BY NASIHA AHMED

　　Since the beginning of time, someone else has been controlling your time, or rather your timeliness. When we were younger, our parents determined when we got to school and how early or late we were. They helped us to dress and get ready and we were under their control. Then, as we got older, we gained some of our own independence, but then many women get married and then their control over their time is not their own again.

　　The hours in their day are not necessarily their own. Whether it is reporting to work by a certain time, dropping kids off to school by a certain time, or even preparing breakfast for yourself and hubby before you and he go off to work, all this requires you to have something done by a certain time. This requires punctuality.

　　One of the hardest habits in life to master seems to be punctuality. Many of us can juggle all that life throws our way, from jobs to marriage to kids, but when it comes to handling all of this in a timely manner, some of us fall short. Most of us remember being late to school as children, running around our homes looking for our homework or our shoes. Asking our moms where we put our jackets. Why were we always late? Then, we grew up and got to college or started working and still made it just in the nick of time, barely there before our boss could check the clock. Or we would slide into our college desks just as the professor began to lecture or pass out the test papers.

　　Why is that most of us are habitually late, not just for work or school, but in many other aspects of our lives? More importantly, what can we do as the women of the house for our families and for ourselves to break this cycle of perpetual procrastination and everlasting tardiness?

　　Practicing punctuality in practically everything

　　In everything we do, from the moment we rise, we should practice punctuality. Our priorities should incorporate timeliness and reliability in all aspects of our daily activities. Actually, there is probably little or nothing that doesn’t require or could not benefit from our promptness.

　　Performing responsibilities with regularity

　　This is the most common area of procrastination in that this is where most of us are guilty of it. Sometimes, some of us develop over the years an “I’ll do it later” attitude and we begin to procrastinate in our duties, from the small to the large ones. We begin to put off the laundry until it accumulates and spills over the basket; we allow the dishes to pile in the sink and then get that sinking feeling in our stomachs as we are elbow deep days later in greasy dishwater. We are up late the night before a big test because we delay studying until the last minute; we can actually put off any thing and everything – all errands, all chores, all duties and responsibilities. But should we?

　　No, rather we should try to perform our duties as soon as possible. This is best for us in many ways.

　　1. We can set a good example for our families by showing them that we take our responsibilities seriously. If they see that we procrastinate, they may take that to mean neglect.

　　4.