Punctual: happening or doing something at the agreed or proper time; on time
You’re all in for a treat today… well, that may be overselling things. I’ve discovered and decided to add animated graphics and GIFs to my posts. I searched for a few fun ones this morning and will drop ’em in throughout today’s topic. And since I am a voracious reader as you recently learned, and well, this picture is just great, the first one, obviously someone intelligent checking their watch to see who is late and who is on time:
Who doesn’t love Sherlock? Just started watching this TV show recently and posted a review on here, too! You can find it by clicking here. Back to punctuality.
Ever since I was a small child, I was fascinated by time. But get this, I never wore a watch. I don’t like things dangling on my arm or wrist… distracting… and then you have something else you need to match to whatever you are wearing (and I’m no good at that)… I digress a lot today. Time is so simple yet so complex. The second hand clicks around 60 times, then the minute hand moves ever so slightly. Once the minute hand moves around 60 times, the hour hand has moved to the next of the 12 hours on the clock. It could be AM or PM. But so many people have such a hard time with being punctual. Forget DST… that could cause some people a trip to the asylum.
I have no sense of time when it comes to looking at the sun or the sky. I can’t tell what it means to set in the east or west, what shadows are being cast, et al. For me, being punctual is some internal clock that just knows what time it is.
I rarely use an alarm clock. Unless I’m sick or traveling, meaning time change hasn’t settled in quite yet, I wake up at the same time each day (usually about 7am) and start feeling tired about 10pm each night. I can tell throughout the day what time it is usually within 10 to 15 minutes, even if I haven’t looked at a clock in hours. And for those reasons, being punctual has always been innate in me.
It’s a sign that you care enough not to waste someone else’s time. It’s evidence that what you are showing up for is important. It’s considerate (ah…. remember that post!) by showing you took a few minutes to plan your arrival rather than just show up whenever.
https://giphy.com/gifs/suits-WyccM49WbaINi
It’s not an option for me to be late. I get nervous and uneasy if I’m going to be late for some unavoidable reason. I get frustrated with train or plane delays because it throws off my timely plans. I feel like it says “he didn’t care enough.”
It’s not about counting the minutes or planning to the moment. It’s about ensuring you are not causing any inconvenience to other people. Punctuality helps things run more smoothly. You can often accomplish more as a result.
That said, I’m not 100% punctual. On occasion, if there’s no impact to someone else, I might arrive a little later than planned. For instance… there’s a party from 8 to 11. I tell the host I expect to arrive around 8:30. If I show up at 8:35, I’m not gonna freak out.
But if I am meeting friends for lunch and we say 12… you bet your ass I’ll be there by 11:55. Unless the person I’m meeting is always late… and I have a few friends like that… then, I… well, no… I show up at 11:55.
Some laughs for you about how punctual I’ve been:
- Created an itinerary for a 2-week trip to Italy. Arrival times and departure times were noted on a schedule to the minute. I never made that trip, but when I do re-schedule, I’ll be thrown off if I’m not on schedule. And one of those places was the Amalfi Coast where La Dolce Vita is the way of life: you just enjoy the beauty and forget about time. Ha!
- I once kept a log of all my times at the gym, noting when it was scheduled and when I actually worked out — each activity, set, rep. Wanted to see if I was using the time the best way possible. NERD!
- I’ve timed it so that I walk around the corner for a restaurant reservation so that I could walk right up to the host or hostess at the precise time. Yes, I am a little obsessive.
How about you frequently late arrivals? What’s the scoop?
I grew up in a military family where if you didn’t arrive thirty minutes early, you were late. This causes arriving early, sitting in the car waiting for someone else to arrive. Once I arrived 30 min. early for a meeting at a friend’s house. She answered the door in the middle of shampooing her hair. She informed me, later and privately, that it is just as rude to arrive early as it is to arrive late.
Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
I loved reading this, it’s one that I missed first time round. I have a thing about being punctual as well, with a few differences to you. When it comes to travel, I’m cool as a cucumber, seriously I had a 10hr flight delay once and you would have thought I was chilling on a sundeck. As long as I have music and books which I always have travelling then I’m easy. I think it’s the whole “it’s out of my hands thing”. The other thing is getting up in the morning, I’m a night owl with insomnia so getting up can be erratic, I always have alarms set and even they aren’t a guarantee I will crawl out of bed, other days like today, I will have been awake since 4am and aaiting for a respectable hour to get up! 😂
Oh, I don’t know how you deal with the insomnia. I couldn’t do it for more than a few days in a row. And on vacation in an airport, that would totally unnerve me. You have strength!
Haha!