You may think it’s okay if you’re consistently late. There is the old adage that 90% of life is appearing. Well, being on time must be 100 percent! In most cases, it’s just plain rude to keep people waiting. If it’s people you’re friends with, they may think you don’t care enough about them to be on time. If you are chronically late for work, it could be grounds for you to be fired. If you are late for your classes, there could be information you are missing that will greatly affect your grade. In any case, there is usually not much benefit to being late and there are many drawbacks.
First of all, it is a waste of your energy to be late. You may have to mentally think of a reason why you are late each and every time you are late. This mental energy could be put to better use. If you arrive on time you free yourself from this frivolous activity and allow your mind to think about more important things. Also, being late is stressful. You can easily eliminate that stress if you show up on time. This way, you just don’t have to worry if someone is waiting for you or not, or if they’re getting upset that you’re late, because you’ll already be on time.
If you’re a high school or college student, let’s say you’re always late for a certain class. It may be the case that the teacher or professor likes to give important information at the beginning of the class, to reward those who arrive on time. They can announce when a test will be scheduled, or they can let everyone know how to get extra credit. They can even give juicier information, like when a test or class was cancelled. Imagine how bad you’ll feel when you’re the only one showing up for a canceled class, or the only one ready for a test that doesn’t happen.
If your company pays you an hourly wage, they definitely want you to be on time. While most places will give you a 5-minute window before you’re officially late, why push that limit? If you’re always on time and your co-worker has a mixed record for being late, who do you think will have the upper hand when the next promotion arrives? If you both have similar qualifications, you may be given it because you seem to have a strong work ethic.
So no matter how you look at it, the positives of being on time far outweigh the negatives of being late. Make it a part of your personality to always show up for life and be on time!