Time Keeps on Slippin....

Probably the most valuable commodity any of us have is time. Every moment that ticks by is lost or gone forever. You cannot get it back. You cannot make up time. Someone can pay you for your time, but you can't really give them that time. You cannot sell, nor buy, someone else's time. The time that we have is finite.

That being said, why do people continuously show disregard for everyone else's time and arrive late? It's one of the most disrespectful and selfish acts that one can exercise in every day life. I'm not referring to the people who are occasionally late. There are legitimate reasons for being late and sometimes, as the saying goes, shit happens. But what about those that are always late? Those people that just can't make it on time? What is that saying? Does it say that they don't respect me or my time? Why is my time not as important as their time?

Let me digress for a moment. I'm not referring to being a few minutes late to get to work. That is, unless you have people counting on you to be there on time for something. If you have a meeting, or a conference call, or are showing up to alleviate someone else of their shift then you have a responsibility to be on time. If, however you are a couple of minutes late to get to work and you constantly end up working OT anyway, then I don't see why people have a problem with it.

When I grew up, my mom was late to everything. That pretty much made me late to everything. It was not uncommon to be the last little kid picked up from school, or for me to have already walked 1/2-way home before I was picked up. She is not now, nor ever was, a drunk or someone that is irresponsible. She just can't be on time. (don't worry mom, I still love ya!).

As I got older and had the option of driving myself or making my own arrangements I always made a point to be on time, or even a little bit early. I didn't want anyone to have to be waiting on me like that. But it seems that is not the norm.

If you know it takes you two hours to get ready, and about a 1/2 hour to drive somewhere, start getting ready 3 hours before you have to get there! Or, is it that you just don't care about someone else's time?

Please think of someone else the next time you are running late. You'll appreciate it when the shoe is on the other foot.

PS - For those who need help, I found this nifty alarm clock. It's only $13.50 and sure to help you to make it on time.