How to Get to Work on Time

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

Getting to work on time is a bigger deal than you think! Keep messing it up and you will end up fired! Not a good thing to happen. However, there are ways to train yourself to become more of a morning person, enabling you to get up earlier and get ready for work more efficiently.

Steps

1
Plan your working day in advance. Prepare and organise everything you'll need for it the night before. This includes clothes, documents, food and meeting preparation. This will prevent you rushing to get everything ready in the morning.
2
Set your alarm the night before and use it as a wake up call. However, don't just put it right by your bed where you can just turn over and hit the snooze button when it goes off. Leave it on the other side of the room so that when it goes off, you'll have to get up to turn it off.

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3
Get up with a good few hours before you're due to be at work. Even if you think you can be in work on time if you wake up half an hour before you're due in, chances are your first attempt at toast will burn, your shower will break on you and your train will be cancelled. It's better to be safe than sorry so leave plenty of time for unforeseen circumstances.
4
Order a cab if you have to. If you knew in advance that your bus or train was going to be delayed, but you overslept anyway, get a cab. The expense will be worth it when you don't lose your job for being late again.
5
Have breakfast and splash your face with cold water, this will help you function normally. A good healthy breakfast in particular will help energize you, making you complete the journey to work faster and more efficiently.
6
Be ready for the taxi or transportation when it gets there. There's no point ordering a cab if you keep it waiting. There's also no point in knowing when your train leaves if you're not there and waiting when it pulls into the station. Sometimes trains leave a couple of minutes earlier than scheduled, so it's worth being on the platform early.
7
Follow these steps every working day and they will become a habit. Hopefully, it'll be a habit that helps you retain your job.

Community Q&A

Question

What should I do when I get to work 1 hour late?

Community Answer

Call your boss beforehand and tell him/her that you are running late and why and sincerely apologize. Tell them it won't happen again, and make sure it doesn't.
Question

Why is important to get to work on time?

Community Answer

Getting to work on time shows your boss that you care about the job and that you can be trusted. If your boss discovers they cannot count on you to even show up when you're expected, they'll probably let you go and hire someone else.
Question

If I have to be at work for 9am what is a good time I should set my alarm for?

Entranced98

Community Answer

Break the time you would take from waking up to arriving at work in two parts. Consider how long it will take you to get dressed, have breakfast, and take care of any other responsibilities you have at home, then add this to the time your commute should take, leaving a little bit of extra time in case of traffic, etc. For example, if it takes 1 hour to get dressed, have breakfast and get the kids ready for school, and your commute takes 45 minutes, set your alarm for 7am. This leaves you 1 hour for your morning routines and 1 hour for the commute; this factors in an extra 15 minutes for your commute just in case of delays.