Punctuality a sign of respect

Get to an appointment or function on time to avoid inconveniencing others. — 123rf

Calling one out for their tardiness a good way to encourage change in habit

TIME – it is the one limited commodity that we cannot buy no matter how rich we are.

We all know that we cannot get back wasted time; making those 1,440 minutes we are allocated in a day all the more precious.

Time has certainly been more precious the past 18 months or so as we have had to come face-to-face with how little of it we have, as well as how abruptly it can be cut short.

One of my pet peeves, and I am sure many can relate to, is when others waste my time.

How many times have we all received that dreaded message “on the way” when someone does not show up by the agreed time?

And we also know that the message means they are not nearby or have only just headed out to the destination, leaving you idling the time away.

It is a piece of your life that you can never get back, so when people do not appreciate it, boy does it sting.

I was recently asked to cover an official event in Kuala Lumpur where a VIP was the guest of honour.

The event was held in the evening, on a weekday, which meant that the officers and other attendees were working overtime just to be there, not counting the possible after-work commitments that they might have had.

What was supposed to be a simple 30-minute event dragged on for more than two hours as almost 100 people waited for the VIP’s arrival.

Now, as a journalist we frequently have to wait for people to show up — either in person or a phone call or message back.

I am certainly no stranger to VIPs and politicians who are perennially late as they wait to make their entrance to an event.

While the wait is generally a tolerable 15 minutes, to an hour in rare cases, standing around for two hours waiting for a person’s arrival is certainly unacceptable.

The worst part was that there was no adequate reason or updates given for the late arrival, nor an apology by the VIP or his team.

Instead of proceeding with the event with a stand-in, for which there were a few qualified people, we had to be in close quarters well past 7pm.

A waste of time all around for absolutely no reason.

So, what is the right response when someone is wasting your time be it in a personal or professional setting?

Are excuses such as traffic jams, other commitments or some other variation of this acceptable when it comes to how it affects your time?

Why do we often treat other people’s time as if it has no value compared to our own?

And it is one of the quickest ways to destroy trust.

I have found that speaking out to the habitual time waster is a good place to start.

Once you see a predictable pattern in the same person, voice out and give them a chance to do better.

Most times they do change and the relationship is left intact.

However, if they do not make any effort to change, it is perhaps time to move on from that relationship because there are other people or things that your time can be better utilised.

This also applies to your significant other, friends, co-workers, acquaintances and yes even to VIPs.

In the case of the event with the VIP, we made sure his team was well aware about the unacceptable behaviour and hopefully, there will not be a repeat of him being so late for an event.

The realisation that our time is of precious value is a powerful one, and we should not be so willing to let it be abused.