On Punctuality

A punctual person is in the habit of doing everything at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment. The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do with the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. There is a proverb that says,“Time flies never to be recalled”. This is very true. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact time is life itself, and the unpunctual man is forever wasting and mismanaging his own valuable asset as well as others’. The unpunctual man is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or to return calls, or to keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through his immense amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every appointment promptly and deal with every piece of work when it has to be attended to... Failure to be punctual is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to a dinner and arrives later than expected, he keeps all the other guests and the host waiting for him alone. This is great impoliteness. Unpunctuality is very harmful when it comes to doing one’s duty, whether private or public. Imagine how it would be if those who are entrusted with important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men. And the unpunctual man is a source of annoyance both to others and to himself.