You may think that it’s alright if you run late on a consistent basis. There is the old adage that 90% of life is just showing up. Well, showing up on time must be 100 percent! In most cases, it’s just plain rude to keep people waiting. If it’s people you are friends with, they will likely think that you don’t care about them enough to be on time. If you’re chronically late to your job, it could be grounds for them to fire you. If you’re late to your classes, there could be information that you’re missing that will greatly effect your grade. In any case, there’s usually not much benefit to being late, and there’s plenty of drawbacks to it.
First and foremost it’s a poor use of your energy to be late. Mentally you may have to think of a reason why you are late, each each and every time you are late. This mental energy could be put to better use. If you show up on time you free yourself from this frivolous activity and allow your mind to think of more important things. Also, being late is stressful. You can easily remove that stress by being on time. This way you simply don’t have to worry if someone is waiting for you or not, or if they are getting mad that you’re late, because you’ll already be there on time.
If you’re a high school or college student let’s say you are always late to a certain class. It could be the case that the teacher or professor likes to give important information at the start of class, to reward those that arrive on time. They might announce when a test will be scheduled, or they may let everyone know how to earn extra credit. They may even give give more juicy info like when a test or class time has been canceled. Imagine how bad you’ll feel when you are the only one that shows up for a canceled class, or the only one that’s ready for a test that doesn’t happen.
If your company pays you an hourly wage they will definitely want you there on time. While most places will give you a 5 minute window before you are officially late, why push that limit? If you are consistently on time and your coworker has a spotty record as far as tardiness goes, who do you think will have the advantage when the next promotion comes along. If you both have similar qualifications, it just might happen that you will be given it because it looks like you have a strong work ethic.
So no matter how you cut 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 show up on time!