Do You Have a Late Personality?

Do you wait until the last minute?

Have you ever analyzed why you may have trouble being on time? There may be underlying issues to why you battle chronic lateness.

According to Dr. Gail Saltz, a TODAY Contributor at NBC, here are some of the main personality traits:?

Risk-takers:
These people are addicted to the thrill of leaving for their appointed destination only when they absolutely must. They don’t mind taking the risk of being late, because they don’t want to risk being early and waiting for others. This may be because deep-down they fear feeling rejected, if they wind up waiting for others.

Freedom-makers:
Those who felt trapped by authority as children often grow up to be “late-niks,” who use lateness to feel free. Their intense wish not to be controlled by others may be at the root of their lateness. Or they may have a rebellious nature that essentially tells others: “You will not tell me how to run my life and when I have to be somewhere.”

Organization-slackers: Another reason someone may be late is poor organizational skills. They have difficulty planning out a realistic schedule and calculating how long each of their tasks will take and how long it will take them to get to their appointments on time. These people generally have poor organizational skills, though they may be very intelligent.

Trouble-avoiders:
These people, unconsciously or even consciously, wish to avoid the people they are supposed to meet or the place where they are going. This may be the reason for their lateness. In these situations, lateness may be a form of passive-aggressive behavior. Since they’re angry that they must go to an appointment, they make others wait for them. These late-niks may not even be aware of their anger.

If you truly want to defeat your chronic lateness, you have to WANT to be on time.
If it bothers you that you can not be on time, think how it probably infuriates others who are always waiting for you.

The below may help defeat lateness and be a victory for not only you, but for others as well.

Keep a date book
Carry it with you. Writing down appointments makes them real.

Factor Lateness into your day
Create a buffer. Plan to leave 10 or 15 minutes earlier than the appointment or when meeting someone. Get ready a bit sooner than you think you need to.

Have confidence in your future
If you steal time to send one last email or do one last chore, you're really saying you're not sure there's enough time for your life. Try to walk out on loose ends and take care of it another time. Don't let those things control you

Put Yourself in their shoes
Imagine it is you waiting on people. How would you feel? Does it create anxiety? How does it feel to think time doesn't matter to you?

Balance your Imbalances
If you have a partner or friend who are punctual, recruit them to help you.

Wear a watch
Get in the habit of looking at your watch when you know you have somewhere to be.

Take time for yourself
If you have trouble creating realistic schedules and sticking to them, try meditation or sit quietly with yourself and focus. Yoga or an exercise may help also.