Чтобы не опоздать на работу, мне лучше выйти из дома пораньше и не ждать лифт.

Here чтобы introduces a purpose clause: чтобы не опоздать на работу means so as not to be late for work / in order not to be late for work.

A very common pattern in Russian is:

чтобы + infinitive

when the subject is understood from the main clause.

So in this sentence, the person who does не опоздать is the same person as the one who should выйти and не ждать.

Опоздать is the perfective infinitive. It focuses on the result: to end up being late on a particular occasion.

That fits this sentence well, because the idea is:

• I want to avoid one concrete result:
• being late for work

If you used опаздывать, that would sound more like a repeated or ongoing idea, such as to be habitually late.

So:

• чтобы не опоздать = so as not to be late this time
• чтобы не опаздывать = so as not to keep being late / not to have the habit of being late

Because на работу is the normal Russian expression for to work as a destination.

Compare:

• идти на работу = to go to work
• быть на работе = to be at work
• вернуться с работы = to come back from work

So after опоздать, Russian uses the destination phrase:

• опоздать на работу = to be late for work

This is very natural and idiomatic in Russian.

In мне лучше выйти, the word лучше works like a predicative word meaning it would be better. The person affected is put in the dative case:

• мне лучше = it is better for me / I’d better
• тебе лучше = you’d better
• нам лучше = we’d better

So:

• мне лучше выйти из дома пораньше = I’d better leave home earlier

This is a very common Russian pattern.

Note that я лучше... also exists, but it usually means something slightly different, more like I’d rather... or better that I...

For example:

• Я лучше пойду пешком. = I’d rather go on foot.

But in your sentence, мне лучше is the straightforward way to express advice or good judgment.

Выйти is the perfective verb meaning to go out / to leave.

Since the sentence refers to one practical action on one occasion, perfective makes sense:

• выйти из дома = to leave the house / go out of the house

If you used выходить, that would usually suggest a repeated or habitual action, or the action as a process.

So here:

• мне лучше выйти = I’d better leave

is more natural than an imperfective form.

Both can sometimes translate as leave home, but they are not exactly the same.

• выйти из дома = to go out of the house/home
• уйти из дома = to leave home, to go away from home

In this sentence, выйти из дома is better because the focus is simply on the practical act of going out in time for work.

Уйти из дома can sound broader or stronger, and in some contexts it can even suggest leaving home in a more emotional or permanent sense.

So for an ordinary morning routine, выйти из дома is the natural choice.

Пораньше means a bit earlier, earlier than usual, or somewhat earlier.

It comes from раньше with the prefix по-, which often gives a softer, more moderate sense.

So:

• раньше = earlier
• пораньше = a little earlier / nice and early / earlier than usual

In this sentence, пораньше sounds very natural because the speaker is talking about adjusting their routine slightly:

• выйти из дома пораньше = leave home a bit earlier

It often sounds more conversational and practical than plain раньше.

This is a great question, because Russian allows some variation here.

The verb ждать normally takes a direct object:

• ждать лифт = to wait for the elevator

Under negation, Russian sometimes uses the genitive instead of the accusative:

• не ждать лифт
• не ждать лифта

Both are possible in many contexts.

In modern everyday Russian, accusative is very common, especially when the object is concrete and specific, as here: the elevator in the building.

So не ждать лифт sounds natural and colloquial.

The genitive version, не ждать лифта, is also possible, but it can sound a bit more formal, bookish, or emphasize the absence/non-occurrence of the object.

So in this sentence, не ждать лифт is completely normal.

Because Russian ждать directly governs its object.

English says:

• wait for the elevator

Russian says:

• ждать лифт

So the verb itself means to wait for. No extra preposition is needed.

This is something learners just have to remember as a verb pattern:

• ждать автобус
• ждать друга
• ждать письмо
• ждать лифт

Because Чтобы не опоздать на работу is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

Russian normally separates this kind of clause with a comma:

• Чтобы не опоздать на работу, мне лучше...

So the comma marks the boundary between:

1. the purpose clause
2. the main statement

This is standard punctuation.

In the pattern мне лучше + infinitive, Russian uses the infinitive to express what action would be better to do.

So:

• мне лучше выйти
• мне лучше не ждать

This structure is very common for advice, recommendation, or sensible planning.

If you used a finite verb instead, you would need a different structure, for example:

• Я лучше выйду из дома пораньше. = I’d rather leave home earlier.

But with мне лучше, the infinitive is exactly what Russian expects.

Yes. Russian word order is fairly flexible, and the sentence could be rearranged a bit without changing the basic meaning.

For example:

• Чтобы не опоздать на работу, мне лучше пораньше выйти из дома и не ждать лифт.

This is also natural.

The version with выйти из дома пораньше puts пораньше after the whole phrase leave home, while пораньше выйти из дома puts more focus on earlier before the verb.

Both are possible. The original sentence sounds very normal.