observations on punctuality

Was just now trying to figure out how I screwed up my link to another blog in my previous post and got to looking through my archives and happened across this one. I wrote it almost a year ago but for some reason never published it. Blogger probably crapped out when I tried and I just gave up, wouldn't surprise me. But the sentiment still holds true. I'm still amazed at the rampant tardiness that seems to be a constant at every organized event these days.

For example, just this morning in church, when the service actually started (i.e. the prelude music finished) the room felt a bit empty, as if there was nobody near me. This is unusual, as the service probably gets 100+ each week. So I took a quick glance around, and I counted eight. Eight people. There were more musicians up front, plus the two pastors, than there were congregants in the seats. Wow, I thought, this winter weather must be making a LOT of people wait until the later service. Well, each time there was a break in the service, more folks trickled in, and before long there were probably 50 in there.

Now you can guess what I'm thinking. It's not like the service started at a different time than it starts at every week, so why was the vast majority of the congregation not even close to being on time? I know I really shouldn't throw rocks, and I'm not at all perfect on the whole punctuality thing, but...come on, people!! It's like folks just completely don't care about showing the basic respect to be on time anymore. Crazy...

Anyway, the original from last winter is below...
__________

More and more over the past year or so, I've focused a bit of effort on trying to be on time to things, with moderate results. I've always been a little annoyed with my own inability (and also that of others) to be responsible enough to show up on time. I strongly believe one's punctuality is a reflection of one's respect for others* and willingness to commit and be held accountable for not just schedules but anything. And, well, having long ago graduated from college and having had ample time to learn how to do this whole adult thing, I figured I'd best try to become more diligent and unlazy in at least one small area of my life.

I'm actually on time to most things now, at least those that have a defined start time--which (thankfully) doesn't include work. I used to be one of the consistent latebirds, always wandering in at least a few minutes past when I had intended to show up. But now, heck, I even get to church early most of the time now--when I bother to go these days, that is--and that's something that has rarely happened over the years. And I'm often one of the first to arrive at things like small groups and dinners and the like, such that it feels a bit awkward being there when it's only the host and/or one or two people, as if I'm walking in way too early or something. Needless to say, being on time has made some habits I see stand out more than before, like how often people are late to so much stuff.

It's actually quite annoying to show up to something on time and have to wait around for others to wander in the door late before anything can get started. This isn't some third-world culture, folks, where people are used to just doing their own thing at their own pace and seem to cross paths with one another almost as if by sheer coincidence. This is the U.S. and we understand the importance of schedules and timeliness here--or should. So many things require a set schedule and an ability to meet that schedule that it's surprising to me how prevalent this problem is. Is it too much to ask of someone to make enough of an effort to arrive and be prepared on time or at least pretty close?

Yet it never ceases to amaze me how many people are always late to everything they go to. Seriously, there are people I can think of that I can't remember having ever been on time even once to anything I've been to, and we've done no small amount of stuff together. Okay, nobody's perfect and sometimes things happen that prevent us from showing up on time. At any scheduled thing there will be someone who doesn't get there on time for whatever good or bad reason. But every time? Come on! And I'm not getting nitpicky over a minute or two here, as if they're within some margin of error and their clocks are just set differently or whatever. I'm talking 10+ minutes, sometimes 20-30 or so.

Really, the more I see this the more I'm convinced it's just inexcusable. There is no reason at all a self-sufficient adult shouldn't be able to notice this consistency in his or her life and correct it. We're not talking about some kind of chronic illness or something here, right? We're just talking about adjusting one's schedule or approach to things such that the problem doesn't recur every time one goes somewhere or does something. If even I can make progress on that front then it can't be that hard.

----------
* One of my favorite quotes is something I read on Boundless.org way back in my UIUC days and have managed to (loosely) remember all these years, something like, "The willingness to discipline oneself for the benefit of others is the essence of maturity." What a great summation of how we ought to live, and one that's especially applicable in this context.