late/tardy/delayed/unpunctual/overdue/not-on-time

So I was late yet again for Innovative today...for Keith - let's just say it did not go well. I have been getting in "trouble" for being late my whole life, but truthfully the trainers at Innovative are the first to really sit me down and review it as an issue that needs changing. Keith gave me his point of view today which included mostly points about respect and commitment...really fair points. It certainly made me thoughtful because my poor time management habits certainly aren't meant to be disrespectful or show an attitude of not giving a *$#& about whatever it is I'm late for - Hmmm. Later in the session he pulled out a little notepad to talk about scheduling and I see that the first note written down is "fix Leah being late"...hahaha. So rad.
As I said a few months ago - I'll be soooo impressed if the guys from IF can turn around this lifelong habit and they may just be on their way!
I just received the following email from Keith....geez, I guess I'm dealing with it now!
              
How not to be late!

1. Schedule the event into your calendar.

If you block out time to be somewhere then you won't be doing something else when it's time to go. I amazed myself when I tried to do this. I discovered I had enough on my schedule to last 48 hours a day. It would have been impossible for me to be on time for anything.

(Note: could read Getting Things Done in order to be better at time management)

2. Practice saying what you need to say.Here's a great thing to say: "Excuse me, I hate to cut you off, but I have an appointment." It is hard to cut someone off, but they will respect you for sticking to a schedule. The higher up you go in corporate life, the stricter the people stick to a schedule. The good news is that this means it's perfectly acceptable in work life to say this short speech. Get comfortable doing it at work and then you can do it at home, too. Often saying no takes forethought and practice.

3. Be a time pessimist.
Assume everything will take a little longer than your first estimate. This will either make you right on time for everything, or it'll make you a little early. People who run early are calm, organized, and always ready. Not a bad place to be.

4. Prioritize.
Some people are late because they simply don't have enough time to do everything. The only way to change this is to stop doing so much. Face the reality that you cannot get your whole list done. Figure out what's most important and just get that done. Tell the people who depend on you that you can only do what you have time for, and things at the bottom of the their list of priorities will not get done: a reality check for everyone in your life.

5. Be honest with yourself.
Why do you let yourself be late? It is disrespectful and makes you look unorganized and out of control. Why are you not getting control over your time. So much about being on time is actually about self-knowledge. Often, we are scared to make the decisions that we must make in order to get control over our time and become someone who runs on schedule. But there is no other way to run a life. To run on schedule is to plan the life you want to live and execute that plan