PUNCTUALITY - A CHARACTER OF A LEADER (POSTMASTER)

“Punctuality is the art of guessing how late the other fellow is going to be”

“As you put into practice the qualities of patience, punctuality, sincerity, and solicitude, you will have a better opinion of the world around you”

”Dictionary

punctual (ˈpʌŋktjʊəl)

— adj

1. arriving or taking place at an arranged time; prompt

2. (of a person) having the characteristic of always keeping to arranged times, as for appointments, meetings, etc

punctu'ality

— n

'punctually’

— adv

The Importance of Punctuality :

Lateness is a sign of poor time management skills

When you are late for appointments, meetings or work, you show a lack of respect for other people’s time as well as your own. Punctuality is a problem for many people.

A student who comes late to his class misses a part of his lesson that day and also causes disturbances to others. An unpunctual man upsets the day's programme not only his own life, but also of those who have dealings with him. In the military fields delay even by a few minutes can be very decisive

If you're battling lateness, there is hope. According to the experts, you can avoid procrastination and tardiness by changing your habits and tweaking your routines.

Here are some things you can do to turn lateness into punctuality:

1. Make up your mind that you will be punctual from now on. In many cases lateness is caused by a lack of commitment to arrive on time. Have the right mindset.

2. Record the commitment in your planner and also record the time you must leave the house or office in order to arrive on time. Plan to arrive 5 to 10 minutes early.

3. If you have a fair distance to travel, always allow more time than you think it will take.

4. Don’t be trapped by the one last thing syndrome. If you’re ready to leave and it's still early, leave anyway. Utilize the time at the other end rather than trying to finish one more task before you leave.

5. If you are not a morning person, but have early morning commitments, set the alarm a little earlier. Some of us may need to go to bed a little earlier to make this work.

If this doesn't work, or you are helplessly late all the time, try addressing the deeper issues by reading How to Stop Running Late.

When it comes right down to it, punctuality is a habit that can be developed. It takes great effort at first, but eventually simply happens. Habits are formed by repetition. If you want to acquire the habit of punctuality, you must repeat this behavior again and again. Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously-designated time. "Punctual" is often used synonymously with "on time." Punctual can also, when talking about grammar, mean to be accurate.

According to each culture, there is often an understanding about what is considered an acceptable degree of punctuality. Usually, a small amount of lateness is acceptable; this is commonly about ten or fifteen minutes in Western cultures. In some cultures, such as Japanese society, or in the military there basically is no allowance.

Some cultures have an unspoken understanding that actual deadlines are different from stated deadlines; for example, it may be understood in a particular culture that people will turn up an hour later than advertised. In this case, since everyone understands that a 9 am meeting will actually start around 10 am, no one is inconvenienced when everyone turns up at 10 am.

In cultures which value punctuality, being late is tantamount to showing disrespect for another's time and may be considered insulting. In such cases, punctuality may be enforced by social penalties, for example by excluding low-status latecomers from meetings entirely. Such considerations can lead on to considering the value of punctuality in econometrics and to considering the effects of non-punctuality on others in queueing theory.

Kids are really good at making their parents late. Follow all the above tips, not just for yourself but also for your kids. Have their clothes ready , make sure they get baths the night before, etc. If your child is very young, make sure their diaper bag is always fully stocked. But some organized twelve year olds can definitely help you out!

Being habitually punctual tends to have the effect of actually allowing you to be late from time to time. For instance, Swati is often late. Suman is always on time. They both get stuck in traffic, it is the fault of neither of them, but they end up a few minutes late to work. Most bosses aren't even going to blink at Suman. They view her as a responsible person who has had a rough morning. Swati, on the other hand, is going to get yelled at. Her boss will see her tardiness as evidence of a larger pattern, even if it isn't really her fault this time. Also say if you are picking up your child and are always on time, if you are late your child may worry.

Quick thing to remember :

"If you are 5 minutes early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, then you've got a lot of explaining to do."

Old military adage: If you're not 5 minutes early, you're 10 minutes late!

Don't lose hope. Even George V of England had a hard time being punctual.

Remember your reputation is on the line. The power of showing up is limitless.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking nobody notices the latecomer. If you think you are more than occasionally late to work, school, church, appointments, etc., you can be sure others have noticed too.

Lateness is corrosive to good relations with friends, work colleagues and of professional standing. Having a strong personality and being able to smooth over individual instances of lateness still leaves a building resentment. Holding people up who have planned and prepared work, journeys, meals, entertainment etc. generates a cumulative irritation and devaluing of you personally.

ALL THE BEST BE PUNCTUAL