Poor time management limits success more than people realize it does. The people you work for, whether bosses or clients, will notice if you show up late or miss a deadline. When you do, it reflects poorly on you and your company, and how you deal with being called out about poor time management does too. If you struggle with punctuality, you need to fix that now.

Being casually late to a social event is acceptable, but being late to a business meeting isn’t. Showing up late to a business meeting sends a few different messages, including that the meeting isn’t important or a priority or that other people or work is more important. None of these are good messages to send to co-workers or clients.

For attorneys, that business meeting may be with a client or a court hearing. It is a bad look to show up late for court and it will affect the judge’s perception of you. With clients, they expect me to be on time for meetings and calls with them and on top of the deadlines in their matters. If I am untimely, in addition to whatever bad message it sends to the client on the importance of their matter to me, it could negatively affect my ability to achieve their desired goal or outcome. Someone who you do not do right by is more likely to let many people know about their negative experience with you, thereby negatively affecting your reputation.

For other lines of work, not being on time or not meeting deadlines will affect promotions and raises, potential sales, or getting that new customer or client. Bosses and customers alike want people who do what they say they will when they say they will do it. Whatever your job, there are many others doing what you do and who will timely do what they say. Negatively differentiating yourself by not being on time or meeting deadlines will keep you stuck in place or, worse, out of a job.

If you struggle showing up on time or with other deadlines there are many tools that can help. Every computer you use, from the desktop computer to your phone, has programs with alarms and reminders that alert you to upcoming meetings to deadlines. You can set these for what works for you or in relation to a specific deadline. This may mean a 5-minute warning before the start of a meeting or call or a two-week lead time on the deadline for a big project you’re working on. The point is you can set one or more reminders and alerts depending on what works for you.

If you have challenges with time management, you know it and you can work on doing better. If this is you, work on what you can do to change generally and use the tools available to you. Doing so will provide you with the best chance of professional success.