Being Late: The Perfect Way to Stress Yourself Out
Want to eliminate a lot of unnecessary stress?
Want to go through the day without trying to make up for lost time? Without having to apologize constantly? Free from procrastination?
Then make an effort to never be late again.
I must admit, my lack of punctuality is legendary among friends and loved ones (it’s not as bad as before, but I still haven’t fulfilled one of New Year’s resolutions) But that only means I know the stresses associated with chronic lateness firsthand. Being late all the time forces you to:
- Make Up for Lost Time. When something doesn’t push through as scheduled, such as starting a project an hour later than originally planned, you’ll end up having less time to do more. Obviously this isn’t conducive to productivity, as rushed output tends to feature more mistakes and be of low quality. That’s because you’ll have to work at a much more frenetic (read: stressful) pace to meet your deadlines.
- Apologize Constantly. They say time is money. So when you waste someone’s time, by being late for an appointment for instance, you’re wasting his money. When you finally arrive, you’ll have to apologize profusely, so that your contact’s impression of you isn’t totally ruined. Isn’t it emotionally tiring to have to say sorry all the time?
- Procrastinate. Not in the intentional sense, but still bad. Even if you try your best to make up for lost time (see above), there’s sometimes just not enough time to finish everything. So you’ll have to defer your next tasks, moving them to hours, even days, later. Meaning you’re now late for them. It’s really stressful to postpone a project, especially when you know that by this time it could’ve been finished.
Tardiness is a vicious cycle. Be late for your first few appointments and tasks, and you might find yourself in a hole of tardiness that’s pretty hard to dig out of, a hole that causes a lot of unnecessary stress. Since an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure, it’s better to stop the cycle at its source. All it takes is being on time.
It’s even better to be early. I wrote this post over a day early, scheduling it to appear today. Now I have more time to concentrate on my other projects. Ha!
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POSTED IN: Great Advice, Living as a Freelancer, Ways to Work Faster
8 opinions for Being Late: The Perfect Way to Stress Yourself Out
Sean
Jul 19, 2007 at 11:36 am
RICO:
Marketing and time management guru Dan Kennedy makes a strong case that tardy people should not be trusted.
As one who is chronically late, I agree completely.
Sometimes it’s unavoidable, though.
Check out the angry email I received:
http://www.franchisepick.com/ideafarm-promotion-blamed-for-bay-area-traffic-snarl/
Funy stuff.
Good post!
Sean
Rico
Jul 19, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Ha ha ha, I checked out the thread… I really wonder, how did he find out you were behind that? :lol:
Darlene
Jul 20, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Great article!! Thanks for the inspiration. I think we should discuss that over at Interview Chatter!! Come check out my thoughts later this evening!! Good Stuff!
Ever Been Late For An Interview?
Jul 20, 2007 at 3:59 pm
[…] you ever been late for an interview? According to Rico Moussesgeld over at Contract Worker, Being late is the perfect way to stress yourself out. I agree! I have been late for an interview and it is the worse kind of […]
Rico
Jul 21, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Thanks Darlene, I’ve checked out your post too. Obviously the men are more tardy than women. :)
b5media - Summer Business
Jul 23, 2007 at 8:33 pm
[…] from Contract Worker shows why being late creates an unnecessary stress that limits your […]
L. Lewis
Aug 26, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Being late, or someone being late to meet me, is one of my personalpet peeve. I hate it. I find it completely disrespectful. My time is not any more, or any less, important than anyone else’s.
I think the worst is when the person can’t even be bother to call and let you know.
I had a situation where I was meeting a client to get paid, I waited 30 mins, he didn’t show, I called and left him a message on his cell phone and I left. He had the nerve to get angry at me and accuse me of wasting his time.
Great article, I really enjoyed how being late also affects the tardy person.
Why Punctuality Equals Passion
Jun 2, 2008 at 8:46 am
[…] worrying for me. Aside from creating unnecessary stress for myself, I may have committed to what I’m not really passionate about. In other words, I may be doing […]
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