I have discovered that my congenital lateness never had to do with traffic or other people. I manage to be late to meetings when all I have to do is sit in the same spot and change the zoom link.
It has to do with me packing too much into every minute of the day.
I will probably always want to get as much out of every minute as I can. Yet over time, that goes better when fewer minutes are spent worrying about being late, what I am not doing, what I should be doing, or what I forgot.
What to do? Build in more space. What my friend Katie Jefcoat calls “intentional margins.” What does that look like? I have been scheduling 45-minute appointments instead of 60 min. Then if it runs over, I still have a break before the next thing. I have been blocking off time on the calendar that is just not available.
And here is the big one, I’ve been asking for more time to get things done. Not everything has to be done by tomorrow. Somethings can be done by next week. I’ve been working hard to be much more clear on what’s possible. Instead of trying to get everything done fast, I try to get clear about when it is needed. I’d so much rather beat my deadline, than set it too soon and beat myself up to meet it.
All this is going to take practice but things already feel a little better.
How can you create more space for you? For your team?
Have a great week!
Julie