7 Ways to Avoid Constantly Being Late For School

Photo by dream healer

By Dane Richards

Why is being late for school such a serious problem for some people? All you have to do is take a few simple steps to make sure you are prepared and leave for school on time. Yet so many people struggle with this. In a time of high unemployment and ever-increasing layoffs, one cannot afford to be late on a consistent basis. Being late for school lets your instructor know that you are not taking your job as a student seriously enough. Your dependability and work ethic and other intangibles are questioned. Being late on a consistent basis will lead to an instructor who will not write you a good letter of recommendation, may not use his or her network to help you, and may lower your grade. A few simple adjustments are all that you need to make to prevent being late.  

Prepare the Night Before

• Plan ahead!
• Have all your work supplies together and ready to go
• Know what you are going to wear
• Have your clothes clean and ready
• Place your keys, wallet, cell phone in the appropriate spot
• Tip: Limit the tasks you have to do early in the morning. Get it all done the night before!

Make Sure You Have Enough Gas

• Fill your car up on the weekends or on your off day
• Don’t squeeze time so tight that you don’t have time to stop for gas in the morning.
• Tip: If you are running low on gas, make sure you do fill up. Do not take the unnecessary risk of running on fumes. Nothing is worse than missing a crucial class because you are out of gas and stranded. Visit gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas near you. The website offers a list of nearby gas stations and indicates which ones have the least expensive  fuel prices. You can even download an app for your smartphone to get updates on the go. 

Set Your Alarm

• Make sure your alarm has back-up batteries
• Tip: Do not flip the snooze switch. You could end up falling asleep,  losing track of time, and ultimately missing the main goal, which is to not be late! A few extra minutes of sleep will not make a difference.

Set Your Clock Forward Ten Minutes  

Tip: The simple step may not seem like much, but psychologically it makes you feel like you have ten extra minutes than you really do. This also shows that you are making a commitment toward being on time.

Go to Bed at a Decent Time

• Do not stay out and party the night before an early morning class.
• DVR your favorite late-night TV shows if they are too important to miss.
• Tip: Know your schedule! It is probably not a good idea to be out late until 2am if you have to be at school at 8am in the morning. The later you stay up, the greater the risk of being late. 

Look for a Quicker Route to School

• Experiment and see if an alternative route gets you to school faster
• Do not necessarily look for the shortest route in terms of miles, but the shortest route in terms of time.
• Look for which route has the least amount of traffic
• Tip: Whatever route you choose, do not get a speeding ticket! The most common excuse for speeding is being late for work. Try using maps.google.com to find alternative routes. The site also allows you see live traffic updates so that you can decide the best route to take.  There are even mobile options and apps for smartphone users. 

Make a Commitment To Being on Time

Being on time creates a well-organized and stress-free morning along with a smile that will last the rest of the day!

• Take Initiative (Have the desire to fix the problem)
• Establish the problem. (What is causing you to always be
• late?)
• Fix the problem (Make a change!)
• Tip: You can sugarcoat it all you want to, but the problem for being late is simple: Arriving at school on time simply isn’t one of your top priorities. Make it one! Commit toward constructing a change.