Be on Time ...

I have spent my life being 10 minutes late for almost everything. I've missed the headmaster's welcome speech, a third of a shoulder massage, hiding in the kitchen at a surprise party, arrived at church with the bride, a dental appointment [thankfully]. I've even missed cocktails before dinners ... I'd find myself running down train platforms and rushing through airports out of breath and v stressed  ...  and there's been no reasonable excuse. For years, I've been in the habit of fitting in just one more 'thing' before I got ready for the next event, one last edit of a poem, written one more paragraph, painted one extra window sill, machined one more dress seam, padded one more pelmet, made one more phone call, filled one more wash load, added up one more account ... the list is endless. Basically, whatever I'm doing, I run over time just trying to fit one more 'thing' into each day.

But now, all has changed, almost overnight !

Why? Well, I have a new friend ... who is always 20 minutes late ! ... How rude ! And this must mean, arguably, that I'm always 10 minutes early. And strangely, I find this soooo irritating. Waiting. Wasting time? And now, I make a massive effort to be on time. I arrive at events in a calmer mood and less stressed. I find that I absorb and retain names, places, information much more easily when my brain isn't racing and worrying about missing an event.

How? I make achieveable task lists, put multiple alarms on my phone and sticky notes on my laptop - which is all I was going to say actually ... so that's another 10 minutes ...

Jill