Oh Lord, I'm late for everything, ever, forever.

I have ADD and I thought this would be something that would improve once I was diagnosed and treated, but it most certainly has not.

I hate it!

I used to be late for everything, but it's gotten a lot better recently. Now, I'm just late to work, but that's more because everyone in my department is late to work. It's part of our culture.

muddgirl, where do you work
where do you work
where do you work
where on EARTH do you work????!!!!!!!!!

My New Year's resolution last year (or was it the year before?) was to stop caring about being late. Yea, I'm often 5-10 minutes late. And so often, it doesn't matter. I save my worry for the few times it does matter.

I have no understanding of time. Sometimes it takes the clock 15 of those minute-thingies for me to do a task; the next day, the clock will say it took 5 of them, but I can't tell. I envy people who can accurately estimate what time it is.

I am always late, except when I am absurdly early because of having screwed up the date. Like going to a wedding a week early. Fortunately only an hour away.

This causes me no end of trouble. I really do struggle with it, but have been losing the battle lately.

and that Catholic, guilt, "You're going to hell" crap. Utter bullshit. You go to Hell for Littering, being mean, and I'm pretty sure the people who design crippling shoes for women should worry, but being late is not a Hell-worthy offense.

Or else I'm in Beeeeeg Trouble.

I, however, am very punctual. Grew up that way. My parents are always on time too. (Except that my mother, when meeting me -- and only me -- is habitually 10 to 15 minutes late. There's a passive-aggressive thing going on there.)

The GF is always late. Very late. We're working on this. We've figured out that if she says "I'll be ready in 10 minutes," it's not going to work, because she has no concept of how long 10 minutes actually is, and 10 quickly turns into 30, and I get very antsy starting at about 12 minutes. That means 18 minutes of antsiness for me, and that's not good for anyone. So we've learned that a more workable practice is to say "Let's leave at 6:30," instead of "Let's leave in 10 minutes." We still don't leave the house until 6:45, but at least we both know how late we are.

I used to have a friend who was always late. We're not talking 10 minutes here and there. She was chronically, habitually, profoundly late. Sometimes by hours. One day, when I was actually overdue to give birth to my first child, I let her talk me into meeting for lunch. After waiting 20 minutes in the freezing cold in front of the restaurant, I gave up and went home. I managed to get home, make my lunch and eat it in the time it her to call and find out where I was.

I used to have a friend who was late.

It's part of our culture.

My work is like that, too.

I try not to be late but I usually am. Never by much, though.

I try my damndest to be on time. Or early. I can do early. (This would be why I keep a book in the car.) My father damn near beat the BE EARLY GODDAMNIT into me since I was wee. There's an ...amusing family story about how he left his sister in the ghettos of DC because she was late meeting him when he was supposed to go pick her up.

My homie is always late. But I've learned to manage by just telling her the wrong time for things. So if something is at 4, I'll tell her it's at 330 or something and there's about a 75% chance she'll actually be on time.

I'm always stressing and exclaiming that I'm late, but I'm rarely late. I cannot be late to my job. I'm not late dropping my kids off for school and we're not late to piano lessons or other stuff we're committed to. Usually I roll up right on time or 5 minutes early.

If you want to see rabid wolfdog, a very good route to that is to be the person who's causing me to be late for something.

I am never late. Never. I am usually 5-10 minutes early. I like it that way a lot. It makes the trip easier and very pleasant. It makes me feel in control and relaxed. It sends a message to whomever I'm meeting that they are important and I take our business/lunch/playdate/appointment seriously. I grew up this way with parents who valued punctuality.

It's important to me to be on time. I definitely notice it when others are or are not on time. Even when it doesn't matter, it matters to me.

I am early for things that I deem important. Unfortunately, my feelings and other people's don't always coincide.

I never, however, make other people late. That's one of the rudest things I can imagine doing. If I'm late to anything, it will only be me at a disadvantage.

I was one hour early to a meeting once, due to forgetting the summertime thing, and told the receptionist that I'd be happy to get myself a coffee somewhere to kill that hour but she rung my meet-person anyway. She swished through my portfolio with thinly veiled contempt and kicked me out in less than 15 minutes, so I will never ever ever be early for a meeting ever again.

and I was more than 45 minutes late to another portfolio showing, due to getting lost after I got off the us in the industrial area they were at, I had called in to reception to alert them of my lostness, and the person who met me gave me the job on the spot.

I don't know what to make of that....

It is not possible for me to be late for work, as my work starts when I arrive (or log in when working from home).

I learned lateness from my mother who equated an appointment's start time with when she started getting ready to leave.

Then I married a cute little thing who refused to be late for anything and I learned (over time) how to get ready sooner. Now I get frustrated with the rest of my inconsiderate family who still act like meeting times are theoretical.

Mudpuppie, that's exactly what I do. My family are all the same way, except the brother who was in the military. Truly, it's not intentional, not a perverse power play. It's some weird time dysfunction.

I HATE being late for things (good thing the mister is the same way). I tend to be five to 15 minutes early. I believe that people who are late, except for unforeseen circumstances, are rude. My time is worth just as much as theirs. However, I don't count people late until 10 minutes or so.

Gah, that sounds so judgmental but that's the way I am. It was pounded into me as a child.

Sorry I'm late to this thread!

I'm compulsively early, and married to someone who literally has no sense of time. He's better than he was, but telling him he needs to leave in ten minutes has no meaning. Me, on the other hand, can almost tell you what time it is without a clock around!

Oh dear, I didn't expect to open this thread to find all you compulsively on-time/early types wringing your hands about how horrible it is for you to be late. I guess I'm fine if people are obsessively, compulsively on-time (or, *shudder*, early). Just so long as they don't expect the same of me.