Cultivating Punctuality Habits In Your Daily Routine

[C. P. Kumar]

We all know someone who frequently arrives late and blames slow traffic or a car breakdown for the delay. Punctuality as we know, needs to be a life-long habit, since it is unethical to misuse time. Yet, few of us have a casual attitude about it. Punctuality is not only about our own on-time presence, but also about respecting people’s time. Do you face moments when people don’t seem to respect your time? Do they arrive late to meetings, don’t follow deadlines, or drag you into worthless conversations? More importantly, do you pause and check how well you respect your time? We all want time to co-operate and be in harmony with ourselves. It is possible when we develop a relationship – one of love and respect - with time, just as we create good relationships with people. Thereafter, whether we want more achievements, better relationships, improved health, or beneficial habits, time will favour us. Time is energy and every second matters. Let us utilize the first 30 minutes of the day to energize our mind. Thereafter we will create nothing but the right thoughts, words and behaviors that will save us a lot of time as we go about our tasks and commitments. Being punctual, not wasting time in unnecessary actions and interactions, carefully honouring commitments and respecting other people’s time are crucial.

From today start being punctual in all your activities. Ensure you are always on time or ahead of time. Let punctuality come naturally to you. Start your day early, plan your day in advance and strictly follow your schedule. Have a set time for all tasks and have time for everything that needs to be done. Don’t delay and don’t wait till the last minute. Do it immediately. If you have to reach somewhere, give yourself extra 15 minutes to manage unexpected delays and reach on time or before time. It does not matter how casual or formal the situation is, have the discipline to be punctual. Give every task your complete focus, have time to think clearly, take right decisions and implement them. Your punctuality makes you reliable and efficient. Even if people around you are not punctual, don’t give up your habit. Despite your planning and best intentions if there is a delay, communicate in advance and ensure not to repeat. Apart from building a reputation, you also remain stress-free by eliminating the uneasiness about getting late. Remember when we start valuing time, time starts valuing us.