Is that a real emergency or just a poor excuse?

Person A: I am so sorry I am late. I was stuck in traffic.

Person B: No kidding. Cause, ya know, I chartered a plane to get here!

I am so tempted to respond this way to every Person A who has been notoriously late to a meeting with me and arrives blurting out this ridiculous excuse. They may be friends, family, guests, co-worker, clients, or perfect strangers, it matters little who they are because tardy is a serious lack of respect.

Am I the only one left who feels this way about punctuality and tardiness? Please say it isn’t so.

Has our culture written off the importance of being punctual as insignificant and inconsequential? Well i know that some people is taken the terms of “jam karet” literally.

Can we not have confidence enough to politely ask that people do us the courtesy to simply be on time?

Can we not have enough respect for the other person’s time and effort to show up at the hour that we said we would?

Are we really that incapable of handling ourselves and managing our time as adults with all gadgets of technology known to man?

The dreaded truth: what it really means to be late …

Let me dispel a few preconceived notions about being late. This quiet truth deserves a voice and it rarely gets heard.

Being late …

• does not make you an important or special person. Whoever you are doesn’t reserve you the right to be late.
• late once or twice in your life may be unavoidable but being late consistently makes you unreliable.
• says you clearly do not respect the other person’s time, only yours.
• affects your boss’s or your friends impression of you and damages your upward mobility at the company and can damage your credibility in society..( i’m not exagerating about this)
• consistently implies you are rude and lack all consideration and respect for the other person as well as for the commitment you made.

Your apologies for being late, however profuse and sincere, do not excuse the tardy. I am not saying not to apologize, I am saying not to be late! Your reasons for being late insult the other person’s intelligence.

Let’s state the obvious here: Emergencies are exempt from the list above. Emergency, however, is defined as an unavoidable and uncontrollable situation which puts you in a position that makes it impossible to comply with your original plans because something more important has arisen at the last minute.

No, that is not an emergency!

The short list below shows examples of what is not an emergency, and rather results from lack of planning and a personal choice:

You spill coffee (or any beverage) on yourself on your way out the door.

Your children making you late. For whatever reason.

You have an argument with your spouse, your partner, your neighbor and then you are late.

Your dog or cat or other four-legged friend does something to make you late. Anything!

You answer an unexpected call which runs over and makes you late.

You ‘lose track of time’ and are thereby, you guessed it, late.

You forget altogether about the appointment and are embarrassingly late.

You are “stuck” in ‘unavoidable’ traffic or re-routed due to construction routes.

The last one is my pet peeve. Calculating the distance between two points takes simple thinking. The two tools you need are access to Google and a device that tells time. If you have never traveled that route and are not familiar with traffic patterns, give yourself at least 15 extra minutes on top of what Google maps or your GPS dictates.

Traffic is not a new phenomena in our lives. You can manage extremely well with minimal planning. Traffic does not control you, excuse you, make you late or hold you back. You do. Be smart, be responsible, and plan around it!

But some days, life has other plans and hands you a real emergency such as:

Your punctual train or public transportation is delayed because of unforeseen circumstances.

You have an accident or a punctured tire while in transit.

You become ill and unable to go the meeting — in which case you will be a no-show not just late.

Someone you care for becomes ill and needs your help.

May none of these real emergencies ever detain you. May you be healthy and outside the emergency zone at all times. But if they do, please immediately contact the other person and let them know. Communication is consideration when emergencies arise.

11 reasons why it pays to be punctual in life

Embracing punctuality is more than just an admirable trait; it introduces you to a brand new way of living that you will love! You feel content and happy with yourself rather than frustrated and guilty.

Why is the importance of being punctual in life anyway if there are far too many Person A types around.

Because it is the right thing to do — but I shall give you 11 more reasons just to be safe.

Below are 11 more reasons why punctuality matters in a professional world among smart people:

You show respect for the Person B in your life.

You respect yourself enough to keep your word.

You prove that you can be trustworthy.

You are appreciated for being on time.

You are regarded as a reliable person.

You are seen as a professional.

You are taken seriously and on your word.

You build a strong reputation for your character.

You open doors and attract more opportunities to yourself.

You eliminate stress from your life by removing the anxiety of being late.

You do the right thing and feel good about it.