the latecomer book review

the latecomer book review

The Importance of Being Punctual

1. Introduction

Punctuality is a habit that should be inculcated by every individual. It is the most important virtue that students should have. It is highly useful for getting the lessons at the correct time and to complete all the tasks scheduled to be done. It is the habit of doing things at the correct time. It holds great importance throughout life. It is often said that “procrastination is the thief of time”. If an individual is not punctual, he would have to miss the opportunities given by life. This is the right way to get success. Every successful man in this world is punctual. It is the root cause of success. There are people who do not give any value to their time. They are likely to fail in life. A student who is always late in submitting the assignment and going to school would not have achieved anything. Success would be a rare dream for him. As it is said that “a stitch in time saves nine”, so is the case with a student. He should be on time to get his lessons. A minute not lost not only gets work done, but also prevents the accumulation of work. In the army, a soldier is said to be on time if he is five minutes before the correct time. He should be an example for others in regard to punctuality. A soldier, sailor, an air-hostess, all should be very punctual in their duties. A minute lost is a minute gone forever, this can be exemplified by the sailors who miss the ship. They regret for the rest of their lives. Coming to the case of a professor, punctuality is the best virtue. He should start the lecture exactly at the time prescribed and end it on time also. Students must have heard the phrase “Fashionably late”. This is an excuse for people who are late. There is nothing in this world, which can’t be changed if we all carry the iron determination to do it. So is the case with punctual people. They are highly valued and get success in all fields. All great men have achieved success through punctuality only. It sounds bad to say that a punctual man, however, is it not true that only a punctual man can be successful in life?

2. The Negative Impact of Being Late

This matter of being late can actually get people fired. These are the people that are always late and never seem to learn. They may play out a chain of excuses, offer to work late, schedule overtime. But eventually an example has to be made. Time is money and continuous waste of time is often too big a price to pay for a potentially good employee who simply never learns. Better to cut losses and find a more expensive yet more efficient replacement. A salaried job earns its pay on the basis of a set amount per time unit. Being regularly late, incurring the wrath of passive-aggressive notes left by furious employers and people in a higher class is unaffordable. This can actually render people trapped in lower classes in the more informal caste systems common in some small companies and small towns. An unjust fate with dire implications, as poverty is often a cause of tardiness.

“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late” (William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wives of Windsor”). Even waiting on you to be late can cause people a lot of stress. Time can be relative. This is the motto of the chronically late. They envision time schedules as elastic. No matter what time they plan to arrive, they don’t really plan to arrive at that time. Instead, they factor in a kind of grace period. Managed effectively this is a good idea, it prevents the tension of deadline struggle. But these people get confused and develop an outlook that everything has a flexibility factor notably different from “+/- 5 minutes” printed on tickets. When they miss R they just calculate on turning up at S.

Meet everybody’s time. This really does matter when it comes to working. You end up saving people’s time which will save you money. It is like a chain reaction where when people save time, it is always going to reflect on you and what they think of you. It’s also known in the workplace that the people that take something serious such as being punctual, is very full-hearted towards the job and people around them. If a person is able to be punctual all the time then it reflects positively on attitude. Being late demonstrates that a person simply does not care.

3. The Benefits of Being Punctual

If we consider punctuality to be a good habit, we are simply acknowledging the goodness of the punctual man who, by doing the right thing at the right time, has made a great success of his life. A punctual man, by the very fact that he is always before time, never misses any opportunity. This is due to the simple fact that by being punctual and ahead of time, he is already prepared and forewarned and has the benefit of additional time in hand. If a business proposition requires an answer on the spot then he is well equipped to take the decision as he already has a mental schedule which has forecast the matter and thought about it. This will lead to spontaneous decisions from his part and all of these decisions being timely, there is no room left for repentance. He is thus, far-sighted, shrewd and thrifty in business. Punctuality is the very soul of business. A man who has keen sense of time and keeping, is fit to take command of an organisation. It is no use telling him that something needs to be done, say, by March the 10th. He will already know that and do it. “Time is of the essence” and he knows that too. With punctuality, can be entrusted any kind of job- important, ordinary, safe or risky. Punctual men are true men of their words. They will never promise anything that they cannot keep. When they give their word, there is a guarantee that it will be done and it will be done in time. A man is judged by his character and one who is punctual always commands a good character. So it is that a punctual man is always given jobs of responsibility and with higher wages. He receives a said income for a said work because it is guaranteed that his output will be equal to his input. A man, who is put on to some job in a higher country, is industry: will sooner or later loose his place, for it is possible that he may not have been able to tackle the situation in a worthy manner and was there just by chance or influence. But the case of the punctual man is entirely different. In any organisation, his employers will soon realise that he has maintained the efficiency and regularity of the work and as a true man of his word, has done just what was required in a deserving manner.

4. Strategies for Overcoming Lateness

4.3 Break the habit of multitasking. Multitasking often leads to lateness because if we are trying to do too many things at once, we’re not likely to do any of them efficiently. This is because our attention is a limited resource, and the more tasks it is divided between, the less attention we can give to any task. As such, performance in each task will be poorer and take longer to complete. Unsurprisingly, people who are chronically late often anger those who are waiting for them by trying to fit in ‘just one more thing’. Focusing on one task at a time can increase efficiency and reduce the likelihood of being late.

4.2 Create a buffer. Some people are always late because they don’t consider the time it takes to travel between places or prepare for their next activity. It’s, therefore, essential to plan for things taking longer than expected. Schedule extra time so that it’s possible to be on time during unexpected delays without feeling rushed or stressed.

4.1 Increase your awareness of time. Moment to moment, the passage of time is virtually impossible to perceive. Often, we aren’t aware we’ve been engaged in an activity for too long until it’s too late. To avoid this, determine how long a task should take and set a time for its completion. Then, regularly monitor the time or use a timer as a reminder. This way, you’ll be able to keep to your intended schedule and be on time.

Yet despite the fact that being late can have such negative consequences, many of us are chronically late. Psychological research has revealed several cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes that can lead to chronic lateness. Fortunately, these processes can be modified using the following strategies.

5. Conclusion

To sum it up, punctuality is very important that everyone should realize and take it as a guide in life. This habit is hard to instill but it can be trained with strong will and discipline. We can start to become punctual by managing our time well. Plan everything that we will do with some spare time to avoid things that make us late. If we already have a plan, the next thing is to change our habits in underestimating time that can make us late. Keep trying to do these things in every aspect of life and always review ourselves to find the progress. So in the end, we will find a lot of benefits by being punctual and using our time in the most efficient way. This is a simple thing that can give us a big advantage. And if it’s true that time is money, punctuality is the key.

The habit of punctuality will certainly help us build our credibility among people. When we are punctual, we would be able to finish everything that we planned to do at the right time. Punctuality can prevent us from doing the things in a hurry that usually end in doing it in a sloppy way. Always be on time means that everything that we do is well prepared and done in the right method. The credibility itself will bring advantages to our career and life; we will be trusted to do things in a more advanced phase. Employers usually will candidate a worker who is punctual compared to the one who isn’t, credential and trust that we built will provide a good step for our future. Closing, punctuality is a habit that should we start from now, with strong will and discipline, most of bad habits if we realize and want to change it can be done. For being on time, will provide many benefits in every aspect in our life especially in terms of discipline, credibility, and also our future. And one more thing to remember is, time is precious and irreversible so we should use it in the most efficient way.