As much as it is known that making others wait is a nuisance and that the time they lose is money, there are some people who have real problems to be punctual in their appointments and meetings It is a phenomenon that is difficult to explain, it simply happens. Before they realize it, they leave home with much less time than necessary, and end up systematically late.
However, these behavioral tendencies can be corrected, and anyone can become get used to the habit of being punctual always or almost always. How to do it? For this, it is good to come into contact with the principles of the cognitive-behavioral approach.
This psychological approach is based on a premise that, so simple, seems revolutionary; It consists of modifying both beliefs and habits (usual ways of behaving, moving, etc.) so that a new way of acting becomes consolidated.
So, if you want to learn to be punctual you have to change both actions, from the smallest details, to thoughts and the way in which the consequences of those actions are interpreted.
Knowing this, let’s look at some useful instructions to, little by little, change your habits.
Tips to be punctual
This series of keys to being punctual are indicative, and you have to know how to adapt and apply them to each case. They offer a general overview of the problem and its possible solutions, but if many problems appear and significantly damage the quality of life, it is advisable to go directly to a professional who offers personalized treatment.
Every time an appointment is set, you have to write it down in an agenda and set an alarm so that it goes off when you have to start preparing to attend. It is extremely important not to postpone this phase because it is easy to be given little importance and end up being forgotten.
2. Discard the optimistic option
The phenomenon by which some people always arrive late is a kind of procrastination, or “I’ll do it tomorrow syndrome”, although in these cases it occupies time limits that instead of taking several days it takes minutes. That means that, unconsciously, we make excuses for not having to leave at the indicated time, usually because it’s lazy
Many times people arrive late because they assume that they will have a stroke of luck when it comes to moving quickly to the place where they left off. For example, the belief that the buses will arrive just as we approach the stop. It is necessary to anticipate the appearance of these beliefs to be able to recognize them when they appear in our minds and then immediately discard them, as a rule, so as not to fall into their seductive influence.
3. Write down travel hours
For the most important appointments, it is good to sign up a mini-schedule on the sequence of actions to follow to arrive on time, highlighting the most important phases of a process that can last less than an hour. For example, the time to start dressing, combing your hair, leaving the house, etc. The initial stages are the most important, and that is why they should be more numerous and more detailed than the rest.
Every time you are late, even for a minute, you must pay a small fine, which can consist of a number of coins worth a dinner, for example. If this commitment is made in front of more people, the better, because then there is greater pressure to fulfill it. In addition, you must pay that fine within the next 24 hours.
5. Running is prohibited
This rule explains itself. Furthermore, it has two functions. On the one hand, it prevents the possibility of leaving late due to the prospect of being able to make up time by running. For the other, the stress generated by arriving late to a place and not being able to run If this happens, it serves as a much more powerful lesson about the type of situations to avoid.
6. Cheat the clock
At first, it is good to subtract ten minutes from the time you have left and take this measure very seriously as part of the process of learning to be punctual. This will allow you to experience the positive sensations produced by arriving at places within the time established and that you do not want to return to the previous situation.
In some way, this situation serves to begin to experience what it is like to not worry about being late everywhere, and to see that it is possible to do so if you follow rules that, despite seeming like the rules of a game, work. .
