Turning up on time to things

I have become much more relaxed about appointments with age and while my autism is always pushing in the background to be there on time I have found that there are few situations in the real world where a delay of 10-20 mins is really much of an issue.

For situations where I need to be on time then I aim to arrive 15 mins earlier, or if there is a higher risk of delay (eg using trains or driving to a different city) then I increase the amount of time in advance to arrive accordingly.

Preparation is the key - not only to know how to get there (Google maps and street view make identifying the building so much easier) but to have alternatives if the parking is full, and to have a few contingency items with you.

I always carry a small bottle of water, a set of things like headache tablets, indigestion tablets, chewing gum, something easy to read (eg magazine) to pass time and a pack of tissues in case of allergies.

Pre-load any maps offline on my phone so I am not impacted by lack of mobile phone signal and I am set.

My autism helps me a lot in these situations as I can see the probable issues I will encounter and can work around them.

What experience has taught me is that things can go wrong so when they do then plan a response to avoid the panic response that some people talk about - it leaves you feeling confident and much more likely to get more from the meeting.

When things do go wildly wrong (eg the train network goes offline) then treat it like an adventure and not a disaster. Contact the person you are meeting as soon as you realise and tell them the issue and that you are switching to an alternative plan or are cancelling. If it is on the return leg then treat it like an escape room challenge - a puzzle to solve.

If the worst happens and you are trapped far from home them get a hotel room for the night rather than get into a tizz over it all. I've done this a few times and it allows me time to plan an alternative for the next day, have a good nights sleep and maybe treat myself to a nice meal out.

Where I live now it is quite common to be an hour late due to a mix of terrible traffic and the local culture so this makes expectations much lower for punctuality and gives a more relaxing lifestyle, even if the lack of structure rubs against my autism at times - I always have something to read with me and can chill in a cafe while I wait as my planning normally lets me arrive on time.

I have become much more relaxed about appointments with age and while my autism is always pushing in the background to be there on time I have found that there are few situations in the real world where a delay of 10-20 mins is really much of an issue.

For situations where I need to be on time then I aim to arrive 15 mins earlier, or if there is a higher risk of delay (eg using trains or driving to a different city) then I increase the amount of time in advance to arrive accordingly.

Preparation is the key - not only to know how to get there (Google maps and street view make identifying the building so much easier) but to have alternatives if the parking is full, and to have a few contingency items with you.

I always carry a small bottle of water, a set of things like headache tablets, indigestion tablets, chewing gum, something easy to read (eg magazine) to pass time and a pack of tissues in case of allergies.

Pre-load any maps offline on my phone so I am not impacted by lack of mobile phone signal and I am set.

My autism helps me a lot in these situations as I can see the probable issues I will encounter and can work around them.

What experience has taught me is that things can go wrong so when they do then plan a response to avoid the panic response that some people talk about - it leaves you feeling confident and much more likely to get more from the meeting.

When things do go wildly wrong (eg the train network goes offline) then treat it like an adventure and not a disaster. Contact the person you are meeting as soon as you realise and tell them the issue and that you are switching to an alternative plan or are cancelling. If it is on the return leg then treat it like an escape room challenge - a puzzle to solve.

If the worst happens and you are trapped far from home them get a hotel room for the night rather than get into a tizz over it all. I've done this a few times and it allows me time to plan an alternative for the next day, have a good nights sleep and maybe treat myself to a nice meal out.

Where I live now it is quite common to be an hour late due to a mix of terrible traffic and the local culture so this makes expectations much lower for punctuality and gives a more relaxing lifestyle, even if the lack of structure rubs against my autism at times - I always have something to read with me and can chill in a cafe while I wait as my planning normally lets me arrive on time.