Would You Rather #22: Be a little Late or way too Early?

People who respect time are considered as serious and thus well regarded. Punctuality is a matter of principle in every serious organization. Being on time for a meeting creates a very good impression of you; something that might go in your favor. It’s better to wait for than to be waited for, or?

I’m the type who prefers to report way early than the stipulated time. It gives me time to prepare physically and mentally for the activity ahead. Back in the university, I always wondered why some people perpetually reported to the exam centers minutes after we had started the paper. Since most of the papers were fairly difficult, I doubt it did them any good to be reading through the questions, deciding which one to tackle when most people were done jotting down their points and beginning their essays. When I asked a couple of my mates, they said arriving early to the exam center would make them anxious and think of the topics they didn’t study well. So by arriving a little late, all they have to concentrate on are the questions before them. Interesting viewpoint, right?

I for one, find myself disoriented when I arrive to a function late even if it is a few minutes after the program started. If it is a lecture, I find myself unsettled in my brain to absorb what is being said and I keep worrying about what I might have missed. If it is church service, I don’t feel wholly satisfied after it is over because I didn’t get to experience it all.

So the question is, how early is too early? If you had an interview slated for 10:00a.m and you showed up a little before nine, is that too early? And if you attend a wedding which is supposed to start at 11:00a.m and the bride arrives at 12:30p.m, I’m sure you’d be wondering, what at all is she doing? And when you look at her face and see nothing extraordinary about her makeup, you’d scoff, “I could even do it myself; nothing worth wasting our time over.” I often wonder what goes on in the mind of the groom as he sits alone, waiting. You can imagine all the second guessing he’d be doing. Is he doing the right thing? Is she the right one for him?  He could just turn around and walk away before committing himself to a mistake of a decision. What if…? Why would she subject the poor dude to such mental torture? The whole exercise can raise one’s anxious level to an all-new high so dragging the process doesn’t really help, or does it?

I’d prefer to be way too early so I’d have enough time to correct any overlooked issue before time is due. Being a little late is too late for me; something I’m not too comfortable about.

Are you time keeper or a notorious time breaker and why? Is it intentional or do circumstances just often get in the way?

Josephine Amoako © 2016