Time Lost Forever

I've been wanting to write an article on punctuality but haven't been quite motivated to do so without sounding petty. But recently, I was newly inspired to pen down some thoughts about this.

These days, tardiness is so rampant so much so that most people would not think too much about it. For instance, the bulk of the guests in a wedding banquet usually arrives about 45 minutes late and the newly weds would still be completely unfazed by it.

And with the advent of the mobile phone, we simply need to text a message to the other party that we're unable to arrive on time and it would seemingly cushion the effect of our tardiness. So if we had informed the other party 30 minutes before our appointed time to re-schedule to a later time, would we still be considered as late?

I wondered if anyone had ever regarded tardiness as a character flaw. When a person has promised to meet another person at an appointed time only to turn up 30 minutes or more later, regardless if this person had later informed the other at the appointed time that he/she would be late, the latecomer basically doesn't respect the other person's time.

If this isn't a character flaw, why would we not turn up late for an interview? If this is not a display of disrespect to another person's time, why do theatres not allow attendees to a performance 30 minutes after they have started?

If we thought we've never stolen anything before in our lives but have been late for an appointment before, guess what? To some people, we could be a thief because we've stolen a person's time. I know what you're thinking. What is 5 minutes right? I'd say the same if I was the one who's late. But just think about what one can do in 5 minutes. A stock could suddenly soar and a fortune could have been made in just a mere 5 minutes. A sales personnel could convince an order processing assistant to stay for another 5 minutes to help process a last order which could make that sales personnel the top sales person of the month. Anyone could have been able to Google anything and learnt something new over the internet in 5 minutes.

My gripe is of course not in the 5 minutes lost. It is basically about people's disrespect for other people's time. Plans are made so that our time can be managed well enough not to lose it. No money can buy lost time. I'm also not saying that we should throw spontaneity out the window by planning everything to the precise minute. But having to wait for someone who's late for more than half an hour and nothing else to do is definitely not my idea of spontaneity.

I know this is all making me sound like a time lord. That's if you don't know me in person. Because if you did, you'll know that some of my closest friends are perpetual latecomers. But I love them regardless of their flaws and beauty. I love them as they are. So instead of getting myself worked up, I know them enough to estimate roughly how late they will be and I'll simply come later than our appointed time and still be punctual.

All of us are living in a fast-paced world where we use our time to earn a living. So when a client or the boss wants our time at a short notice, we'll oblige even though we've already made plans to meet someone. So if we're able to inform that someone as early as possible that we're going to be held up, that person would have the freedom to decide if he/she can afford to meet later or perhaps bring a book or magazine along to read while waiting. All of us have the right to choose how we want to spend our time, and not to have someone else decide that for us.

“If I have made an appointment with you, I owe you punctuality, I have no right to throw away your time, if I do my own.”
- Richard Cecil, English Author