Don’t you have a watch?

When I was in junior college, whenever we have an ECA meeting, there would be a general secretary who would be in charge of taking attendance. If we were late, we would be noted, and accumulation of a number of these notes would result in an “exclusive” meeting with our ECA teacher. It does not help that this teacher is reasonably strict and fierce. As a result, as expected, most of us are always punctual, if not early, for these meetings.

Being someone who usually keeps to time, this system does not affect me greatly. But some of my friends who are frequently late would complain about the system being too rigid and stringent. When our ECA term ended, we still have occasional meetings to discuss about some outstanding issues. It was then that I realized the motivation for implementing the strict rules on punctuality.

When we arranged for a meeting at 2 pm, people strolled in at 2.15 pm, 2.30 pm or some even as late as 3 pm! Their reasons?

“Oh, my class ended late.”
“I had to discuss something with my friend.”
“The bus was too slow.”
“I woke up late.”
All kinds of reasons or simply no reason at all.

I was rather surprised by this sudden change in attitude. I thought, “We have been ‘trained’ for so long to be punctual and to keep to time, why is it that punctuality is still not instilled in so many? Do we really need to have rules all the time to make people keep to their time?”

To bring things back to our daily life, do you often have to wait for your friends when you meet up with them?

Here’s my common experience.

My friends and I have arranged to meet up at 1 pm. Depending on the location of the meeting place, by 12 plus, I am all ready and out of the house. I look at my watch, “oh I might be a few minutes late, perhaps I should walk a little faster.” So, I begin on a little marathon and I reach the meeting place on the dot, panting slightly. Here comes the “exciting” part of the story. No one was in sight. “Did I remember the wrong time?” I check my watch again. *Beep Beep* My handphone starts to beep.

[I will b a bit late, sori!]

A few minutes later, another *Beep Beep* from another friend.

[am still on my way, y not u guys go ahead, and I come look for u all later?]

“u guys?” Nope. There was no one else here, just me alone. Did we not set the meeting time at 2 pm? Why am I the only one on time?

I lamented to a friend the other day. Why set a meeting time when everyone is going to be late? Is being on time a sin? If not, why do the ones who are punctual always end up like a fool, wasting their time just to wait for the late comers?

I have some friends who are perpetual late comers. Sometimes we joked about telling them that the meeting time is 3.30 pm if we are meeting at 4 pm, so that they will have an allowance of half an hour to be late, but still turn up on time to meet the rest. But, we usually just joked about it. Why? I always have faith in my friends that although they are usually not punctual, they are probably going to change, so I will put my trust in them one more time. And this “one more time” just goes on and on and on.

I am usually patient when waiting for friends to turn up for a meeting, but there is a limitation to the patience and tolerance for latecomers. It is worse if you yourself have rushed down to a meeting place either in sprints and in sweat or in taxis, and your friends turn up late. You start telling yourself, “if I had known they would be late, I wouldn’t have rushed. And if they had known they would be late, they should have told me earlier!” And it seems that some people just do not know that they would be late, even though they are always late.

Punctuality is not just about being on time. When everyone is on time, it shows that we value one another’s time. To put it simply, it is a form of respect for your friends. Also, if you are perpetually late, what does it show of you as a person?

I am no saint. Sometimes I might be late too, but I make an attempt to be early the next time. That’s how we improve, isn’t it?

If you know that you have the bad habit of being late, plan your time better so that you can be on time. If you know the bus is slow, take an earlier bus. If you know you will be tied down by work or project meetings, set a time convenient for yourself and not make empty promises. Better still, get a watch with a large clock face to remind yourself to keep to time.

Why wait till someone has to ask you, “don’t you have a watch?!?”?