It's never too late to learn to be punctual

Your stomach's in your throat - you were meant to be at a family brunch 22 minutes ago. You inhaled a piece of toast and forgot to brush your teeth. You seem to always be chronically late and you're over it, right? You've missed flights, pissed off friends and probably earned a ransom fit for the Jolie-Pitt kids in speeding tickets.

According to a San Francisco State University study, you're also more likely to be anxious and have low self-esteem. Perfect. Setting your clock 20 minutes ahead just isn't working. However, being punctual isn't out of reach. Change these three mental habits and join the ranks of the always-on-time.

YOUR HOLD-UP: MAGICAL THINKING

To-do list? Pu-lease, you have 10 - and you pack so much into them that you're running late before your day has even started. "You consistently underestimate how long tasks take," says Diana DeLonzor, the author of Never Be Late Again. "Magical thinkers recall that day 10 years ago when they made it to work in just seven minutes and then use that as the standard for their commute to everywhere."

Get there For two weeks, write down how much time you think you need to complete each of your tasks. Then record how long they actually took. In the future, use the longest time as your benchmark, says Julie Morgenstern, author of Time Management from the Inside Out. Remember to factor in details like the time it takes to find a parking spot, walk to the office/restaurant/friend's flat and wait for the lift or walk up the stairs. "When you're precise with activities in your everyday life," she says, "you will be in better control of your time."

YOUR HOLD-UP: FEAR OF DOWNTIME

The consistent secret of prompt people? Arrive early. But chronic latecomers dread exactly that, because extra time to them merely feels like wasted time, DeLonzor says. So instead, they aim to hit the event or appointment on the dot - a perfect recipe for tardiness.

Get there Look at waiting time as luxury time. "It can feel like a little holiday in your hectic schedule," suggests DeLonzor. Bring something to do - a book or Women's Health to read. Or be radical and use the hiatus as a well-earned excuse to veg. For once, there's nowhere else you're supposed to be.


YOUR HOLD- UP: ADRENALINE ADDICTION

Whether you're pushing through peak-hour traffic or racing to the drycleaners before it closes, you're driven by pressure. You're late because urgency has become a lifestyle. "As the tension rises, you feel alive," says DeLonzor.

Get there Every day, do one thing ahead of time. Fill your car before it's empty or go to an ATM before you're down to five bucks, DeLonzor says. Seek thrills from activities like wakeboarding, not by paying one last bill before you bolt frantically out the door (hmm, what fun). "This is totally about awareness," Morgenstern says. Running four minutes early? Tops! Focus on where you need to be, grab your bags and leave. You might just get there on time.


The prompt perspective

Here's what your friends - and the experts - are really thinking while they wait for you... again.

The gripe "When people say, ‘You know I'm always late,' I feel like they think I don't have more important things to do than wait for them."

The expert's take A Cleveland State University, US, study found late people are less nurturing. "That may have something to do with early people focusing on being polite and late people tending to be more slack when it comes to the rules of society," says Never Be Late Again author Diana DeLonzor.

The gripe "People who are always late make themselves feel important by hijacking other people's time."

The expert's take Some latecomers are attention-seekers, says Julie Morgenstern, author of Time Management from the Inside Out. "There's a performance aspect of coming in and stirring things up. But I don't think it's conscious. They're so on autopilot, so used to the behaviour they don't even recognise that they do it."

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