Being On Time

We all know of at least one friend or coworker who constantly struggles with being on time.  It does not matter if it is a large meeting, a one on one appointment, or a scheduled event this person always finds a way to be late.  Being punctual is important and it is important to have the approach that if you are not five minutes early then you are late.

First Impression

Being punctual is a key element in developing a professional reputation.  For a boss, coworker, client, or potential customer being on time is the first impression we make.  If someone shows up late to an initial meeting the first question that goes into most people’s minds is whether or not this person is reliable.  If someone cannot be on time, we are left wondering if they will be on time with their project or other scheduling goals.  Clients and customer will quickly lose trust in a representative that cannot live up to their promises and as a result these people are more likely to look into other options.  We often spend a decent amount of time worrying about how we will look, how we will sound, and what we will say when we meet someone for the first time.  Do not forget that all of this occurs after you arrive, so being on time is the real first impression any of us can make.

Building a Professional Reputation

Our personal and business reputations matter and being punctual is a big part of creating this professional relationship.  We want coworkers and clients to speak highly of us, it is human nature.  Everyone wants to be likable, helpful, a key team member, and considered trustworthy and reliable.  It is hard to achieve these goals if we are constantly late.  We want to be judged by how we conduct our daily business and how we treat people and being late is rude to others.  When we are tardy, we keep people waiting and we demonstrate a lack of respect for other people’s time.  Building strong professional relationships is crucial to building a solid business reputation.  We want others to say how dealing with us was simple, easy, efficient, and we want them to tell others about these experiences.  To be honest, people will talk about us no matter what.  It is human nature to discuss experiences with our friends.  We want these discussions to be positive and we do not want the first thought to be that we are always late.  If we think hard enough we can think of someone who is known to never be on time.

Be Early

There are countless factors that can affect our punctuality.  Some we control and some we do not.  We can control when we leave, we can control how much time we schedule between appointments, and we can control how fast we move.  We cannot control traffic, we cannot control things like car accidents, and we cannot control the actions of others.  We need account for the all controllable factors when making plans to ensure we are time and we need to be prepared for the unforeseen.  The best way to account for the unpredictable is always plan to be early.  Live by the rule that if you are not at least five minutes early then you are late.  This will ensure you have enough time scheduled into your day that a small traffic delay will not drastically change your plans.  Furthermore, having some time to rest, think and relax throughout the day is important.  If we are usually early, we can take the extra time we have waiting to relax, decompress, make personal calls, read the news, or do just about anything else we might want to do. 

No One is Perfect

We should always strive to be punctual; however, we must also remember that no one is perfect.  We will all be late every once in a while and that is okay.  It is when we are constantly tardy that we develop a reputation problem.  Remember this next time a meeting gets delayed or a new supplier is late to an initial meeting and do not pass judgement too quickly.  If it happens once, it can easily be discounted.  However, if you do end up in a situation where you are late, make sure not to be late again.  Being tardy twice in a row can create the poor image we want to avoid.

We live in a busy society and everyone is always in a hurry.  Remember to think through your schedule and do not commit to a time or deadline that you cannot meet.  People will be more patent if you are up front about things and they understand the situation.  Do not try to fit too much into your schedule and remember to always be early.  Being punctual is respecting other people’s time and treat others as you would like to be treated.