Timeliness is an interesting concept and it seems every person has their own relationship to it. Some people operate on the belief that if they are not early they are late. (Me!) Others somehow endlessly miscalculate the amount of time it will take to get from point A to point B. This causes stress and can sabotage relationships and promising careers.

I believe that being on time can be a powerful part of the foundation for being successful. Yet I know many of you truly struggle with making it happen. Although I believe punctuality is important, being stressed out about time, whether you are always early or constantly late, is not empowering.

If you sweat time there are small steps that you can take to change your relationship time.

1. Prepare

Take appropriate steps to make sure your gas tank is full, meals are made and lists are written the night before. You may feel resistance at first but muscle through and do it anyway. The more you practice the more of a habit being prepared will become.

2. Surrender

Certain experiences poke holes in our illusion of being in total control. Unexpected traffic, a twenty four hour flu or last minute schedule changes can happen to anyone. The sooner you learn to surrender to the ebb and flow of unexpected events, the more at ease you will be when they occur. Preparing for the unforeseen by allotting twenty to thirty additional minutes will also put your mind at ease. Whether you are always late, or early, there’s not much that freaking out while sitting in a traffic jam will accomplish. Surrendering to the truth of the matter and alerting someone that you got caught up is all you can do. Consciously calming your mind and connecting to your breath can help keep you in the present moment until you can reach your destination.

3. Show Up

Being chronically late weakens your word. Agreeing to a time and then breaking that agreement repeatedly, does not build trusting relationships. Being chronically early and still worrying about being late is stressful as well, but that behavior is less damaging to your relationships and your career. Taking an honest look at your relationship to time can spare you stress down the road. Most people who are chronically late have what Guy Winch, Ph D refers to as ‘blind spots’ that lead them to miscalculate the time it takes to actually get from point A to point B. You will allot less time if you are calculating the trip based on optimal conditions or if you are forgetting to factor in the time it takes to walk to the subway etc.

Successful people make COMMITMENTS & follow through…PERIOD @Terri_Cole
(Click to Tweet!)

I am inviting you to get honest about your relationship to time and challenging you to one week of NO LATENESS! Can you do it? I think you can and if you are confused about how much time to allot for anything post a comment below and people who are not chronically late will weigh in (and me too of course!)

You matter.

And I know that you can change your mind about time if you so desire. I am here to help and look forward to hearing from you so keep me posted on your progress and as always, take care of you.

Love Love Love

Terri

Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, transformation coach, and an expert at turning fear into freedom. Sign up for Terri’s weekly Tune Up Tips and follow her on Twitter.

Image courtesy of National Museum of American History.