Jocelyn has been late her whole life. As a kid, she never got to school on time, even though John Jay Elementary was just down the block.  Now 56, married, with two grown children and a successful career, she is still late for work every day.  Jocelyn fills every moment with activity—going to the gym 6 times per week,  listening to books on tape as she drives, lunching with friends, attending dinner parties, scurrying to business meetings, weekend brunches, movies and museums. She’s late for them all. 

Friends tell her she has no sense of how long things take. She’s tried to be more conscious of it, to be more sensitive, making a big effort to give herself extra time. But she always gets caught up in this feeling that I've get to fit one more thing in. 

             Lateness is an emotionally charged issue. What’s fascinating is how people on both sides of the issue have so little understanding of the other person’s experience.  These are parallel universes that refuse to intersect, with lots of misinterpretations and paranoid thinking on every side.

           Chronic lateness is an emotionally charged issue both for the latecomer and those left waiting. It can also seem to be impossible to fix, but it’s not. The majority of the perpetually tardy are lost in their own web of turmoil and emotions, their lives filled with harried moments, near misses, and guilty apologies. They are so immersed in their own chaos that they rarely realize how inconsiderate their behavior appears to the people left waiting. They also can get so absorbed in what they are doing, they can lose track of time. If you’re trying to overcome your chronic lateness, you may gain inspiration on what to do about it by reading Natalie’s story.             Natalie has been late her whole life. As a kid, she never made it to school on time, even though her elementary school was just down the block. At fifty-six, happily married, with two grown children and a successful career, she is still late for work every day. Natalie crams every moment with activity