Focusing Forward

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | October 15, 2017

No. 1,356

Image: Laundrybooks.com

A lot of people have trouble being on time for meetings and other events.  One of my favorite blogs, Time Management Ninja, had an excellent guest post on the causes of lateness.

Everybody is late at times and some of those are unavoidable.  But a habit of lateness is one that must be broken.

One way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit. Here’s a thought.

Develop the habit of focusing your attention on the future. Not the distant future or even next week.  Focus on the immediate future. Keep asking yourself “What’s next?” Then do something about it.  Make that next thing happen.

If you don’t know the answer immediately, you may need to make a list.  After a lifetime of estimating how long a task will take, I must admit that the actual elapsed time is almost always greater  — often multiples of the original plan. Travel time is one of those things that we constantly underestimate.  So, just double it.

And what do you do when you get to your destination early?  Prepare for the meeting or event. Check your schedule to plan to leave on time for the next event. Go over your plans for the rest of the day or even the week.  Being ready increases your confidence and therefore your effectiveness.

If an event starts late or you suspect it will not conclude on time, if you can, announce at the beginning the time when you must leave.

If you cannot control your departure time — text ahead.

CLT

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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