Always getting to work at the last minute?
 

Am I the only one who has to pedal my ass off to get to work on time? I don't know why... but I always do this to myself. I usually am on time, but it isn't usually with much room to spare. If I get a flat I'm done for.

I think it's a personality flaw, seriously. Is anyone else always pedaling their ass off too?

I pedal my ass off to stay on my finely honed morning routine :) I've got a train and a bus to catch, so I ride hard-ish to get to the train stop, which takes me to the bus stop. This way I catch the bus I want and have a few minutes to spare in the morning when I get to work. But yeah, as I ride past several Metro stops to get to the one I want (for a bit longer ride) I always push hard enough to ensure I don't miss the early train.

Yeah, me too. I have a bad habit of getting out the door at the last possible second. Seems like there's always "one more thing" I want to do before I leave and the next thing I know I've got to spin hard to make it to work on time. I do the same thing with the car when I have to drive, however.

My wife is always leaving at the last minute. She talks the talk of "if you're not at least 5 minutes early, you're late" but she's always showing up a few minutes late to everything. I've taken to leaving a bit early and taking my bike to church to get to prep and rehersal on time, she shows up in the car a few minutes after me.

As for work, I have no "on time." My boss just wants the work done. I'm theoretically supposed to be there at least during "core hours" of 10AM to 3PM or something, I don't know because AFAIK nobody enforces it. I'm usually there between at least 7AM and 3PM though often 6AM to 5PM. But really I just mark my time on a sheet, nobody really knows when I come and go. I'm like the shadows, baby!

I like to be at work a half-hour before starting time. This gives me a chance to cool down before I change, then time to clean up and change. And it provides a cushion in case I get a flat on the way. It's only happened once, and I was grateful for the extra time.

It took me a while, but I've managed to get much better about getting to work about a half hour early. Before that I was getting there just on time or a little late.

Yes, but not because I need to get to work on time, it's usually do to the speed of the urban traffic that I contend with on my commutes.

The only advice that I can give is to leave for work a couple of minutes early, and to keep adding an additional two minutes everyday until you realize that you no longer need to rush to work.

Whats starting time ? My moto is 'Have laptop... will work'.
Running a software development group is less about being on time in the office and more about being on time with the project.

I leave early enough so that I have at least a half hour before I am required to be doing something.

I actually plan to get there at the last minute, and often even check the wind forecast beforehand so I know if I’ll need a few extra minutes. :D I seldom arrive more than 5 minutes away from my 8:30 start time.

There was a time that I was late every day, just like plenty of coworkers who drove cars to work. Since I was the only cyclist, I stood out and got to hear about it from management. Yay!

Is it just too hard to leave earlier? Get your stuff ready the night before and get up 10 or 15 minutes earlier and you are all set. Are you staying up too late? Change the routine you are in since its obviously not working for you. You only need to do a new routine for about 5 or 6 times and then it becomes habit. Thats what you have now a bad habit. Its all under your control.

This is me, often. It isn't about the mode of transport, but about my desire to wait until the last possible moment to get going. And honestly, I can more easily make up time on the bike than in the car, if it comes to that.

+1!

When I was working I always showed up 15 minutes early. My coworkers loved the fact that they could leave early. They used to get miffed when I was only 5 minutes early. Yet they would routinely come in 5-15 minutes late. Sometimes I am really glad I don't work their anymore.

I pedal my ass off because I like going fast. Riding a bike allows me to shave ~20 minutes off my other wise 45 minute commute, so I sleep in a bit more and get a little exercise. Happy happy!

Prepare your stuff the night before (ob one in the morning should be getting to work, not other crap), leave with plenty of time to arrive, get cleaned up, eat breakfast, etc. while factoring in time for the most likely Murphyism...like a flat tire. Once you get it ironed out, it will soon become routine. Discipline is your friend.

I get up early enough so that I can take it easy and arrive at work early enough to clean up, dry up and refresh and have some time for myself before the day starts.

I simply hate rushing and being late.

And yeah, I prepare the night before.

Adam

hihi, yeah me too... Waiting to the last possible minute to get out the door has nothing to do with not being prepared... always "one more thing I find to do" - even to the point of washing up my breakfast bowl and mug!!!

No stress whatsoever... but then, hell yeah, pedal my ass off :D

I have been lately, but it's my own fault for hitting the snooze button too much..

Nah! My mornings are much more fun than that ;)

I always organize all my bike crap the night before. That way I don't even have to think about it the morning of.

Nope. I'm often the first one into the office.

I worked at one place that had a zero tolerance for tardiness. I scheduled myself to leave home 20 minutes before I needed to to arrive there on time, that way I had a buffer in case I had to patch a tire or something. One time one of my bottom bracket bearing cups broke, and I got off the bike and then kicked it along like I was riding a scooter and still made it on time. Just barely.

danged perverted Europeans! :eek: ;)

Yep, Night before prep does the trick. I shave at home and shower at work, so if I'm up pretty late the night before I might even shave before going to bed. Deciding on exactly what you'll eat for breakfast and laying out the exact cycling clothes you'll wear also speed things up. Check the weather online before bed and pre-pack or lay out anything extra you might need for bad conditions.

I always get to work 30 min early , even if there is a blizzard I still get there too early. I wake up extra early in the morning just to give myself plenty of time to have a good breakfast, prepare food for work, and then leave early enough so I arrive 30 min before I start my work. I wake up at 4:30 AM every day.

I simply dont care. I dawdle, and sip my coffee slowly and finish that last post before I head out the door...then check the tire pressure, and back inside for my wallet which I forgot, then straighten up a few things on the front porch before leaving....It reduces my stress, and I haven't been fired yet.

Whats 10 or 15 minutes in the grand scheme of things anyhow?

as Lucas wisely said in Empire Records: "Damn the Man"

^^This.

And even if I were somehow late, my boss is the person who got me into commuting, so it's simply his fault. :D

I leave the house the same time every day and I'm always late. I'm stumped.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

John, you could work as a translator!

My lateness is so epic that poems have been published about it in the New Yorker magazine. Since the subway is actually faster than cycling (over the river and through the woods, vs. a straight shot on the train) I now have to get up earlier and arrive even later. Does anyone know where I can purchase bullet-proof panniers? Walking in the door at work, I brace for sniper fire.

I used to regard this as a character flaw, but now I think that some people just have a different body clock. I dream of the day my coworkers need something done at 11 pm, at which point I save the day and am rewarded with a flexible work schedule for life. Like I said, it's a dream.