Are you ever late for appointments, dates, picking up the kids, sending birthday cards?  A major reason for time management difficulties is that we tend to underestimate how long things take to complete.  We get up in the morning, thinking we have plenty of time, then we check our email "just for a minute", and an hour later realize the day is slipping away.  We plan to be out the door by 8, but at 7:59 we realize we forgot to make a cup of coffee to take with us.  "It will only take a minute", we say, but 10 minutes later we're running behind schedule and the day is off to a bad start.

So what's the solution?  One answer is to build in an extra 20% to our estimates for how long things will take.  This 20% allows for unexpected snafus, interruptions, things we forgot, and things that just take longer than we thought they would.  If we usually leave an hour to get out the door (but we're always late), we need to start 12 minutes earlier (20% of 60 minutes) OR resolve to do 20% less in the same hour.  Just remember not to add more things to do during your 20% safety cushion. 

One of the biggest objections to this strategy is that we have so much to do, we want to take full advantage of every minute we have before we head out the door.  We hate to be early and waste time waiting.  I hear you and I agree!  But running late is stressful, often rude to the people who are waiting for us, and usually counter-productive.  The things we rush to do at the last minute are not done as well as those we have adequate time for.  Try maximizing the use of your time when (and if) you arrive early instead!  Bring a book, your laptop or cellphone, and read, check your email or make your phone calls when you get there and IF you have enough time then.  But remember, that call will probably take at least 20% longer than you thought it would, so plan for that as well.

Give it a try for 17 days (20% longer than 2 weeks!), and see how it works for you.   You'll be surprised at how much more smoothly your tasks will go when you are more realistic about the time you need to complete them.