Time Management
We all know that person that’s always late to things. For me that’s my sister, it’s so and that we will always tell her that an event is starting 45 minutes before it actually does in the hope that she is there on time. We have given up trying to get her to see the value in time management.
But it does raise the question, can you change someone’s behaviour around time management? Or is it a default operating system?
For me, I can’t stand being late. I pride myself on being on time, and I personally believe it has compounding positive effects throughout my life. But how did I learn to prioritise time management? If your values and beliefs are formed from the events that you encounter in life, and the story you tell yourself about those events, then it should be possible to change our beliefs around time management and being on time.
For me I reflect on the stories that I tell myself around times that I am late. I'm a critical thinker, so after being late, I’m often analysing what went wrong, how I got myself into a position to miss that meeting, appointment or opportunity. This self reflection then conditions future behaviours in a way that hopefully corrects the shortcomings of the past around being late. Everyone has been late before, and I’m certainly not perfect, but these days, it’s super rare. This must be a skill that’s been refined over the years. So how is it so different for my sister? Why has she failed to make any significant improvement in time management?
I think it all comes back to the story we tell ourselves about the event. If you reflect on what the overall outcomes from being late are, they are in most cases insignificant and inconsequential. Most other people are understanding and forgiving, the meeting goes ahead just five minutes later, the wait staff come back in 15 minutes to take the orders, in the grand scheme of things no major consequence occurs. You learn more about time management from missing the bus than studying the timetable. You might know what time you’ve got to be there, but if you can’t organise yourself well enough to make that time, then there has to be a negative consequence, and if it doesn’t not naturally exist - like missing the bus, then you must engineer it for yourself. Creating a process around a consequence behind the action will help you make the front end behavioural changes to become a more punctual person. This could look like push-ups for every minute you are late (If you’re perennially late, this will serve as great bonuses, you’ll condition yourself into being more punctual, and you’ll get jacked in the process) or maybe it's a monetary donation for every minute you are late.
In my opinion, being a more punctual person will never deprive you of anything, and yet it has the ability to ensure you never miss the bus - metaphorically an opportunity. By doing so you actually create a higher standard for yourself and your life. The standard you allow yourself will be the standard you fall to.
