Some students take their time walking to class while others make their way at a pace that leaves them breathless. Then, there are the students who are already seated, pencil and paper already out on their desk, and work is being done. It seems these students are seldom found in classes at Central, yet some still live up to their reputation of being early-timers with their perfected schedules. To overcome lateness, follow the habits of the never late.

“An excuse I always get from students coming late to my class is ‘I had to go to the bathroom,'” noted Justine Staton, psychology and sociology teacher at Central High.

The first habit of the early birds is that they do not blame their circumstances. Being late is 100 percent the late person’s fault. Even with the presence of distractions all around, there still is no rational excuse for tardiness.

“Late people need to start managing their time. Do not goof off,” shared Andy Greene, a sophomore at Central High School who likes to be early to his classes.

Valuing other people’s time is another good habit to have. Being late is just plain rude.

“Early people tend to be on top of things; they have a higher standard. Late people tend to not use their time wisely,” explained Staton.

The third habit is that some are pessimistic about the clock. Clinging to the worst case scenario lets someone manage the time better. For example, if a person usually leaves for work at 8 a.m. and it takes that person 40 minutes because of traffic, but once it took 20 minutes to get to work when leaving at 6 a.m. with no traffic. After experiencing the 20-minute drive to work, one may be unable to change their thinking to 40 minutes because he or she are adopting a best-case scenario mindset.

Late people tend to plan forward and that may not always be a good idea. When planning forward, people also estimate how long something is going to take to do, but that can be vague, especially if you are a late person who always underestimates the time available. A habit to develop that can counter this is working backwards. The best way to go about it is to identify the time one needs to be ready by, then subtract the time it takes to do every task on his/her list. This will give people an accurate start point.

Early people also tend to break down complex tasks. For example, a big project may have many smaller sub-components that go unnoticed.

The sixth habit is always watching the clock. Keeping track of time may prevent delays.

“I watch the clock when I first enter the class and when I leave.” explained Greene.

Students should take their class time seriously and get there on time. Missing out on class time may leave someone behind when the other classmates are ahead.