Poor timekeeping - cure ?

I know this isn't cat related but I need some kind of guidance before
I get sacked. I'm on my third warning as it is !

I am a bad timekeeper. I always have been - not an excuse I grant
you but whatever I try I never get in gear enough to get wherever
I'm going, on time. It doesn't matter if its social, exams, work, trains, buses, driving, etc, I'm just always late.

I know its rude and inconsiderate, and I already loose wages over it,
but even if I get up 3hrs early, I still get into work late. it is
mostly down to poor judgement and lack of discipline. I prepare
everything I need the night before, and get ready by a certain time, and earlier, but somehow, that last 1hr always just vanishes into thin air. Someone once said it is a triat of a Discalculia sufferer ( Dyslexia but with maths, one of the symptoms is having no concept of lenghts of time ) and I have been diagnosed with this
condition, but surely there is a way round this that I haven't tried ??? If its discipline, then how do you beome disciplined ???

I need a cure, and I need it now....any suggestions ?????

Peace, Love, and Happiness, Always
Sonia

Sonia your doing everything i was going to say such as getting your things ready the night before etc..

I just make a routine for myself. I hate dashing around because i find it gets my day off to a bad start?!.

I get up at 6.30am to make sure i have breakfast, watch a bit of news, then start getting dressed at 7am to leave the house for 7.30am.

If you can get a routine going it will help. Good luck

Sonia, first of all, thank you for helping me find out what Dyscalculia (or dyscalcula) is. I had never heard of it before. I had a look on this web page and it gives a good explanation.

It's a very legitimate disorder or learning difficulty so the first thing I would do is to print some things about it from the net. This will help your boss, co-workers etc to see that you aren't late deliberately and you don't dawdle/waste time/lose track of time without a reason.

As for dealing with this, I would firstly try something practical. You know how people with Alzheimers and Dementia do thing like write themselves notes or have labels all over the house? One thing you could try is to buy second-hand or gather together about 5 alarm clocks. Set them for different times in the morning, say about 10 or 15 minutes apart. When the clock goes off, you have to physically go over and shut it off. Put a note near each clock, detailing what you need to accomplish before the next clock goes off. If you have a little electronic personal organiser, you can set it to go off at the right times, including a note, each morning. Carry it with you from when you wake up until you get to work. You may even find it helps you at other times of the day. If you don't have one, you can buy them from as little as $15.

What you're doing here is having a surrogate 'mom' remind you. I'm sure you remember it: Have you had a shower yet? Are you dressed yet? Have you done your hair yet? Have you finished your breakfast yet? etc etc.

I don't know much about Dyscalcula and this is just an idea, of course. Good luck!

I also found a good explanation of the time perception difficulties here: http://www.dyscalculiainfo.org/page2.html

I don't know if this will help, but here's what worked for me:

Getting a wristwatch that beeps at regular intervals can help keep track of time - mine beeps on the hour and on the half-hour.

It also helps to develop a routine: Figure out everything you'll need to do to get ready for work & out the door, up to & including petting the cat . Get a stopwatch & time yourself while you do it. Also time how long it takes you to get to work once you're out the door. Total this, and add some time for emergencies/traffic problems.

When the time comes to start getting ready for work, tell yourself "I'm getting ready to leave NOW" (I say it out loud) and start getting ready, following your routine, and don't allow yourself to be distracted by anything that isn't part of your routine. I make a game of it, making sure I'm out the door by (or before) the time allowed in the routine. The first few weeks you do the routine, use a stopwatch to keep track of how long it's taking you to do things, and also so you can make adjustments in your initial routine time if they're needed.

If you're like me & have trouble keeping organized, there's a great website to help: www.flylady.net
The stopwatch idea came from her too.

I guess what works for me is simply to fix a time i wanna get things done.. like i wanna be out of my shower in 15 mins time, finish combing meow meow in 10 mins time... i guess it helps me to know how much time i actually need to get up and get out of the door to be on time for work... and also... try to note the timing of buses, try different routes to work to get the shortest time route... hope it helps u, sonia. Good luck

Good luck Sonia! My nanas friend turns her clock back an hour and it works for her?