How to Stop Being Late All the Time

如何避免迟到

Hack¹ your brain

开动脑筋

Motivate yourself to be on time, and trick yourself into punctual habits, with these tips.

通过这些技巧，您可以督促自己变得准时，并养成守时的好习惯。

Never explain why you're late. If you don't allow yourself to make excuses, you'll stop letting yourself off the hook. And you'll realize how often you've been handing out reasons as if everyone didn't already know them. There's a classic headline, "Woman Constantly Treating Herself for Once." Don't be "Person Constantly Delayed for This One Good Reason." Instead of focusing on causes, apologize for the effect of your lateness. That's the decent thing to do.

永远不要解释自己为什么迟到。如果你不允许自己找借口，迟到的困境也就迎刃而解了。你也会发现自己以往找的那些借口都是别人可以一眼识破的。有一个非常经典的标题叫做“女人总是会为自己破例。”不要成为那种“总是因为同一个原因而迟到的人。”与其解释自己迟到的原因，倒不如为自己迟到一事产生的影响而道歉。这才是你应该做的。

Delete something from your schedule. One per day, or one per week, depending on how dire² your lateness is. Don't fill that time with anything else. When you have that free time, use it to get ready for the next appointment.

删除一些行程内容。每天删除一个或每周删除一个，具体取决于您的迟到程度。那段时间就不要再做其他事了。好好利用这一空余时间，为下一项行程做好准备。

Calculate how much your lateness costs you. If you're paid hourly, find out how much less you make when you clock in late. If you take more expensive modes of transportation³, calculate the cost difference. See how much you spend each year on lateness.

计算迟到的成本。如果你是按小时结算工资，不如计算一下迟到的成本。如果因为迟到，你选择了价格更高的出行方式，也请计算出与平时出行的成本差。最后计算出迟到导致的年度开支。

Visualize⁴ being late to meet someone. Feel the shame and the panic. Imagine the worst-case reaction they could have, whether that's frustration⁵ or a "not mad just disappointed" that makes you feel like a real dick. Now visualize being early. Think about the peace of mind as you wait for the other person. Think about standing⁶ from your seat and warmly greeting them, grandly forgiving their own lateness.

想象一下迟到见某人的画面。感受那种羞愧和不安吧。想象一下他们可能做出的最糟糕的举动，不管是沮丧还是“我不生气，我只是失望”，这都会让你觉得自己是个混蛋。现在，想象一下早到的情形。如果是你在等人，那种不急不躁的心情是不是很好？想想你站在座位上热情问候他们，大度地原谅他们迟到的情景，心境是不是完全不一样？

Think about your most chronically⁷ late friend or colleague. Gin up all the frustration you've ever felt with them, all the disdain⁸. Wow, kind of harsh on your friend, but now think about other people feeling that way toward you. Avoid it.

想一想你那位经常迟到的朋友或同事。你是不是觉得失望、看不起他/她。哇，虽然这对你的朋友可能有点苛刻，但换个角度想一想，其他人也是这么看待你的。所以还是尽量避免迟到吧！

Plan exactly what you'll do on your phone while you wait for everyone else to show up. That's free time, when you're allowed to do anything, like play a mobile game or watch YouTube with zero guilt⁹. Get excited, not for the thing you're heading to, but for those five minutes alone before it starts.

等人的时候，在手机上为接下来的行程做出计划。在这个时候，你可以做任何事情而且一点儿都不会感到愧疚，比如玩游戏或看视频。是不是很兴奋？兴奋的不是即将要做的事，而是在做事情前，可以享受5分钟的独处时光。