Where the minutes go
Most lateness is planned in. An appointment at 14:40 is written down as 14:40, and the hour before it is filled until 14:40. Nothing in the plan says that the way there takes twenty-five minutes, that leaving takes five more, or that the last task will run over.
- The way there was never in the plan.
- Getting ready was counted as no time at all.
- One more thing fitted into the gap before leaving, and the gap was not there.
- The trip was guessed for a quiet road, not for five in the afternoon.
How to plan the way there
The same few habits, for every appointment that needs you somewhere.
- Write down the time to leave, not only the time to be there. The time to be there is for the people waiting; the time to leave is yours.
- Count the way there for the hour you travel, not the best case.
- Add getting ready: shoes, keys, finding the car or the stop. Ten minutes is a fair start.
- Put a buffer before the time to leave and give it no task. If something fills it, it is no longer a buffer.
- End the task before leaving early, and put that end in the plan.
- The evening before, put what you have to take by the door.
An afternoon, planned backwards
Start from the appointment and walk back: the way there, the buffer, getting ready, and the end of the task before. Whatever is left is the time you really have.
| Time | Block | Why it sits there |
|---|---|---|
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Workflexible | Ends with room to spare |
| 14:00 – 14:10 | Stop and get readyflexible | Getting ready is part of the plan |
| 14:10 – 14:15 | Bufferfree | No task goes here |
| 14:15 – 14:40 | The way therefixed | Counted for the hour you travel |
| 14:40 – 15:20 | Doctorfixed | The time to be there |
| 15:20 – 15:45 | The way backfixed | Taken too |
| 15:45 – 17:00 | Afternoon workflexible | Starts when you are back, not before |
Fixed: it cannot move. Flexible: it can, when the day does. Free: left empty on purpose.
When you are late anyway
Some days the plan loses. What matters then is that one late start does not cost the whole afternoon.
- Say so early, and once. The people waiting would rather know at ten past than at twenty to.
- Keep the fixed things where they are, and move what can move.
- Drop one thing rather than squeezing everything.
- Do not rebuild the day from nothing: shift what is left, in order.
Where TimeLoop differs
TimeLoop is not an alarm and it does not nag. What it does is put the way there into the plan. With TimeLoop Pro, an event with a place gets a time to leave, measured from where you are with the usual traffic for that hour, and the way is kept free in the day so that the task before it ends in time. Without Pro you can add the minutes of the trip yourself, and they are kept free just the same. On iPhone, what is now and what comes next sit on the Lock Screen and in widgets, with the time to leave when there is one.
When you are late anyway, tap how late you are. Fixed events and the way to them stay where they are; what can move is placed again, and you see before and after before anything changes. Replanning with a tap is free. With Pro, if the delay makes you late for something shared, a switch that is off until you turn it on offers to tell the others.
It has no alarms that repeat until you answer, no timer, and it does not count how often you are late.
What it is not
TimeLoop is not a medical tool. It does not treat, manage or improve anything, and nothing on this page is advice about ADHD. This page is about planning the minutes before an appointment; it does not say why anyone is late.
Leave at 14:10.
Not at 14:40.
With TimeLoop Pro the way there is counted into the day, and you see when to set off, not only when to be there.
Asked before you asked.
Why am I always late?
Often because the way there, getting ready and the end of the last task are not in the plan, so the plan is late before the day begins. Planning those minutes is what this page is about; it does not say why any one person is late.
Can I learn to be on time?
Most of it is planning: a time to leave instead of a time to arrive, the trip counted for its hour, a buffer with nothing in it, and an early end to the task before. Those can be learned, and a planner can hold them for you.
How do I stop being late to work?
Treat the commute as a fixed block with its real length for that hour, put getting ready in the plan, and watch the time to leave rather than the time to arrive. Put what you take by the door the evening before.
Does TimeLoop tell me when to leave?
With TimeLoop Pro, yes: for an event with a place it measures the way from where you are, counts the usual traffic for that hour and shows when to set off. Without Pro you can add the minutes of the trip yourself.
What is free in TimeLoop?
The timeline, adding and changing things by hand, replanning a late day with a tap, a lighter day when today is too much, answering invitations, tasks and shared lists, week and month, the day’s weather where you are, and calendar and reminders sync are free, with one goal and one circle of your own. TimeLoop Pro, a monthly or yearly subscription, adds what does the work for you: planning from what you say or type, changing the plan by saying so, telling the others when you run late, when to leave and the weather at each event’s place, looking things up, the morning brief, an answer to how you feel suggested from last night’s sleep, and as many goals and circles as you need.
An event is more than its hour. With TimeLoop Pro the way there is counted into your day, and you see what the sky will be doing when you arrive.
Read ReplanRunning late? ReplanSomething ran over. Instead of dragging every block by hand, say how late you are and get a rest of the day that still works.
Read Running lateTell the othersYou said you are running late, and that makes you late for a dinner your family is waiting at. TimeLoop offers to tell them: one switch, off until you turn it on, with the exact words in front of you. Telling them is part of TimeLoop Pro.
ReadLast updated 14 October 2026.