If you find yourself always late to something, and if people you know tolerate or even hate your tardiness then it probably means they are in another end of the human spectrum.
2 Types of Personality Theory in the 1950's
Oh you know who I was referring to above? They're the precrastinators. The neat freaks, the disciplined and always early or on time kind of people. Those who are more into charity and all things being good, clean and tidy. Basically those who aren't always late have the Type A personality. They're also competitive and impatient.
And what of the rarely or never on time people or the so-called procrastinators? Those who are more optimistic and hopeful and multitask a lot thinking they can do everything all at once? Well, they have the Type B personality. These people are supposedly creative, more relaxed and have a different sense of time than the other type.
Wait, I'm kinda mixing it all up here, so why not just watch the video below for clarification:
Apparently this theory of A or B personality types came about because of two cardiologists who thought in relation to which kinds of people were more prone to coronary heart disease. Initially it doesn't have anything to do with creativity at all right? Subsequent studies however have already given us more accurate and scientifically up-to-date personality types.
This old A or B categorization should not be considered an absolute measure of one's behavior anymore. The supposed "bad" Type B characteristic of being late would definitely affect other people's perception of your professionalism though.
Lateness is Mostly Frowned Upon
You ever seen anyone really happy to have their flight delayed? Unless they don't really want to leave, I don't think anyone would like it. How about when the person someone needs to meet arrives an hour or so later? Imagine what the waiting person must be feeling. Most people would be annoyed when something happens outside their schedule.
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In the corporate world, we are all expected to be on time. We get penalized for being late to work, or worse, get terminated for it. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies or call centers are notorious for terminating really tardy employees, especially after one has been given several chances to not be late.
I've worked in the above industry for several years, so I know how almost everything in a call center is done in a specific time. You take calls, breaks and lunch at a definite and given schedule so if someone is not on time it would affect the whole site productivity and all the teams handling the queries of a company's customers/clients.
(Photo Credit: wikiHow to Be a Call Center Agent via wikiHow
No company would like to lose money just because their employees are always late thus causing them to compensate for it. Unless you work in the creative field, e.g. TV, Movies, Advertising industry etc., then being late to work can be acceptable and understandable. Deadlines can still be met by staying up late and all the creative work of the team will definitely be worth it.
Either way if lateness is ingrained in your system perhaps it's time to get rid of this habit if you work in a very non-creative field.
Is Tardiness a Bad Habit?
For me I think this habit of being late started during my childhood; I'm not complaining though. Chronic tardiness can indeed be developed from a young age, especially if it is tolerated by the parents. But of course, don't blame your mom or dad completely if you're a tardy person. It's up to us to change our bad or unhelpful habits because now we are adults who can do our own thing and decide to do whatever we must do in order to succeed.
However, in defense of this negative trait, you can show anyone this video. Haha~
The Problem with Creative People
Recently I've been having issues with some of my behavior due partly to my grandma telling me to clean up whenever she comes around. Or in the past, some extended family member would tell me to clean up even the common areas of the house. The incidents with my grandmother kinda bothered me more that I came to think of writing about it.
For me, nothing is wrong, most of the time I don't see all the clutter in the house as bad, negative or detrimental. Sadly not everyone sees things the way I do and thus my other blog post about messiness was created.
The problem with creative people it seems is that, first, we're known to be messy; second, we're mostly tardy.
It's Not Too Late to Decide to Stop Being Late
Now I'm not saying being on time will then stop you from being imaginative and artistic; being punctual is just a way to be considered "professional" by most people. Remember, it's always better to be early than late whether you're a creative person or not.
(Photo credit: Pixabay )
In order to not be tardy to any important appointment, it's best to have a strategy and commit to it. Be early to anything instead of trying to be on time. Don't always be running after your schedule. You don't want to arrive all sweaty and haggard or wasted to any event or meeting from all the hurrying you've been doing. However if it's a meeting with a close friend or someone who is always late like you too then maybe don't be too early or you'll regret it. Haha~
Seriously though, if you decide you're not going to be late to anything again because it's negatively affecting your life then take steps to be early to anywhere. Search the world wide web on the various ways you can be on time. There are a lot of resources online now so you should be able to find a way to curb the tardiness if you have to.
(Photo credit: Pixabay)
Tips on how to be early
Personally, even though I can be late to anything, I can also be early when I want to. Here are some tips I can share on how to be on time.
(Photo credit: Pixabay
A. Set a series of alarms to wake you up and remind yourself to sleep early.
As an example, what I do on some days is set my smartphone alarm at consecutive times like the following: 6:30, 6:43, 6:57, 7:15 and then the time I need to leave the house which is 9:00.
In that way I get to shut off each alarm while getting either irritated by each different sound or just reminded repeatedly that I need to wake up already. Haha~
(Photo credit: Pixabay)
B. Have someone wake you or remind you of what you need to do.
This one is a no brainer. If you have your parents, spouse, sibling or maid to wake you up several times it's another way to wake up early and prepare for your appointment.
Or if you need to go somewhere or do something while working on another task, have a friend or colleague remind you of the event or have them set an alarm for you or call you up before the time you need to go so you won't be late.
(Photo credit: Pixabay)
C. Use a planner or set an alarm/reminder for more appointments
For other schedules you need to meet, it never hurts to use a daily or weekly planner if you have a lot of things to do that you can't remember to be on time for. Or since it's the digital age and most of us have a smartphone, use your phone calendar to set an event reminder that can either alarm to inform you what you need to do or just make the phone blink at certain times so you will remember to prepare and get a move on.
So what do you think of my tips? Got other suggestions? Feel free to share in the comments below. :D
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