Tardiness

Is It Unavoidable - People who are tardy regularly are a serious problem in a
professional environment. Being late can happen to anybody and probably will sooner
or later. There are some things beyond our control. For example, you allow yourself
plenty of time for the commute to the office but a tractor-trailer jackknifes, flips over,
and blocks the entire interstate. You could well be stuck for an hour or more. Things
like this can and do happen to people all the time. However, they do not happen
everyday.

There are three categories of people related to tardiness.

Avoiding Group Three - While I work well with members of group two, I avoid
group three. These people gladly keep one person or a dozen waiting and wasting
time. If you are to manage your time, it is essential that you avoid dealing with these
people as much as possible. You may not know they are in this group when you first
begin working with them but it will become apparent quickly. Then you must do
everything possible to get them out of your circle of tasks and projects. Persons willing
to waste your time will delay your work and ruin your schedules.

Emergencies - There are times when we encounter emergencies like the jackknifed
tractor-trailer and delays are unavoidable. When these things occur, we can use a
telephone to call the parties involved and let them know about the situation that will
not allow you to arrive as scheduled. Then these people can proceed to the next thing
on their list without wasting time waiting for you to arrive.

Professionalism - Managing your time means handling yourself in a professional
manner. If you have a meeting with someone and a problem arises that will preclude
it, call him or her immediately. This way they can change their schedule and make
good use of the time. Waiting for the last minute is rude and unprofessional, and
clearly indicates that you don’t value their time. This does not mean that you will
never have to cancel a meeting at the last minute. Emergencies happen and you may
have to take an injured family member to the hospital or something equally serious.
No one will think less of you for calling a meeting off at the last minute for something
like that.

Awareness - The main thing that will keep you from being tardy to almost anything
is having an awareness of how long things take. Each morning you have a similar ritual
involving getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, having breakfast and driving to
the office. Whatever this ritual involves, you should know how long it takes and allow
sufficient time for it. This way even if traffic is a little heavier than normal for some
reason, you will still get there on time.