There are two types of people in this world: those who are seemingly early for everything and those who are continually late.
I worked with a woman a few decades ago named Mary, and she clearly fit in the latter category. To her credit, she took responsibility and didn’t shift blame. In fact, she shared something back then that has stuck with me to this day: “You are either planning on being on time, or you are planning on being late. But, either way, you are planning.” How true. Thank you, Mary.
As a teenager, I liked to see how quickly I could do things and still be on time. The end result was that I was sometimes tardy. After several instances of showing up late for my first-period class, my teacher, Mr. Yocum, reported this to the principal, who then notified me that I would be spending my free time in detention for a few weeks. Mr. Yocum never chastised me, never called me out in front of others, or never embarrassed me about this. He simply wanted me to know that there are consequences for being late. I needed that lesson. Thank you, Mr. Yocum.
When I started my first job out of college, I found myself stressed by the drive to and from work and the fear of being late. Meanwhile, my co-worker Helene always seemed relaxed and fun-loving. Her solution was simple. By arriving a few minutes earlier, and staying a few minutes later, she avoided the traffic problems and found much of her stress to go away. Easy peasy, she said. Thank you, Helene.
Today, I am rarely late because I plan on being early. I now have less stress, and I don’t have to sit in detention. So, yes, tardiness can be fixed, at least for me. I credit this to lessons learned from Mary, Mr. Yocum and Helene. How about you? Which camp are you in, and how are you working (or not working) to be on time?
Have a tardy-free Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707