Punctuality they
say is the sole of business. Arriving right on time or keeping to appointments
promptly all burn down to punctuality. Being punctual matters a lot. It up your
prestige and earn you due respect amongst peers. Unfortunately, numerous
Nigerians take it with levity. No matter how much some people prepare, they'll
still be late to that occasion. Nigerians are widely known to portray the habit
of lateness, hence the term 'Nigerian Time'. People argue that it's a
connatural or congenital trait that can’t be easily flushed out of one’s system.
Bad Side to Lateness
There are many
negatives that go along with having a habit of being late. It's a total
injustice on the people you're delaying.
- Being late signal to others that you have a problem with self control.
- It depicts your incompetence.
- It shows you don't value people's time.
- It brings about self-inflicted feeling of insecurity as you'll find it difficult to conduct yourself during any meeting or appointment you're late to.
- Here comes the most agonizing part. Chronic lateness can make you lose clients, your job, stain your career and strain your relationship with important people that matter to you.
Perceived Reasons for Lateness
- Some people like the adrenaline rush that comes from cutting it close. In short, mini-crisis motivates them to take action.
- People that lack simple titivation tend to be latecomers. They're always disorganized. It's hard to be on time when all your clothes are either dirty or wrinkled, misfiled documents needed for your meeting, or start going all 'ultimate search' on your house and car keys.
- Distraction is another big minus. Those that get easily distracted tend to be late for appointments. The long gaze at that beautiful girl/bloke or minutes spent window shopping on the street will cost you valuable time.
Old habits die
hard but an old dog can still learn new tricks. Irrespective of whatever
reasons you've got for your perpetual lateness there are certain things to do
that will aid you towards the path of total redemption for lateness.
- Desire to be on Time: The first step toward being punctual is accepting that you have punctuality problem. Understand that it is a very bad character that taints one's image, affect career, business or relationship. Determine and become self-willed to change. Make up your mind not to condone any form of lateness and become punctual.
- Learn to be Time Conscious: Develop a sense of morality whenever you're drawing late on a task. React spontaneously towards beating downtime. Work strictly under a constricted time frame. You can begin by trying to meet up with that 8:00am lecture before time or get to work 10 minutes than usual before the official resumption time. It's always very hard at first. But with incessant practice, you'll sure break free from the shackles of lateness.
- Double Time: Calculate the number of minutes it will take you to reach your destination and double it. This will give you ample time to meet up with that appointment. Don't just give hazy figures or estimation. Be sure of the full time taken including, walking, driving, transiting, waiting, locating, etc. In fact, include a miscellaneous time of 5-10 minutes after your calculation. You never can tell, you might end up running into someone you know and talk for couple of minutes or more if you haven't seen each other for a long time and then you're late. Even if you know how long it takes you to perform different tasks (such as driving to work or driving to a meeting across town), give yourself some extra time in case of unexpected events.
- Be Prepared to be on Time: Preparation is one of the keys to punctuality. As an illustration, if you’re constantly late leaving your house in the morning, set up the night before. The night before, do the following: Choose the clothes that you’re going to wear and lay them out. Pack your briefcase and leave it by the door. Make sure that your house keys and your car keys are by the door. Make your breakfast on time.
- Use a Timer: Once you know how long it actually takes you to complete different tasks, use a timer to make sure that you adhere to those times. For example, if you know that it takes you three minutes to take a shower, set a timer for three minutes right before you step into the shower. Then, when you hear the timer ring, turn the water off and step out of the shower right away.
- Always Leave on Time: The moment which ultimately determines whether you arrive where you’re going late or on time is the moment in which you walk out your door. Force yourself to leave at a pre-determined time. Don't give in to unexpected or unnecessary occurrences except it has to do with life and death. If an email comes in, ignore it. If a friend walks into your house two minutes before you have to leave, tell them you can give only two minutes. Excuse yourself when it’s up and leave. If you get up to leave and you notice that your picture – which is hanging on the wall – is dusty, don’t even dare think about cleaning it. Leave immediately! If you leave for your appointments on time, you’re practically guaranteed to be on time.
- Set up Reminders: Set up a reminder for meetings and appointments days ahead. Also, set up another reminder for fifteen minutes before you have to go. That way, you can time yourself so that you’re ready to leave on time.
- Practice the Day Before: For important events, such as a job interview or if you have to give a presentation, practice how to get to where you need to be the day before. That way, you won’t lose time on the day of the important event trying to find the right address. Get everything ready beforehand. This includes your attires, your bag, your materials, etc. This prevents delay from trying to look for things in the last minute. If you are planning to wear new clothes, make sure to try it on first the day before to check that it fits the way you want.
- Make Friends with your Alarm: Have you been late before due to oversleeping? Wake up immediately when the alarm rings. Don’t give yourself any chance at all to renegotiate yourself to sleep! Oversleeping usually results from not having enough sleep. Be sure to give yourself sufficient sleep-time the night before.
- Keep your Keys and Travel Necessities in the Same Place: Put these travel necessities in the same spot every day. When you return home in the evening, place them there. In the morning when you depart, get them from that spot. Better still, put them in your bag you use so you don’t have to keep shifting them around.
- Always Have a Contingency Plan: In case you do become late for some reason. The backup plan can be taking a faster but costlier mode of transport (e.g. taxi or Okada), picking out an alternative mode of travel, and so on.
- Be Ruthless with your To-Do List: One reason why you may have a tendency to be late is because you simply have too much to do. If your schedule is unrealistic, how can you possibly be on time for anything? It’s better to say “no” to something you don’t have time for than it is to say “yes” and then be an hour late. Take out your to do list and ruthlessly cross out anything that’s not a priority. Make sure that you only commit to do the number of things which you can realistically get done, and which you can realistically be on time for. Punctual people accept that they can’t do it all.
- Handy Materials: Go along with useful materials like - Smartphone, Mp3 device, magazines and journals - when travelling or going for a meeting. This will keep you occupied when in case you arrive at your destination too early. You can brief through your presentation or listen to subtle music on your player prior to the meeting.
When you’re on time
you’re prepared to do your best. Being punctual signals to others, as well as to
yourself, that you can be relied on. If you know you are definitely going to be
late or have a good probability of being late despite all efforts to be on
time, contact the person immediately as a form of good etiquette. This gives
the person lead time to plan his/her schedule accordingly, rather than dropping
him/ her with the news at the last minute and wasting his/her time in the
process. Make plans to reschedule if needed.
Everything in
your life is as a result of the choice you've made. If you want a different
result, make a different choice. Use the tips above to adopt a habit of being
punctual. See you next week!
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Author: Lambe Olanrewaju
follow @thisseidublog and @simply_lanre
Thanks for the moral tips lambe.
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