Punctuality - what is it in a person, how to develop it

Punctuality is a character quality that is associated with neatness and accuracy. In the understanding of many, punctuality is the habit of keeping track of time. Yes, we are talking about this attitude to time in the first place, but punctuality is reflected in something else: accuracy in judgment, passion for formalities and concern for rules and instructions.

Punctuality is not always a positive quality. Sometimes friendship, work or cohabitation with a punctual person turns into hell. Let's figure out what punctuality is in a person and what it can be like.

What is punctuality

What does the word “punctuality” mean and what is it in a person? The name is derived from the Latin word punctum, which translates as “point”. You've probably heard the expression "He's got a thing for this." In essence, this is the meaning of the word “punctuality”: a punctual person has one or more points. The intensity of punctuality varies and this directly affects a person’s behavior. When there are too many points, he turns into a bore.

Interesting! From a psychological point of view, excessive punctuality is the result of an increased need for control and a sign of increased anxiety and neurosis.

They follow updates on movements

Traffic jams, delayed flights, breakdowns in the metro - all this is difficult to include in your plan, but it is possible. It's time to use technology and sign up for alerts on your frequent travel routes. And you always need to have a backup plan. Some applications may create it for you automatically.

Rules for a punctual person

The behavior of a punctual person can be different, it all depends on the “punctuals”. However, there are also common features and rules of life:

Make a schedule for the day, week, month. Many punctual people carry a diary and reminders on their phone.
Refuse unnecessary things. This includes not only the obvious exclusion of social networks, but also, for example, refusing to fulfill a friend’s request if it does not fit into the schedule.
Pack your things and think through everything in advance. A punctual person would rather come to a meeting early than be late.

Punctuality is closely related to a sense of duty and responsibility. A punctual person rationally evaluates his abilities and does not go beyond his personal limit of tasks for the day.

Punctuality at work

A person with healthy punctuality makes an excellent employee and boss. However, a lot depends on the sphere of work - it will be difficult for such a person to be creative. But he feels great in production, working with papers, reports, and machines. For example, being a chef, he will never deviate from the technological map. A punctual person will never be late for work, but he will also not stay late or work on his day off.

People with excessive punctuality become tyrannical bosses and bad employees. They do not know how to deviate from rules and instructions, which is why they sometimes stall the process or delay the completion of tasks. In practice, it often happens that you have to be smart, deviate from the primary course, and bypass the system of rules. I think there is no need to talk about working with a flexible or unstable schedule - punctuality will not allow a person to get such a vacancy.

We will consider other advantages and disadvantages of punctuality in a separate paragraph.

Advantages and disadvantages of punctuality

Accuracy, organization, responsibility, diligence, diligence - these are the synonyms people choose for the word “punctuality”. However, everything is good in moderation. It happens that a person becomes a slave to punctuality. For example, when careful handling of things and love of cleanliness turns into OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). Or when, due to being a few seconds late, a person is ready to refuse a deal or lash out at a loved one.

Moderate, healthy punctuality is valued in business relationships. For example, a candidate who arrives for an interview on time will look better than a late competitor. Being late could result in you losing your job altogether.

In addition, healthy punctuality is valued in interpersonal relationships. Agree, it’s unpleasant to wait with dinner getting cold for your husband, who promises to come home early today, but for some reason is late at work? It’s unpleasant to wait for a girl in the cold for two hours and already miss half the performance. It’s unpleasant to come to visit a friend and wait for him at the entrance for an hour, because he himself has not yet managed to get to his house from other guests, although he said that he was already arriving. The examples can be continued endlessly. There is only one conclusion: no one likes unpunctual people.

But there is another extreme: overly punctual people. They don't want to put themselves in your situation and listen to the explanation that you were late because of a traffic jam. After all, a person with developed punctuality always allows himself plenty of time. They don’t want to take into account your needs and interests: if a punctual person gets up at seven in the morning, and then exercises and breakfast, then the whole family lives according to a similar schedule.

Excessively punctual people criticize a lot and often, and are prone to conflicts. They are often offended and insulted, since they chalk up all the delays, delays, and carelessness of other people to their own account. They can be cruel and despotic, especially in relationships with children, and try to make the latter “comfortable.”

Note! Sometimes punctuality is not so much determined by character traits as by the rhythm of a person’s life. It happens that the day is scheduled literally minute by minute, and every delay is fraught with the disruption of major projects. At other times, not being so busy, a person himself can afford to be late somewhere.

Are we just talking about kings?

The famous phrase “Accuracy is the politeness of kings” was translated from French (L'exatitude est la politesse des rois) and, due to the peculiarities of the translation, has another interpretation: “Accuracy is the politeness of kings.” Few people know, but this expression has a continuation, and in full it reads like this: “Accuracy is the courtesy of kings, but a duty for their subjects.” The author of the phrase is the French king Louis XVIII, who ruled the state from 1814 to 1824 [].

Read also: Chapter 23. Motor system of the eye

How to become a punctual person

Punctuality is a character trait, and it, in turn, lends itself well to correction. This means that every person can develop punctuality. How to do it:

Describe the negative consequences of unpunctuality. Describe all the problems (deprivations and restrictions) that arise because of this in the family, at work, in relationships with friends. This will set you up to fight.
Treat yourself as a punctual person. For example, say: I am never late. This will also help you tune in.
Start getting to know yourself. What does it mean? Perhaps you don’t even know approximately how much time you spend getting ready in the morning (brushing your teeth, breakfast, etc.). It would be nice to observe yourself for a week or two and know about it. Or maybe you live by the principle “when you wake up, then it’s morning.” It would be a good idea to make a wake-up and drop-off schedule. Well, especially keep a close eye on your activity on social networks - these are the main time wasters (meaning aimless scrolling through the feed).
Watch. At first, focus all your efforts on “measuring”: how much time you spend on similar tasks, how much time it takes to travel and at what point traffic jams form, how long you eat, etc. And also analyze situations in which unpunctuality most often manifests itself. Perhaps this is your defense mechanism against negative factors from the outside world. We need to get rid of them.
Learn to plan. In the evening, decide what you will wear tomorrow, decide on the time you will leave the house, make a written plan for the day, at first constantly check your watch and set reminders on your phone.
Set your priorities. Identify several areas of your life that are important to you and rank them from most to least important. Accustom yourself to analyze all matters through the prism of this system. Pay special attention to this when something unexpected comes up, for example, on the way to an interview you met an old friend who immediately invited you to sit in a cafe. Why not invite him to exchange phone numbers now, and then meet at a time convenient for each of you?
Clean up your home. Chaos in the head means chaos in the apartment and vice versa. Train yourself to put things in the same places, maintain order in the closet and on the table.
Learn to warn. If you are late for a good reason or are in the process of struggling with a shortcoming, then inform the person who is waiting: “I’m stuck in a traffic jam, I’ll be delayed,” “I still can’t always control my lack of punctuality, today I’ll be 10 minutes late.” Sorry."
Take an in-depth study of time management. This is a whole science that has not only theory, but also numerous exercises for practice.

Don’t forget to work every day on developing punctuality, then within a month you will notice the first lasting changes. Punctuality is closely related to self-organization, self-knowledge, self-esteem and respect. Remember this and that time is the most valuable thing every person has.

Why is it important?

They say that punctuality is the courtesy of kings. There are also stereotypes about German punctuality: it is believed that Germans can agree on the exact time and date of the next meeting a year in advance and arrive exactly on time. Why is punctuality so important? It's simple: precise time planning is convenient.

If a person is late, you may waste an hour waiting for them when you could be spending that time working, hobbies, or spending time with your family. If the work is not completed on time, it can disrupt all future plans and result in real losses. At the same time, not only the waiting people become victims of delays and tardiness, but also the unpunctual person himself.

The inability to manage one’s time has a detrimental effect on one’s schedule: even if a person has a lot of free time, if one is unable to plan, it will seem as if there is none. Very often, in this way, people’s whole life turns into continuous work: such people drag out insignificant tasks, get distracted, and then cannot get anything done and find themselves too busy. If you learn to manage your time wisely, you will have enough time for both work and leisure.

Thus, punctuality is important not only in order to appear to others as a responsible person. It helps you always know your schedule accurately, get more done, work more efficiently and leave time for hobbies or family.

It cannot be denied that in the modern world time is becoming the most significant resource. We are busy with a variety of things, we want to lead an active social life, actively relax, work, take care of children, have hobbies and a circle of friends. At the same time, a lot of time is spent on small everyday matters, on the road from one place to another, on forced queues. Without planning your time, it is simply impossible to lead an active life, because every free minute needs to be spent wisely. If you learn to be punctual, it will affect all areas of your life.

Doing things on time is important literally everywhere

Friends will no longer wait for you for a long time, you will be able to plan more eventful leisure time and will have time to communicate with more people. It is known that when you are very busy at work, it is very difficult to find time for friends. But if you learn to plan competently, you won’t have to deprive yourself of the joy of communication at all. And your friends themselves will certainly appreciate it if you respect their time and don’t keep you waiting.

At work, you will be able to quickly complete all current tasks - if you become more punctual, this positive quality will certainly gain approval among your colleagues and superiors. In addition, if you begin to clearly estimate how long it will take to complete a particular task, you will find that you begin to complete the work faster. Punctuality can potentially lead to a higher position or additional free time.

With children, punctuality is also very important. If you can't get them to school on time or check their homework, it may cause them discomfort.

In addition, it is always important to instill in children good and healthy habits; the most effective way to do this is by your own example. If you yourself always try to be punctual, your children will most likely learn this too.

Time management is also useful in everyday life

Do you know the feeling when household chores take up all your free time? If you don’t know how to plan, you will have to spend all day cooking, washing and cleaning - this may leave no time left for self-care, reading, hobbies, or communicating with friends. If you become more punctual, you will be able to cope with boring household duties as quickly as possible.

Indeed, punctuality has many advantages. But learning how to manage your time can take a lot of work and patience. Don’t expect to wake up tomorrow as a punctual person: the art of managing your time will require daily work on yourself.

An example of a punctual person from my life

Punctuality manifests itself in different ways, for example, sometimes it is noticeable in specific conditions or in one area. I have a friend who does not live according to a schedule, does not make plans for the day, can afford spontaneous meetings or other spontaneous actions, but at the same time she is very punctual in work matters:

first and always submits reports on time;
leaves the house with plenty of time;
responds to all messages with lightning speed (however, lately she has been doing this less and less on weekends and has almost stopped staying late at work or going out after hours);
demanding of herself and others;
adheres to a certain order on the desktop and scolds everyone who moves or takes something there.

There is practically no such thing in everyday life, only the desire to arrange objects on tables remains. And she always has her clock set a little forward.

Despite this, she may be late for a meeting with friends. But at the same time, she will come with plenty of time to a concert or other friendly meeting that requires strict adherence to time frames. So punctuality can be like that.

The Roots of Unpunctuality

Researchers at New York University Business School conclude that unpunctual people continue to be late even though they understand the consequences.

On average, we underestimate the time required to complete a task by 40%.

The University of San Diego conducted a study among 181 operators in the New York metro area. According to neuroscientists, people with a tendency to multitask are less punctual. In such conditions, the brain has a harder time with metacognition, so we lose sight of details such as schedules.