistos. Considera técnicas como bloquear notificaciones y utilizar temporizadores para períodos de trabajo concentrado. La puntualidad no es solo una cuestión de gestión del tiempo, sino también de hábito y respeto por tu tiempo y el de los demás.

Calendar reminders are not enough for those who are chronically late. Instead, consider using a desktop timer that will appear in front of any application when you're working on your computer. For example, if I know I have a meeting in 20 minutes, I'll set my desktop timer for 15 minutes. I can focus exclusively on the task at hand, but then my timer will appear on the screen (no matter what app I am using) to remind me of the meeting.

Constantly assess how you spend your time is critical in terms of becoming more realistic. For instance, you may see a regular 30 min team meeting that you chair every week. Does it really take 30 min as an activity. It probably won't. How much time is required to prep for that meetings, how likely does it overrun from time to time, what follow-up is typically required. Think about meetings and tasks holisitcally to help you be more realistic.

Setting realistic expectations is definitely crucial. This comes mainly from experience and learning from mistakes. How long do similar tasks take you? How long does it usually take you to walk from point X to point Y? Based on such observations, craft your schedule in a way that accommodates such time blocks.

I am in the habit of estimating the time I need and then increasing it as invariably tasks take longer than I initially thought! Depending on the task it may only be ten minutes, but on something more involved, especially if relying on the input of others, it can be a lot more. This includes preparation for meetings, and time taken to get there if they are not virtual. If you are running the meeting strictly follow the agenda and finish on time or early, it shows respect both for your time and for theirs, and prevents a knock on of other meetings starting late.

I reverse engineer my timing. The night before I look at what appointments I have and think about when I need to wake up, how much time I need to get ready for the first one, and how much time I need to transition between each appointment so I'm at least a little early for each one.

It's important to always be open to learning and adapting. Personal habits do come into your professional work environment, so being organized and aware will only help you. As you face new challenges and make mistakes being open to feedback, learning from others, and trying new things will adapt to whatever you face. There's a few ways to keep reviewing/adapting, some ways are: - check your preparation and planning, assess what is working and what isn't - feedback from your mentor/team - double and triple checking your work/calendar, see if it makes sense to you, then pass it to a small group or person for review

Reflect on lateness incidents and implement improvements. Post-Meeting Reflection: After a meeting, assess any delays and identify their causes for future improvement. Continuous Improvement: Implement strategies to address recurring issues, such as setting earlier reminders or adjusting your schedule.

Continuous improvement is key to punctuality. Break the cycle of tardiness by learning from mistakes and taking proactive measures. Reflect on the reasons behind your lateness, identify alternative actions, and commit to improvement. Professionally apologize to those affected, demonstrating respect for their time and reinforcing the value you place on relationships. Embracing a growth mindset ensures a punctual and accountable professional approach.

Maybe you are late to meetings because you don't get value. What suggestions could you make to improve the meetings so you want to be there and on time?? Learn from mistakes and have someone keep you acccountable.

5 minutes early is 5 minutes late. Time is the most valuable thing any of us have. This makes lateness in any situation incredibly disrespectful. You are literally stealing another persons most valuable resource. There are a number of tips and tricks to better manage your time but none of them matter until you change your mindset. Do you want to be seen as unreliable and disrespectful? Or do you want to be seen as someone people can depend on? Being on time is the first step.

Being late has many disadvantages. It gives off the impression that you're not reliable, and it's disrespectful to those who organized the meeting or got there on time. Many if not all of us have been late to an event or meeting at some point. In fact, it's quite unavoidable. Things often come up unexpectedly, causing delays. However, it's important to learn from your mistakes and to get a better feel on how to manage your timer to avoid tardiness. Moreover, when you're late, it's important to say something like "sorry for being late. I was in a traffic jam" or "sorry for being late. It took me a while to find this room" to at least show the other party that you're aware of your tardiness and hope that it won't happen again.

BONUS TIP: Set an alarm, not a reminder. Reminders tend to produce just a single sound or simple notification that is easy to ignore. Alarms on the other hand need to be addressed in order to stop. Therefore, if you have an important meeting, set an alarm so that you have to acknowledge it.

One of the best ways to be on time is to make sure that you consider each and every meeting as of major importance. When something is important to us, we tend to make sure that we are on time or even early. It is when we regard meetings as unimportant, that we consider our time more important than being on time. Rename meetings as social get-togethers or family reunions or anything that can be construed as worthy of our time. Put happy faces or balloons on the calendar for these meetings.

If you anticipate being late, communicate with the meeting organizer or participants in advance. And please apologize for the delay and provide an estimated time of arrival