How to Be on Time: 8 Tips for Being Fashionably Punctual

If your favorite cardio workout is running late, you’re probably familiar with the walk of shame—the one when you walk into a meeting or dinner party and everyone who’s been waiting for you turns around with a look of unanimous judgment.

But the good news is that your tardiness can be remedied, as long as you’re willing to commit to change. You can learn to be on time and improve your personal and professional standing.

How to Be on Time

Below are 8 tips that will help you be on time every time.

1. Commit to being on time.

The first step to becoming more punctual is recognizing that you need to. If you don’t really believe that being on time matters, then you’ll be less likely to stick with the goals you set. You probably have external motivators for being on time—like not getting fired, perhaps.

But about how being on time can change your life for the better. You’ll probably feel less stressed, be more productive, and catch all those inside jokes you’re always missing while everyone waits for you at the dinner table.

Don’t just take my word for it—brainstorm your own list of reasons why being on time should be a priority for you, and use that as your motivation to honor your commitment.

2. Time yourself.

In order to plan your day out, you need to know how long your regular tasks actually take. Many people are late because they underestimate how long certain tasks take them. For example, how long does it really take you to get ready in the morning? It might feel like 20 minutes, but in reality, your routine can’t be completed in less than 45.

Timing yourself will help you to understand how much time you really need, but also help you recognize areas where you might be spending too much time (looking at you, 30-minute showerers!). You might find time management tools or courses helpful.

If you find it takes you longer than you expected to get ready in the morning, and there isn’t much wiggle room to cut back on that time, then you’ll probably need to start getting up earlier.

3. Plan ahead—it’s the little things!

While you’re becoming more realistic about how long everything takes you, look for opportunities to expedite your routine.

Here are some ideas for what you can do:

Lay out your clothes the night before.
Make sure your coffee or tea pot is set to brew in the morning.
Prep your breakfast and/or lunch.
Leave your shoes, bag, and car keys by the door.

You’d be surprised how much these little changes can add up and make all the difference between arriving on time or late.

You might think it sounds like a hassle to take time from your evening routine to prepare this much for the next day, but trust me: your mornings will be so much more relaxed if you don’t have to try on three outfits or dig through the couch to find your keys!

Which brings me to my next point: everything has a place, and you it’s your job to make sure that’s where they stay. Don’t want to lose your keys ever again? Then always put them where they should go: on a keychain, inside your purse’s pocket, or in a key bowl by your front door. That way, when you ask yourself, “Where did I put my keys?” the answer will always be the most logical one.

4. Learn to stop procrastinating.

If you’re constantly late, then one thing you probably procrastinate on is getting up in the morning. Set your alarm clock to a time that can realistically accommodate your routine without forcing you to rush, and DON’T hit snooze.

Author Mel Robbins suggests using her “five-second rule” to get up on time: when your alarm goes off in the morning, count down from five (counting up allows you to add numbers), then throw off the covers and get out of bed. Putting your alarm out of reach will also force you to physically leave the bed.

It’s not the gentlest approach—more like an ice plunge—but I’ve personally tried it, and it definitely gets the job done. It’s also a great method to use in any area where you’d like to stop procrastinating, whether you just need to hit “send,” or finally pick up the phone and make that call you’ve been putting off.

5. Know your weaknesses.

If you know that you’re easily distracted by your social media feed in the morning or that you always forget to put gas in your car until it’s time to leave for work, then you can tackle that problem head-on.

Ask yourself what the greatest time-suckers are and find ways to eliminate them. For example, you can disable social media notifications until lunch time or after work. You can leave a sticky note on your steering wheel to remind you to fuel up before going home in the evening so you don’t have to stop at the gas station in the morning.

6. Embrace downtime.

Many people don’t like to be early because they hate the idea of waiting around for others. Instead of seeing downtime as wasted time, take the opportunity to actually get ahead.

While you’re waiting for your appointment or meeting to start, catch up on emails, read industry news, or cross off any other tasks from your To-Do list that are relatively simple but still take time, like ordering more supplies or scheduling a meeting with your child’s teacher.

You’ll find that what you accomplish in these little extra moments alone can quickly add up to save you time later in your day, and soon you’ll always want to be early!

7. Don’t overbook yourself.

Another reason you might be frequently late is that your schedule is too full. This is where the importance of saying no and setting boundaries comes in. If you always say yes to taking on more meetings or projects, then you leave very little room to deal with things that might take longer than planned.

If your schedule’s packed and one little thing doesn’t go according to plan, it will affect the rest of your day like falling dominoes, and you’ll be late for everything. When possible, it’s always wise to leave some overflow time in your schedule to take care of unexpected occurrences or tasks that took longer than expected.

8. Leave on time.

If you know you need to leave at 10 for your meeting, make sure you leave at 10 no matter what. If a colleague comes into your office and asks to talk, politely tell them you need to leave, but let them know when and where they can reach you after.

And if you see that you’ve still got two minutes before it’s time to head out, that’s not the time to start another task. Just sending “one little email” could turn into 20 minutes of sorting out your inbox. Resist the urge to always do “just one more thing.”

Why Punctuality Matters

Being on time matters in both your professional and personal life. It shows that you’re organized, dependable, and respect others’ time. Don’t buy into the term “fashionably late,” or fall for the idea that only important people have others waiting for them. Important people are punctual people!

Being late, on the other hand, signals to others that you lack self-control, and are either too self-absorbed to realize how your tardiness affects others, or simply careless. Of course, it’s up to you to decide your own priorities and what deserves more of your time. There are some good reasons for being late! But if you’re constantly tardy, working on punctuality can bring you peace and confidence.

Do you have any tips for being on time? Share them with us in the comments below!

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Kaelyn Barron

As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.