Punctuality

Do you honour punctuality in your life?

If the answer is yes, then please join the punctuality club as a valued member.

Because this month I am talking about punctuality.

Punctuality can be simply expressed as the arrival at the correct time without being late. It is a quality of being on time for a certain appointment/task/meeting in your life with some other party.

You may wonder why it is a very important etiquette. I believe that punctuality encourages us to finish our work without a delay while recognizing the importance of time of ourselves as well as others in a respectable manner. Normally a punctual person is considered as a trustworthy, reliable and respected person in our society as s/he does not miss to perform a particular task. Punctuality matters a lot irrespective of the location as it can vary from school, college, university or workplace.

Honestly, very few people in our society really respect punctuality. As a result, we have become an irresponsible nation lack of time management as we are likely to postpone all the things in life for our convenience.

The best example that I can give is the postponing of O/L and A/L exams during COVID pandemic. Even due to the current crisis, these two main exams in our education system are still getting postponed as authorities play with the future of our younger generation. The situation is similar in the university system as well because we tend to postpone exams due to strikes and many other issues while producing old graduates compared to other countries in the world.

Most of the time, punctual persons never promote procrastination. They are well organized in life without rushing into certain activities. They are realistic about how long things are going to take. In fact, they give buffer time when planning things as life is full of uncertainties. Even s/he is fine with the waiting time because s/he has alternative activities that are being allocated to the waiting time. Some listen to the music, read books, responds email or chat with a friend etc. without wasting even the waiting time.

From my childhood I was instructed to be punctual by my parents. Hence, I have never become late to any commitment that I had faced in life so far. Whether it is being present on time to give a lecture of Physics or sending marks/articles according to the deadline, I have managed my time properly without giving excuses. I wish that I could continue this trend till I die.

I view punctuality as a positive habit of a successful person as it can maintain everything related to a particular task in an ordinary manner to complete on time. I guess time has ripen to inculcate this valuable etiquette in our communities for effective operation. Filling the value of punctuality from childhood can develop a person into a more disciplined person as s/he learns to appreciate the value of time. In the long run, I feel that punctuality can act as a positive change maker in his/her life to fight the laziness associated with negative behavoiur.

(This article originally appeared in Probe - August issue of 2022.)

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