Whether you work for a company, like Central Comm, or you are your own boss, it’s important you be on time for your appointments and commitments. To most people, habitual lateness is a sign of disrespect. It can get you in hot water, make people frustrated with you, and ultimately it can get you fired!
Don’t get me wrong, everybody gets stuck in traffic, especially around major metropolitan areas, and things happen. Cars break down, we get sick, the time change can mess people up for a week. I understand that and it’s happened to me before, so I get it. In this day and age, where pretty much everyone has a mobile phone, if you think you are going to be late, call the person you are meeting with and let them know what’s going on.
At Central Comm, people work shifts and when the person coming in to relieve you after your shift is late, that affects you. It sets up a whole chain reaction. You y may have people waiting on you and you just aren’t able to get yourself together in time. One person who neglected to arrive on time has just disrupted the lives of several people.
What are some things you can do to always make sure you are on time? Number one thing, at the end of the day, take 10 minutes and build your time schedule for the next day. Set your phone alarms for 10 minutes BEFORE each meeting and if you are going to be traveling several miles away, leave another 15-minute buffer to account for unforeseen mishaps.
Try to stay focused. If you know you have to leave mid-morning for a meeting, don’t start a big project if you can help it. Instead focus on a series of smaller tasks that way you have a better chance of getting out on time instead of getting absorbed in a project.
If you spend every morning in a panic looking for your glasses, keys, cell phone, do this. Put a basket or dish by the front door. Each day when you come home, put your keys and other items you need each day IN the dish or basket. In the morning, or if you work in the evening, you will always know where they are. No need to frantically run around looking for your keys.
Plan ahead. In the evening, even though you are tired, put out what you are going to wear the next day. I even go so far as to take an hour on Sunday afternoon to plan my wardrobe for the week. I know to some people that sounds extreme, but I get frazzled sometimes in the morning and just can’t decide what to wear, so it’s easier for me to decide these things when I am not trying to get out the door.
Central Comm, answering calls for you.