The concept of being fashionably late might work when you are going to a party but in almost every other setting it can be near disastrous for your image and reputation. The fact is that it isn't just you who has a busy life and if you constantly causing others to accommodate your over scheduled life they may soon reassess their relationship with you.



So if your someone who is always rushing from place to place, your calling to constantly reschedule your appointments with people and you find your making excuses for being late then tune in to a few tips to help you start respecting other people's time and in turn boost their perception of you.

1. Discipline. Chronic lateness can often be attributed to a lack of discipline with yourself. You procrastinate and leave things to the last minute. Instead of getting the work completed ahead of schedule you leave it to the last moments. Instead of leaving home with plenty of time you wait till the last possible moment. Discipline creates structure in your life and structure enables you to create greater success in your life. Have you ever wondered how many opportunities you have missed or the friends you may have lost simply because you lacked discipline.

2. Manage your time. It's not as though someone decided to allocate less time in the day for you and more time in the day for others. Everyone has the same 24hrs to work with for their days and everyone learns to utilize it in the most efficient way possible for their lives. If you are constantly rushing and missing deadlines you just aren't managing your time effectively enough. If you are missing appointments as well then it's time to create a time management system that you are comfortable working with. Purchase a time management diary and start scheduling your days by allocating enough time for each block throughout your days for the various tasks and appointments you have. By knowing how much time has been allocated to each block you are in a better position to stick to it then just trying to wing it.

3. Integrity. There is a clear lack of integrity on your part if you can't keep scheduled appointments and meetings. After all you have made a commitment to arrive at a certain time so if you are late you are essentially sending a signal that you lack enough integrity to keep your word. I know this sounds harsh but the reality is that if you don't have enough integrity with yourself to get you to your appointments on time then how can you expect others to respect you and rely on you for important matters.

4. Stop compromising. Chances are if you are chronically late for things then you are great at negotiating and compromising with yourself. A simple example is with your alarm in the mornings. If you are chronically late with meetings chances are it starts with the habit you created in the mornings. If you are constantly negotiating with yourself in the morning when the alarm goes of by hitting the snooze button then chances are you negotiate with yourself that it's ok to be a few minutes late here and there. Habits are hard to break and the trick is to replace a bad habit with a better one. Instead of giving yourself permission to press the snooze button you might want put the alarm clock on the other side of the room so that you have no choice but get up out of your bed.