4 Reasons You’re Always Late

I’m an OCD early bird. I just am. I think it’s because I grew up with a (wonderful) mom who was always late. She’d swear she would pick me up from school at 3 o’clock but the next thing I knew it was four and I was still waiting outside. Being late drives me insane. I actually start to get anxiety and stressed if I’m running behind schedule!

As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized the plague that is lateness doesn’t just afflict my mom – not everyone operates on the same schedule. Some of us love to arrive a half hour early to every event and the other half of us is just as happy to waltz in an hour late. Whether you’re the former or the latter I’ve done some digging into how best to manage your schedule so that you’re never late again!

You’re over committed.

One of the reasons you might be running late is because you’ve packed your schedule to the brim with too many commitments. There’s only so much time in the day, girlfriend, and believe me I often run into the trap of trying to do way more than my schedule allows for. My mom is a great example of a classic over-committer (love you, Mom!). She never wants to disappoint anyone so says yes to everyone and everything, leaving her over-scheduled and therefore perpetually late.

The lesson here is to learn to say, “no.” Understand that you really do only have so much time and unfortunately that does mean you’ll have to make some choices. Narrowing down the things you commit yourself to will free up your schedule, allow you to live at a slightly slower pace, and be on time to the things you do choose to attend!

You don’t manage your schedule well.

While this one can definitely be an issue if you are over committed, it can actually also be a problem even if you’re under committed! Even if you only have one event for the day it’s possible to be late if you don’t manage your schedule. Thought it would only take you an hour to get ready, but really it took you three? Been there, been late to that.

It’s really hard to be a good judge of time, but I like to combat this one by over estimating how much time it will take me to do something. If I think I only need a half hour to finish a project, I like to pad an extra 15-20 minutes into my schedule just in case. It’s also super helpful to back into your timing. Meaning that if you know you have to be somewhere at 3 o’clock you can back into the fact that it’ll take you a half hour to get to your destination so you need to be in your car by 2:30.

Look at you. You’ll be an early bird in no time.

jord watches

You don’t have a watch.

Ever since my days working at Michael Kors I’ve been obsessed with watches. For all of you fellow basics out there that own the gold runway watch you know what I’m talking about. I know we all have smartphones now, but trust me nothing beats the convenience of being able to take a quick glance at your wrist to get an idea of time. When I pull out my iPhone to check the time I usually get distracted by Instagram, Facebook, or one of the other hundred apps I’m constantly checking that sometimes I actually forget to even look at the time (the reason I pulled out my phone in the first place). I love wearing a watch because it helps me keep scheduling top of mind and allows me to take a quick look at what time it is without having to pull out my phone. It’s also super handy when I’m caught in a meeting – pulling out your phone while someone else is talking can be both distracting and rude.

Watches not only keep me on track, but I love that they can also double as a stylish and easy accessory. All you #BagelBabes know I’m not a fashion blogger – putting together perfectly curated outfits is not my strong suit. I’m all about looking pulled together and fashionable with the least amount of effort possible and watches can add interest and fun to an outfit in two seconds flat. I’ve loved rocking my JORD wood watch (c/o) because it’s crazy unique! Metal watches can be awesome, but it’s been nice to have a watch that is special, that not everyone has, and that isn’t clunky! Plus the light colored wood is super clean and fresh for summer. I’m obsessed.

I actually didn’t know wood watches were even a thing, but after browsing JORD’s entire selection I was blown away by all the options. I used to bang up my metal watches pretty badly typing and bumping them against things (they’re so heavy!). After wearing a lightweight wood watch I’m not sure I’ll want to go back to metal.

jord watches

You don’t care.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s entirely possible that you are late to things because they aren’t high on your priority list. I can be honest and say that if I don’t really care to be somewhere I definitely don’t show up on time. I don’t think there’s any great advice for this one because it’s a fact of life that sometimes we’re all going to have to be places we don’t want to be.

It’s okay. Just dull the pain with a good coat of lipstick and a glass of wine. Wink wink.

Are you an early bird or always late? What are your tips for staying on time?

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