Here's a miscellaneous list of things to try, I don't have an order of operations here - I'd suggest you keep trying until you find something that works for you. Being so wildly late suggests that you probably don't have a simple, tactical problem (just leave 10 minutes earlier and you'll be on time), but something strategic and probably somewhat mentally related.
I've wrestled with getting to work on time for most of my career - so here's a number of tricks I used from personal experience. These days my fix is actually public commuting - with a train schedule to meet, and the knowledge that 2 minutes late will mean either 1 hour, or $14 (parking at work), I have found a whole new motivator - but that is too specific to be useful. Here's a bunch of ideas from my time as a solo driving commuter.
I'm of the mind that "willpower" is something we attach to a hard to understand set of motivations and simply assuming we can build up will power by being more ?willful? is usually incorrect. When I hit a willpower issue, I usually look for what drivers are pulling my will in the opposite direction.
Massively change departure time
Try doing something really nuts - leave an hour or two hours early. You may need to go to bed MUCH earlier, and you'll be seriously changing any patterns that you rely on. For example, if you normally commute just after rush hour, you may find yourself in more serious traffic. Or if you take public transit, you'll be on a very different schedule.
It's really just to shake things up. If you find that even if you have 2 hour window, you will literally drag around the house until you are late, you really have to wonder whether you're real issue is the job itself (see below).
Eliminate barriers at home
Try removing any distraction. For example, I love coffee... but I won't have it at home, because once I start sipping that delicious hot java, I am slow to leave whatever chair I've settled on.
Also - don't check mail, don't plan to pick up the house, don't do anything that isn't directly related to being prepared to get to work looking suitably professional.
Know your Drop Dead Time
Know the time you really must leave. Be realistic with yourself. If you were 10 minutes late yesterday, know your drop dead time is at least 10 minutes earlier. I often get caught in the trap of "well... in 2009, it only took me 25 minutes this one time, so I can get to work by 9:00, if I leave at 8:35". Wrong! Yesterday, I left at 8:30, I got in at 9:05. If I want to be in on time, I had better leave by 8:25.
Don't let the Last Time to Leave get later until you have been reliably on time for a month. Mileage varies if you take public transit - obviously there are times when the transit will make you late. I find most jobs with high percentages of public transit commuters are more lenient for 1-2 cases of lateness-due-to-transit a month, so long as the incidents are truly unusual.
Go to something good
For me, it's back to my love of coffee. Having chased myself out of my coffee-free environment, I get coffee on the way in if I have time. It's good inspiration to get out the door 10 minutes early and it becomes the Coffee of Victory! (yes, I also sing to myself and raise it above my head like I have won a prize fight.)
I'd love to say there's healthy options too - walk by a nice peice of art, or a lovely park. Feed birds, or smile at people. There's got to be some healthier, caffiene-free, no-calorie, no-cost tricks, too. But for me... it's coffee.
It could even be that you'll save the thing you like doing most at work for the first thing in the morning thing, so you are going to the best part of your day.
Do you REALLY like work?
Quite honestly, everyone I know has an element of work that they do not like. There's a reason why it's something you get paid for, and not something you get paid to do. Even if you do work-like activities for fun, the fun part is often that you get to direct your own activities, and you can do more of what you love and skip some of the stuff you hate when you aren't getting paid for the time.
The human mind is a sneaky place. No one really wants to hate their job - and some personality types will even lie to themselves about whether they like their jobs.
I've had the lateness epidemic you mention, and I have noticed that it in hindsight, my lateness always preceded a growing dissatisfaction with my job. It could be coworker stress, hatred of certain tasks, a lack of belief in my company or our products, or other serious issues with the environment. But the core problem was I knew that when I walked in the door, I would not be glad to be there. My subconscious mind has always seemed much smarter than me about this - so now I know that when these delays start, I need to find and eliminate other issues at work, even if I haven't admitted to myself that I have issues.
About the only thing I've been able to do to dig up this root cause is to focus on the anxiety of lateness, do any and all of the above things to mitigate it, and then look into what else is causing the stress. For example:
- Are there daily tasks that you're dreading?
- Particular people you fear talking to?
- Cases of actions where you feel you just can't win?
- Is it just on the way in to work that you are stressed and unhappy or other times as well? Do you relax as the day goes by?
- Are you on time for internal meetings? What keeps you on time for those?
It's a nagging thought that if everything else you do at work is good, then you are clearly competent and shouldn't have an actual tactical difficulty - I doubt that if you have a challenging job that getting dressed, washed and packed and out the door in a predictable timely way is really your issue. I suspect that there's something going on here adding to your stress and your relunctance to be at work is more than just the catch-22 of feeling like you've already failed before you leave the house.
2Do you like your job? Why do you not want to be at work? – None – 2012-12-10T15:04:52.267
does your job require you to be there for a fixed time, or is it mainly solitary? do you affect others by being late? could you talk to your boss about perhaps having different working times, even for a trial week and seeing if your issue is, your not a morning person, or, youre always late regardless – None – 2012-12-10T15:09:57.953
I like my job... But I also feel very ashamed of being the worker I am, so I'd rather stay at home than face the judgment of my colleagues. If I'm 10 minutes late, I already feel like I've lost the entire day and leaving becomes more difficult. – BeetleTheNeato – 2012-12-10T15:10:51.107
What have you done to try to regulate your sleep? I may have a few pointers but I don't want to list things you've tried. – None – 2012-12-10T15:11:38.020
20It seems like you have deeper problems than sleep habits and being late. Probably not something that can be answered here. That said, you did not mention exercise. Daily exercise helps a lot people with mood regulation circadian rhythms. – None – 2012-12-10T15:12:08.597
Just out of curiosity have you ever taken a thyroid function test? That morning fatigue / sadness is a common symptom of various thyroid disorders. It's a long shot, but hyperthyroidism was the root cause of my abnormal sleeping patterns, and I've been sleeping a lot better after the diagnosis and subsequent treatment. – None – 2012-12-10T15:12:42.887
You don't explain what the cause is. Is it oversleeping? Is it sitting on Facebook for 3 hours each morning? Is it something else? – enderland – 2012-12-10T15:46:27.013
1What is your morning routine? Do you even have a morning routine? – None – 2012-12-10T15:47:24.777
@enderland It might be sitting on Facebook some mornings, but I think the main problem is oversleeping. Overall, I lack discipline and don't know how to acquire it. – BeetleTheNeato – 2012-12-10T15:54:35.497
3@BeetleTheNeato - don't go onto Facebook before work. In fact don't do anything that isn't directly related to getting you to work. – None – 2012-12-10T16:08:57.800
4Is this really a workplace issue? I think it would fit better on Personal Productivity. – None – 2012-12-10T16:11:48.110
@DJClayworth Sorry if I posted the question in the wrong place. I thought it fitted here. – BeetleTheNeato – 2012-12-10T16:47:20.650
Moderators here and for Personal Productivity SE are discussing the best fit for the question; if it's ultimately PP SE, it'll be migrated automatically. – None – 2012-12-10T16:51:50.643
Do you work out? Weights, yoga, cardio? if you work out at the end of the day, it may be easier to fall asleep – amphibient – 2012-12-10T18:56:35.370
1@BeetleTheNeato - Don't worry about where you posted the question. There are a hundred SE sites now, so it's not really realistic to post every question at exactly the right place every time, and considering this is affecting your work, Workplace.SE is a logical place to put it. If there's a better fitting SE site, that's part of what moderators are here for. – None – 2012-12-10T19:39:22.460
I can certainly relate to parts of this problem. I too would rather stay home 'sick' than show up 15 minutes late. If I show up late, it's because I'm lazy. If I stay home because I'm sick, I'm sick. Nothing dishonorable about being sick - even if the net result is a lot less productivity. Of course, once I stay home 'sick' I feel guilty and want to avoid work the next day that much more. This is actually how I've ended up quitting two jobs, running late, faked sick, called in the next day and couldn't face it. Then I'd need a doctor's note and so I'd just never show up again. – None – 2012-12-10T20:09:58.397
I had this same problem, but thankfully it fixed itself. Anybody looking for a chronically late programmer? – Doug.McFarlane – 2014-05-23T19:24:51.550