15 Comments

  1. Love this! Our Gunny at ROTC always said, “If you’re on time, you’re late!” I grew up knowing the importance of being on time and was usually on time, thanks to my parents’ timeliness. Now that I am a parent, I struggle with this. I believe it is important. And I always intend to be there on time. My pitfalls are “one more thing before I go”, “I forgot something”, and not preparing in advance (i.e. making lunches the night before) combined with the underestimate of how long things actually take. My kids are older (teens and pre-teens) so things are definitely better than when they were babies and toddlers but we are still sometimes late. Which I really don’t like. Now I just need to not like it enough to change my ways. 😉 So I guess I have a mild case of HLPS – perhaps even just a season-of-life temporary case, maybe? Please? Let it be temporary!

    Great tips – thanks!

  2. Sandy,
    I enjoyed this post. I agree with all of your ideas. I think it also helps once you are doing this to realize how it helps you. How you have time to be in control and even have time to get a cup of coffee before the meeting starts. It also gives you the privilege to glare at anyone being late. 🙂 I think it calms you as well as you go through your day. It also calms those around you if you are not rushing out of control.

    1. A feeling of calm is one of the BEST benefits, I think. The last time we traveled by plane, my husband wanted to leave an hour later than I did. (With 3 kids!) I strong-armed him into leaving at my time. When we were sitting at the airport, reading magazines, sipping Starbucks, he looked over at me and said, “This is so much better than rushing around.”

      🙂

  3. I’ve got the same condition and I blame my dad. Not that he had HLPS, but he caused me to have HLPS. You see, my dad ensured that we kids were always early – at least by 5 minutes – for wherever we were to be. As a result, my subconscious, rebellious nature makes me 5 minutes late. It’s so not obvious to most that I get away with such bad behavior.

    Now, I will confess… showing up a bit early has led to meeting interesting people and a much calmer spirit.

    I must get rid of my subconscious!!

  4. I suffer from HLPS! I do think I’m getting a little better, but will always want to “do one more thing” before I leave. Because WHAT WOULD WE DO IF I DIDN’T PUT THAT BLANKET ON THE COUCH AWAY RIGHT NOW?!?!?”

    Also, the thought of being early and “wasting” that time used to drive me crazy – now I just bring something to read and consider it bonus time.

    This is also a problem in the evening for me – just go to bed already, Mindy!

    Thanks for the tips – great post as always!

    1. Mindy, the thought of being early used to feel like a total waste of time for me, too!! I totally get that. Now, I am selectively early. Like the carpool line: I know moms who will sit there for 45 minutes, just to be in the front of the line. No thanks. I’d much rather be home or running errands until carpool is almost done. Then I show up and drive straight in. Plus, the kids like to be with their friends. Win-Win.

  5. San, I had no idea. We are literally cut from the same cloth and I am completely opposite. I am always early. Often times too early. Do we not have the same parents? Were we not raised in the same family? Maybe you were adopted! I have lived by many of your tips for years. Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. Love you…muah!

    1. I remember Dad always wanting to be early, but I have no memories of Mom being late or early. I must have blocked that out of my childhood.

      As far back as I can remember, I was in charge of waking myself up with my own alarm clock and getting myself wherever I needed to go (like walking to school or driving to work). I would always wait until the very last minute to leave, because I’d rather be curing my hair. As far back as I can remember, I liked curing my hair.

      I know James used to always be late and Dad used to throw water on him to get him out of bed. And I know Scott used to skip church on Sunday before he’d skip his 3rd bowl of cereal.

      I think I got their genes.

      Maybe YOU’RE adopted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      1. I recall having to wake up at 5:00am just to be able to use the bathroom by myself when school didn’t start until after 8:00am. I think it was the seven people using one bathroom that was the training for my being a habitual early person. Me? Adopted? That would explain a lot.

        I used to throw water on James in the morning and then run for my life. I remember seeing him at school with frozen hair during the winter months.

        1. His hair was frozen because he’d have to run to school in the cold, due to his lateness.

          Whenever my kids complain about having to share a bathroom, I drone on about having one bathroom and seven kids and my parents slept on the couch because there were no bedrooms for them, blah, blah, blah…It’s become my “I walked to school up hill both ways” story.

    1. I was at the height of my lateness problem when we worked together. I can’t believe I used to “rush into work” at 9 am!!! When I think about how much more productive I could have been if I would have come in at 7 am and left at 5, instead of coming in at 9 and leaving at 7. Actually, I would have been more productive if I could have just worked from home in my jammies. But that didn’t exist back then.

      I miss you, by the way. We need to plan a road trip/date/visit of some sort.

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