A lot of hate for being late

One of my pet hates is lateness. I dislike being late, and get annoyed when others are too (although I do cut them slack if they have a genuine excuse). Of course, it depends on the occasion. The more important it is, the greater the transgression when lateness is concerned. If it’s just meeting a friend for a coffee, it’s not that big of a deal (but still irritating). If it's a crucial business meeting or a significant occasion (weddings, funerals etc.), lateness really does give the wrong impression. 

What really gets my goat, though, is people who are late all the friggin’ time. It can make my blood boil and I can’t help but have a poor regard for these people. I mean, how hard can it be to make an appointment? When you say ‘meet at 3pm’ what part of that statement do you not understand? In my view, being told to meet at 3pm and arriving twenty minutes later is the same as asking for sugar in your tea and being given salt. 3pm is not 3.20pm and sugar is not salt. Not only is it annoying, it’s disrespectful. I’m not saying my time is more important than anyone else’s, but if I agree to meet someone and they’re late they are purposefully robbing me of my time – time that I could be using for something else useful. Those twenty minutes could’ve been quite productive. Instead, because you’re late I’m sitting by myself, billy no-mates (probably just aimlessly scrolling on social media). Plus there’s the knock on effect. If I have other meetings I either have to cut my current one short or rush to make the next one. And as for a work context, it’s even worse. Not just because of the reasons I’ve mentioned but also because it simply comes across as unprofessional. As a freelancer, being late for clients all the time is not a good look - and may well jeopardise future opportunities.

The thing is, if you’re the kind of person who is always late, you probably don’t mind others being late. But if like me you find lateness annoying, you will automatically be cross with that person for being late. People like me are the ones who remember lateness and will make future decisions based on it. So, for example, I'd be less inclined to hire someone again if they demonstrated that they are unreliable and don’t care about other people’s time.

There may be an argument that strict time keeping is a ‘cultural’ thing, and that in places like, say, the African continent, being on time is not considered particularly important. Rather, times are just a vague and approximate guide. It's an important point, but may have a slightly racist aftertaste (although having visited a few African countries myself I don't think it's too off the mark). The argument goes the other way, in that there are cultures where being late is considered rude. And in some countries – such as Germany – there is even an expectation that people should arrive early for an appointment. Lateness is frowned upon much more in places other that the UK so it’s not like we are super strict here. I guess the question you need to ask is what is the dominant culture that you are living in? If you live in, say, Uganda and everyone's timekeeping is a bit slack then that's fine. But if you live in a country like the UK where lateness is considered rude or disrespectful then one should try to be on time.

As I said, lateness can be for a genuine reason. Traffic can be unpredictable or there may be a personal or family situation that comes out of the blue. It happens to all of us. But most of the time, it’s possible to arrive on time without any problems – and that’s what I simply don’t understand. It isn’t hard to be punctual. It just requires a tiny amount of planning and thought.

If you need to be at a certain place or time, just Google the ETA and work backwards from there so you know when to leave. Make sure you have a diary with appointments in them (don’t rely on emails or text messages). Confirm ahead of meetings that you have the date, place and time correct. All really simple stuff. It’s even easier these days with lots of meetings being held via Zoom or Teams – there’s no commute time so lateness isn't excuse [although I know what it’s like ... because you don’t need to travel it’s very easy to leave it until the last second to get yourself ready].

Believe me, I still fail to do these things sometimes and am always kicking myself for not doing them – they are simple things that anyone with a brain cell can do. But most of the time I arrive within 10 minutes of an agreed time without really trying. And what's bizarre is that I'm naturally chaotic. If I didn't put plans and coping strategies in place I would be all over the shop, never on time for anything. But because I care about other people (and also my own personal stress levels), I make the effort to overcome my shortcomings.

So, if you're a 'late person' do everyone a favour and put some effort into not being one.

It would make the world a much better place.