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.