Some people are always late for everything. There were times when people were “fashionably late”, but that is no longer in fashion now. Now, that the life is so fast paced, jammed with work schedules, no one can afford wasting time and only punctual people are respected and admired.
Being consistently late not only robs us of precious time, which could have been utilized in a better way, but it is also considered to fall in bad manners. It is plain disrespectful to the people who are on time if they have to wait for these “late bloomers”. Many individuals are almost always late and they do not even realize this might be a problem for others. These people are always running to the destination in a frenetic condition and being on time seems almost impossible for them, irrespective of the importance of the event.
There are two types of factors, external and personal, that can influence the punctuality of a person. Mostly, it’s the personal factors that play the major role in chronic unpunctuality. A punctual person can be late but it is a rare case, mostly influenced by an external factor like an unlikely traffic jam or a mishap. Chronically late people choose to be late, because, being on time is more a choice.
The phenomenon of chronic lateness is mostly related to procrastination. Such people have trouble with self-discipline, they keep putting off the homework required for that event to the last minute, hence, getting late. Sometimes, it is not the self-discipline but the underlying anxiety about the task, like a new social interaction, going to doctor or a meeting that is necessary but in your heart you’re not looking forward to it.
A majority of people, with chronic unpunctuality, fail to properly plan in advance, hence, arrive at their destination late. There might be some schedule conflicts they never pay attention to, which makes them depart late, thus reach late. These people need to get organized and properly plan in advance. Many people spend a lot of time to select their wardrobe and accessories and they do that right when they have to depart rather than doing it the previous night.
A number of people from this category are narcissistic and they like the feel of people anxiously waiting for them. They actually don’t give a damn about being on time, and being late makes these people feel special and empowered. These people are celebrity style fashionably late lot and probably the worst kind of offenders.
Lastly, there are people who are habitually late. They’ve inherited from a family who practices chronic tardiness. These people might be lethargic but they are certainly not serious about anything, their approach is casual and they lack sincerity, so it’s impossible for them to be on time.
Keywords: unpunctuality, tardiness, chronically late, procrastination, self-discipline.
