Are you always running late, and can’t figure out why? I admit that I have this problem, even though I give myself plenty of time to get ready. This article shed some light on my problem. (See Reason #2 below.) Read on…

If you’re constantly running late for everything, “Reader’s Digest” has a column that could help you figure out why, and more importantly, what you can do about it.

Here are three common causes and a quick fix.

#1) You’re bad at time management.

It means you’re not realistic about how long things take.

So, instead of thinking of it as “I have to be at work by 9 a.m.,” you should start setting mini deadlines for yourself. Like, “I have to be out of the shower by 7:35, done with breakfast by 8:05, and in the car by 8:15.”

#2) You always try to do “One More Thing” before you leave.

It may only take 60 seconds to do things like check Facebook. But if you do five of those things, you’re suddenly five minutes late.

Fix it by trying not to multitask so much. Say to yourself, “I can do this later,” and just walk out the door.

#3) You’re in denial about how much of your time you give to others.

I’m also guilty of this, because I like to help people. So, I’m “overbooking” my schedule, and doing too much.

The way to stop this behavior: Learn to say “no.”

Reader’s Digest has five more reasons for chronic lateness. Read the full article here.

Or, you can try this on for size:

The next time you’re late for work, use this as an excuse.

Tell your boss you have a LATENESS ADDICTION. A new study out of San Francisco State University found that about 17% of people are chronically late.

(Technically, you can be addicted to just about anything.)

According to psychologists who analyzed the study, the people who were chronically late all shared similar traits. They procrastinated more, had more trouble with self-control, and had trouble focusing. Those are the alleged signs that chronic lateness might be an ingrained part of their personality.