If you’re running your own business it’s likely that you’re juggling a lot too. And if you’ve got a family as well the difficulty of fitting everything in might mean that you’re struggling to get to places on time. We’ve all been there – looked at the clock and realised we’ve got five minutes to be somewhere – whether that’s at the school gate or a meeting across town. It’s easy to think we have loads of time and end up running late, but regularly being late can have repercussions for your reputation and (more importantly) on your health.
If you think this is you, try these punctuality tips. Firstly, you have to commit in your mind to being on time. Sounds simple, but it’s harder than you might think because being perennially late can become a habit. Plus, being late for appointments sends a message to people that you don’t value their time and that you think your time is more important than theirs – that probably isn’t true, so do you want people to think that it is? Punctual people come across as being more reliable and conscientious – surely something that could benefit your business.
Add a contingency
Next, take control of the disorder in your day to day life. Again, this is easier said than done. Start project managing what you need to do and if necessary, track the tasks you have to do so that you leave the house on time for your meeting, finish up your project, or power through traffic to the train station. Time them, and then (and this is the important bit) add a contingency.
Last, get ready to get to places early. It’s not a waste of time to be waiting for something. Use the space to plan – take a notebook with you and jot down ideas for your next project. If you’re early for an appointment, use the time to catch up on an email or two. Even, (and stay with us on this), take a deep breath and practise some mindfulness to get you ready for your next meeting. We’d be willing to bet that you’ll come across as a lot more chilled and together if you’ve arrived early rather than rushed, breathless and full of excuses.
Here at Pängels we’re no strangers to juggling life and work ourselves. Consider offloading some of the tasks you don’t need to do yourself to us and we’ll help you find your inner calm and carve out extra time from your busy schedule. Just give us a call on 0844 5007 818 or email us at info@pa-angels.co.uk. We’ll always do our best to help!