Punctual

      When I tell someone I will arrive at a certain time, I will do everything in my best ability to follow through that promise. I like to be efficient with my time and limit procrastination. Occasionally, I will take a break from my daily tasks and listen to music on Youtube but who doesn't. One thing is I will always account for due dates and time lines.
      In high school, I had to leave at 5:20 A.M. in order pick up four teammates for practice at 6:00 A.M. However, I always left ten minutes early just in case someone was going to be running late. I always tried to account for unexpected events in my schedule because things randomly happen in our lives sometimes. When I agree to meet at a certain time, I will be there on-time or early.
      I have a friend named Madison and she's always late to everything. Going to the movies, she's late. Going out for dinner, she's late. Going to our high school graduation or Prom, she's late. You get the point, she just can't arrive on time.
Most people would be angry about this and I was too for awhile. Then, I came up with a plan to account for her tardiness and not make myself wait so long. I always told her to meet up fifteen minutes earlier than I originally planned. As time passed, this proved to be successful. We arrived to our destinations at nearly the same exact time. I told her one year later about this and she laughed on how it worked nicely. It became to be known as Madison's Fifteen Minute Rule. I learned that sometimes you just have to accept people and their poor punctuality. But, it doesn't mean you can't help them or in my case, alter their lifestyle to fit yours.
     I have a friend named Zack who is the exact opposite of Madison. We could all learn from him. He arrives to everything on time. Even to parties in which people show up late intentionally to wait for their friends to come first. When he doesn't know the correct time to show-up he will ask or call someone to get the arrival time. For vacations, he will show up to the airport three hours early just in case of an emergency. I never have to worry about Zack not showing up or being late. It's a great quality to have in a person and I respect this in people. I think punctuality is a complement to trust. If you can't rely on someone to come on time, how do you expect to trust them in general? They go hand to hand together. Punctuality isn't just about time management but a quality to live by.
      Sometimes unfortunate things happen and cause us to lose grasp of life. It's not always in our desires. But we account for this. Arrive ten minutes to anything. This will usually accommodate for traffic, your want to sleep-in or just an unplanned circumstance. If you happen to arrive anyways ten minutes early, you can use this down time to text or call a friend to see how their life is. Set-up your alarm clock five minutes early. Do the same with your second alarm clock, I recommended earlier you to have. You won't oversleep and will account for your inability to be a morning person.
       Punctuality is important and many people talk about showing up on-time and not being late. But, I believe its more important to account for unexpected events and still show up on time. Ask the person in charge for an arrival time, tell your friends when you will arrive and ask when will they. Be in control and show others that you can be depended on.
        This article was written on Monday December 1, 2009. Yet, will be posted the next day because I won't be able to write anything due to some circumstances. Enjoy :]