How To Be On Time: 7 No-Brainer Tips
Even students in online degree programs need to be on time. Here are 7 simple tips for increasing your punctuality.
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Even students in online degree programs need to be on time. Here are 7 simple tips for increasing your punctuality.
Is it just kids who say the darndest things?
How about adults?
For example, check out these excuses people gave for being late to work. They're honest-to-goodness excuses from a CareerBuilder study.
A zebra was running down the highway and held up traffic (turned out to be true).
Woke up on the front lawn of a house two blocks away from home.
Cat got stuck in the toilet.
Ran out of milk and had to buy some before getting ready for work.
Fell asleep in the car when I got to work.
Accidentally put superglue in my eye instead of contact lens solution and had to go to the emergency room.
Thought Halloween was a work holiday.
There was a hole in the room that caused rain to fall on the alarm clock so it didn't go off.
Was watching something on TV and really wanted to see the end.
Forgot the company had changed locations.
Got a hairbrush stuck in my hair.
Was scared by a nightmare.
While you may be shaking your head in disbelief over the unique excuses some employees have for being late, here are the most common:
Even though the top five excuses are more reasonable than escaped zebras and superglue mishaps, employers, for the most part, do not consider lateness a laughing matter. One in three (35 percent) have fired an employee for tardiness, and 48 percent expect their employees to be on time every day.
"Most employers understand that occasionally things pop up and cause employees to be behind schedule. The trouble comes when tardiness becomes a habit," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.
As a busy working adult and online learner juggling professional, educational and personal responsibilities, you may not have an issue with meeting deadlines for school or work, but a simple thing like getting out the door in the morning is your Achilles heel.
In her book,"Never Be Late Again author Diana DeLonzor defines "punctually challenged" as "having the inexplicable ability to arise at six, yet still be late to work at nine."
If you're severely punctually challenged, check out the seven "cures" in DeLonzor's book.
However, if your tardiness is merely sporadic, here are some tips to help prevent you from sliding down the proverbial slippery slope any farther.
Sound like common sense? Of course, it does.
But then as Voltaire said, "Common sense is not so common."
Do you think it's important to be punctual? What tips do you have for being on time?
Image Credit: JD Hancock on Flickr/Creative Commons
Other blog posts you may be interested in reading:
How to Develop a Good Work Ethic in 5 Easy Steps
Why Developing a Good Work Ethic is Essential to Career Success