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We all have a friend, co-worker, or loved one who suffers from chronic lateness. That lovable yet late person who, when they say they’ll be there at 6, really means 6:30…or 6:45…or 7. Conversely, we’ve all been guilty of texting our friends, “Heading out the door!” while running frantically to the shower. While chronic lateness does leave most of us tapping our foot impatiently—or sending apologetic “Sorry, I’m running late!” texts—psychologists reveal there could be a logical explanation behind chronic lateness.
The Planning Fallacy
According to Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, the planning fallacy means people will often display optimism bias when estimating how long their tasks or activities will take. This suggests that people who suffer from chronic lateness are simply inaccurate estimators of how long certain tasks will take—whether that’s getting themselves ready, anticipating traffic, or wrapping up a conversation with their sister on the phone.
So, if you’re suffering from chronic lateness, how can you use this knowledge of the planning fallacy to overcome your habitually late habits?
Surface Blind Spots
Psychologist Guy Winch suggests examining your routines for blind spots can help eliminate chronic lateness. Ask yourself, where am I getting behind? Is it my partner/kids/pets distracting me? My get-ready routine? Traffic? “The good news,” Winch writes, “is that we typically have only one or two such blind spots, and it is those that trip us up repeatedly. Once we figure out exactly where those blind spots are, we can devise systems and strategies to minimize their impact and even avoid them altogether.”
If you suffer from chronic lateness, take the time to sit down and write out your routine. This will help you take an honest look at how you spend your time and can surface your blind spots.
Visualize the Task
After you’ve zeroed in on your blindspots, try visualizing the task or activity to more accurately conceptualize how long it will take. Because part of chronic lateness is the planning fallacy (being overly optimistic about the time it will take to complete a task), when you picture yourself doing the task, you can gain a more accurate estimate of how long it will take.
For instance, Google Maps can tell you it will take twenty minutes to get to work, but it can’t tell you that you will get hungry and stop for a bagel or coffee along the way, adding an extra ten minutes onto your commute. If you know this is a regular occurrence in your routine, you can adjust accordingly and leave ten minutes earlier.
Eliminate Multitasking
If you’re guilty of multitasking—it could be contributing to the planning fallacy and thus, your chronic lateness. While the premise of multitasking is to be more productive, it actually does the opposite. According to Psychology professor David Strayer, “The people who are most likely to multitask harbor the illusion they are better than average at it, when in fact they are no better than average and often worse.”
Multitaskers are more susceptible to the planning fallacy because they only estimate the time one task will take—when, in reality, they should be estimating the time two or three tasks will take. If your multitasking is contributing to your chronic lateness, trying eliminating potential distractions and focus on one task at a time—or try allocating an extra 30 minutes for your multitasking habits.
Check Traffic
If you live in an area where traffic or public transportation is the primary cause of your chronic lateness, use the abundance of travel apps at your disposal to check traffic, trains, or bus lines in advance. Ideally, you should aim to give yourself an extra 30-60 minutes to get to work or dinner with your friend,. However, if it’s already too late to avoid the rush hour or a delayed train, you’ll at least be able to send your friend or manager a heads up and ETA text.
Chronic lateness can negatively impact the way others perceive you. If you’re guilty of chronic lateness, it’s important to assess your routines and pinpoint where you can make improvements to get yourself out the door and on time. To eliminate your optimism bias of the planning fallacy: Surface your blind spots to give you insight into where you can streamline your routine, ensure you’re only focused on one task at a time, visualize the necessary steps each task will take, and check traffic reports in advance. All these habits can help break the cycle of chronic lateness and ensure you run on schedule—whether it’s getting to work on-time or meeting your friend for dinner.
Sources
Crystal Abing 