Here’s How To Avoid Being Late For Work Once And For All

Want to understand how to avoid being late for work? Then you are in the right place. Is it possible to be on time for work every day? I believe it has a lot to do with your thoughts. Let’s dig in today.

Every time I consider being on time, I’m reminded of the group I’m running. These are teenagers. So I have lots of youth. They were referred through juvenile court together with their parents to take part in a program meant to keep them away from safer placements. That’s the context.

When we met together for this group, Susan was running late. Susan appears. He came in and a big rush had started with the group. And he barged in through the door. He woke up and he was breathing quite heavily. “Oh sorry I’m late you guys.” And he came in and he sat down. We’ve gone maybe, I do not know. 5 or 10 minutes at this point.

His mother followed him. Not breathing heavily because he did not run from the car. Dan entered and quietly sat beside Susan. Well Susan wants to apply for a level
progress in the group. To do this he must meet certain criteria. Certain standard to get level increase.

So, he raised his hand and said, “You guys, I want to advance to level 2.” One of the necessities to advance to level 2 is that you’re on time for each meeting. It was clear to the whole group that he was not in time for this meeting.

Luckily, someone in the group called out to him. It’s not even me. Someone across the group from her said, “Susan, you must be on time for the meeting. You’re not on time today.” So, I don’t think we can give you your level 2 upgrade.

Well, he almost got away. As he came back and explained to the group. “It’s not my fault, I could not get here in time because my mother had to work late and she was my ride.”

Let’s pause him back for a bit so you get some more context. Susan was in the group because she was referred to by juvenile court. Why was he referred by the court? Because he was found in one state going out on an unlicensed spree with some kids his mom didn’t even know about. He’s in the next state. Ma’am, don’t give him a ride to the next state.

Big surprise, right? What does he ask us to believe? That he couldn’t make it to the group on time because his mother had to work overtime. Truly? Mother informed him with much advance notice that he had to work overtime.

Susan lived about 5 blocks from the office where we held the group. Do you think his common sense can get him to group up in time?

The reason I share this story with you is because we keep our commitments or we make up stories about them. I know that’s going to sound a little harsh. But connect with it for a moment.

Either you will keep your commitments or you will make up stories about it like Susan did. It’s just historical. Could he have been there in time? Yes he can. What is needed? This will require a little effort on his part. A little pre-planning. That will give us some insight into what we can do to be on time for work every day.

So, let’s apply what we learn.

How to Avoid Being Late for Work:

What if you took some time to really think about your commitment before making it? If you accept a job, you make a commitment. What’s your commitment? And does that have anything to do with being there on time every day? I know. It depends on your job. And some are different from others.

Think about that commitment before you make it. If you’re not really willing to work on time every day, why did you make that commitment in the first place? Oh, because I need money. Yes, right. I’ve heard that one a lot. Needing money means you need improvement in your life. Meaning you may need to make some commitments
different. Okay.

So you make this commitment to take the job. Take your commitments seriously. Because either you’re going to keep your commitments or you’re going to make up stories about it. Some stories are true, some stories are very interesting. I’m not arguing that. I’m just saying it’s a story.

Because if you don’t keep your commitments, now you feel like you have to explain why you didn’t keep your commitments and that’s a story. Even if it’s a true story, it’s still a story.

So you may ask yourself beforehand what can I do to keep my commitments? What is needed? When you take the time to think, you can actually start planning for the unexpected. I mean, things can come up, right?

Say you have an appointment. Also known as commitment, right? Why would you make a promise if you have no commitment to keep it? You have an appointment. It’s across town at 3. It’s usually necessary and as I stress normally because nothing unexpected happens in a normal situation.

It usually takes you 15 minutes to travel from your office to appointments across the city. Or from your home to a commitment you made on the other side of town. 15 minutes. Think about it for one minute. Does that include 15 minutes? This includes walking from the room you are currently in to your vehicle. Or to the bus stop or to the train station.

What?

Does that include that time? Does that include getting off the train and walking to work? Does that include parking your car and moving your body from the car to the place where you have made a commitment?

I’m very detailed about this because we don’t always think about those things. “Yeah, it took me 15 minutes to get there.” What do you mean?

Now, plan for the unexpected. What if there is a lot of traffic? Well, that will slow you down, won’t it? What if you had to stop and run and do errands on the way? Okay, it is okay. Plan it. And then you plan backwards and work towards it.

People are late for work not because they can’t be there on time. It was because they failed to plan to make it on time. I’m talking pretty directly with you because I think you can handle this. If you have a hard time being late, people will start doubting your commitment. And that’s not who you are is it? Plan for the unexpected. Now, let’s relate this to who you really are and what your main commitments are.

If you have a job and you are going to work every day and you are on time every day, what are you showing up for? This is the last tip I want to give you. Create more value than you consume. Make that commitment somewhere in your heart and mind to always create more value than you consume.

Honestly, when I hire people, that’s the first thing in my job description. When I’m looking for someone to fill the position, it actually says so. Create more value than you consume. That’s the only way it makes economic sense to me. Otherwise, you consume more value than you produce.

Have you ever heard the term “You suck”? No, that means. Because you suck up resources. You consume more than you produce. If you show up late for work, you are depleting the company’s resources.

Producing more than you consume means you make that commitment in your heart and mind and it shows up everywhere. Including showing up on time.

Let’s keep our commitment. Will you commit to do this?