How to Stop Being Late for Work!

Do you scramble to get ready for school or work in the morning? Do you have to get creative to come up with excuses for being late? While schools pass out tardy certificates, employers pass out termination slips for persistent late comers. Now that summer or graduation jobs appear on your daily calendar, it's time to learn how to show up when expected. If you're habitually showing up late, here are some steps to help you get to work on time.


1. Before going to bed, do some activities the night before that you normally save for the morning. For instance, you can pick out your work clothes, iron your clothes, and gas up your car.

2. Set your alarm 10-15 minutes earlier than your normal wakeup time. If you usually set your alarm for 7:00 and snooze until 7:15, set it for 6:45. That way you'll still be able to snooze for 15 minutes and be up by 7:00.

3. Set another alarm, such as on your cell phone, for 5 minutes after your alarm clock goes off. Now you'll have alarms ringing within a few minutes of each other, and they will eventually get you out of bed.

4. Get to bed at a time that allows you at least 8 hours of sleep. Most people run late in the morning because they oversleep or hit the snooze button on their alarm clock one too many times.

5. Plan on leaving your house 10 minutes earlier than usual. If it normally takes 30 minutes to get to work, allow yourself 40 minutes to get there. Of course, there will be times when you run behind or traffic is bad. Those 10 minutes will save you from being late to work.

6. Scope out a good place to park that's not popular. Go directly to this parking spot instead of driving around the lot trying to find an open space.

7. Wave and smile at your coworkers instead of stopping to talk to each one. Being on time means being at your work station, not merely inside the building door.

8. Fill up your coffee cup in the employee lounge in the minutes before you're due at your work station. Being on time also doesn't mean showing up at your station one minute before start time and then taking five minutes to get coffee.

Based on an article from eHow.