Toes are tapping and people are shaking their heads, giving each other the look like, “She’s late again.” That’s the scene in my head anytime I’m running late.
I desperately try to avoid it, although sometimes there are unforeseen husband and dog factors that pop up slowing things down (like the dog puke I stepped in this past Sunday morning).
Combine that with the fact that I’m very anal detail oriented when it comes to my look, and if I’m not happy with something it’s going to put me in a foul mood a kink in how I present myself. So after many years of showing up extremely late yet feeling beautiful, or on time and frustrated, I developed a system to change that…
1. Plan as much as possible.
If I haven’t preselected what I’m wearing out the door (down to my accessories), it slows down the whole process. So I have learned to devote some thought to what I’m wearing everyday (I take it a step further and try it on the night before just to make sure everything will work in real life the way it does in my head). Because the days I wake up for work deciding to “wing it” are, without fail, the most frustrating. You may not function the same way I do, but if you find that outfit selection is what slows you down, do your best to plan ahead.
2. Be very aware of the time.
People who are often late, usually don’t have a realistic concept of how long things take. Change that by timing yourself. I know that it generally takes me 10 minutes to put on my make up, and that if I hurry I can wash my in an hour from start to finish. Once I realized how long it took to do those things, I was able to better plan when to start getting ready (to which I often add an extra 15 minutes for eyeliner/hair/clothing emergencies).
3. Keep a clock nearby while you’re getting ready.
It’s truly amazing how fast five minutes can go when you’re tweaking things about your hair (why can’t they go that fast when waiting on the oven timer?) Because of this I always keep my phone within reach so that I don’t let the minutes slip away (it’s often coated in hair spray because of it).
The goal is to be punctual AND beautiful!
