How to stop being late!

How to stop being late and be on time in projects, business, relationships, and LIFE!

In the new year, let’s stop setting resolutions without concrete strategies in place. I have heard a lot of artists struggle with the concept of managing time, both in their art work and in their lives, so let’s tackle that once and for all.

The strategies listed here will allow you to get ahead (figuratively and literally) in your business and life.

If you are an artist who struggles to meet deadlines, this is for you.

If you are that person who’s “always late,” this is for you.

If you can’t figure out why you are constantly behind the curve, this is for you.

If your alarm clock isn’t getting the job done, this is for you!

There are several factors that cause people to be late on projects, in business, and just in general. Here are a few we can breakdown and tackle.

1.    Unrealistic expectations

2.    Not fully counting the cost

3.    No margin

4.    No clarity

Let’s break each one down into a manageable and actionable process you can implement to meet your resolution of being on time in all areas of you life this new year!

1.    Unrealistic expectations

Deadlines are essential to progress, sales, and keeping your employers or clients happy. The issue isn't the deadline, it's how you're setting it. People tend to over promise and under deliver in life. Not living up to your word is sadly too common place. An example of this concept could be creating an unrealistic deadline to impress people. By telling them they will a project will be finished by the end of the week, even though the time it takes to complete is nowhere near that short, perfectly illustrates the over promise under deliver situation. When giving a timeline for a piece, please make sure you understand your pace. Be HONEST with yourself. If you are doing something brand new, make sure to allow additional time. If you have failed repeatedly to get this type of project done in 3 days before, give yourself an extra day. Stop promising things that won’t happen.

It sounds so simple, but adjusting your expectations of yourself will truly be a game changer.

In this new year, strive to UNDER promise and OVER deliver. If you know a piece will take you 5 days and you are given the project on a Monday, don’t promise it by Friday. Tell them you will have it to them by next Tuesday. This way, if you are finished by Friday, they will be impressed with your dedication and speed! Consistently failing to deliver on time causes you to loose credibility. Don’t start off behind this new year, set realistic expectations from the start!

This applies to your life too!

If you know it takes you 1 hour to get ready, by this I mean from start to walking out the door, don’t tell someone you will be there in 1 hour from when you START getting ready. Tell them you can make it in 2 hours and then show up a little early (trust me, you won’t be that early).

2.    Not fully counting the cost

Another way people end up late in their lives is failing to count ALL the cost.

What things daily take up your time? What is your morning routine and how long does it take? How long do you take for a break? How long is lunch, including drive time, buy time, and or prep time? What’s your drive time? What family time do you need to spend? How long does it take you to get into a rhythm once you start working? How long do you (honestly) get stuck scrolling on social?

If you have NEVER actually timed these activities, I suggest you do it if you’re serious about making a change.

These things take time from your day. They aren’t all bad, but they still take up time. If you work for 6 hours a day, you might find with the timing of chatting to others (if there are others), having lunch, taking breaks, going to the bathroom, and getting drinks, you truly are only working around 4 hours (possibly). This should change your perspective on how long a project will take you.

If you tend to take 30 minutes to get into a flow for creation, now you’re at 3.5 hours of dedicated work time!

Now, with your new timeframe, how many days will a project take you? If a project will take you 24 dedicated hours… You’re looking at around 2 weeks! That’s just dedicated to that one thing with these other factors put in. This is just an example of course, but you get the idea.

Count all the cost and pay attention to how much time things take you. Account for ALL your time, then decide on a deadline.

The same is true for the meeting example. Costs to count include, shower, clothes selection, getting dressed, doing hair, personal hygiene, makeup (if needed), etc. Then if you have kids, making sure you are taking care of them or getting them ready while you get ready. How long will it take you to get there at this time of day (traffic changes). Did you get gas in your car? Is this a busy place that takes a while to find a parking spot?

Figure out your time for all these things, then decide how long it will truly take you to make that meeting.

3.    No Margin

This one feeds off the first two. Margin is the secret ingredient for steps 1 and 2, but I wanted to give you the process first.

In the first step, margin is the under promise. If you know it will take you 4 days, give yourself an extra day to allow for the unknown. Things happen, tires go flat, kids get sick, family needs help, co-workers need help, you might get sick, hey that’s life, but on a deadline you don’t have time for it.

MAKE TIME with margin. Margin allows you to keep your credibility while still allowing for life to happen. Don’t be reactive, be proactive. People love to say that but rarely tell you how to do it. To be proactive with your time factor in margin.

When you are meeting someone, count all the cost and then give yourself and extra 30 minutes. You never know what might happen, an accident you weren’t expecting causing traffic, forgetting something and going back home, not being able to find part of your outfit, needing to pack a bag you forgot about, etc. The 30 EXTRA minutes, on top of your counted time, allows you to impress people by never making them wait.

4.    No Clarity

This final step should come first when starting a project or making a meeting or really any other appointment you want to make in your life. The reason I didn’t start with it is I believe you need to start figuring out how to count the cost and be realistic with yourself prior to actually using these steps in a professional situation.

Clarity answers all questions. If you don’t understand COMPLETELY what you are expected to do, produce, where to be, or when to be there; you’re already doomed to be late.

Be sure to understand the end goal with no questions on your end or on the end of anyone else involved.

If you don’t know when, ask.

If you don’t know how, ask.

If you need a resource, ask.

If you need additional time, ask.

If you need to know ANYTHING… ASK!

When both parties are clear from the start on expectations, you each have a way to gauge progress as well as an anchor to keep you focused on what’s most important.

If you are clear this project takes precedence over anything thing else, don’t start on another one until this one is finished. Even if you want to help a friend, don’t take on something that pulls you away from your clear goal.

Understand what’s the most important thing for you at the moment to reach your clear goal and the other decisions become easy!

This mew year, I am excited for you to be on time! To show up on time, to blow people out of the water with your over delivering on promises, and to create a great habit in your life that will ONLY help you. There is no downside to being on time, early, or reliable.

When you set realistic expectations, count the cost, create margin, and have absolute clarity on your goal, you are giving respect to people that will sky rocket your career, relationships, and connections your whole life through!