Monday, October 20, 2008

Kicking the habit -- tardiness

It's Kick the Habit Monday over at A Frugal Housewife. The idea is that everyone write about a habit they are trying to kick so they can get support.

My habit I'm trying to kick? Tardiness. Specifically, tardiness in the mornings. I have the devil's own time trying to get to the office on time. Fortunately, we have a flexible work schedule at work, so I can stay late to compensate, which is when my brain functions better anyway. But, it's not professional. I need to do better. (Mind you, it's not like I'm late for meetings or appointments. I'm just late getting to my little cubicle of solitude.)

How am I kicking it? Through accountability. I have to call ahead every time I'm going to be late. This doesn't seem like that big a deal, but it gets really annoying really quickly when I have to call a few times a week to say I'm going to be 15 minutes late. What's even more annoying is that call on days when I'm only 5 minutes late.

I think the root of my problem is that I always strive to be exactly on time, so there's no margin for error. For some reason, the idea of being early has no appeal for me. That's 5 minutes I could have used doing something else.

Anyway. I'm making progress, but old habits die hard. Really hard.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous10/20/2008

    Boy do I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. I hate leaving early and arriving early for something. I'd much rather get something else done than get somewhere early.

    I wish I could help you with this problem but as it is I'm always at least 10 mins late to work myself. Luckily, I usually have to leave 10 mins after 5 so I can catch my Mum at the Subway. So its not helping my problem... LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10/20/2008

    I have to say I've never had that problem. I am normally early. I have a friend that is always late. ALWAYS - to lunch, dinner, drinks, etc. at least an hour. Makes me crazy!

    Thanks for joining.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is my problem too - again, I have flexible working so being a bit late isn't a major problem, except that it annoys and bothers me. I missed the bus by just 1 minute last week (I have a 90 minute drive to get to it, so being held up by just one tractor can mess up my whole day if I'm not early leaving the house.) Fortunately the clocks went back this weekend over here in the UK, so that will help me in the mornings.

    I'm very rarely late for personal committments though, just for work. Hmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @fragileheart -- I'm happy to know I'm not alone. When I went to see a theater production of A Picture of Dorian Gray this weekend, I heard a great Oscar Wilde quote that made me laugh: "Punctuality is the thief of time." I think I might need to blog more on this. :)

    @The Hunter's Wife -- Opposites attract, right? I think I need to take some lessons from you. And it was a pleasure to join this week. Too bad you suspended the meme. Maybe I'll continue to play by myself. :)

    @Mimi Lenox -- Thanks for the tag. I'll have to put some thought into a Peace post on Nov. 6.

    @Catherine -- I can't believe you have a 90 minute drive to get to your bus. That is one sucky commute. I can see where there's a lot of opportunity for delays.

    ReplyDelete

Hi! Feel free to leave a comment. You do your part, and I'll try to keep the conversation going.