Punctuality is an admirable character trait, especially for those who receive it. Everyone appreciates doctors and dentists who are punctual with patients in the waiting room. Job applicants hold interviewers who practice promptness in high regard. Employers are favorably inclined towards employees who are punctual. Punctuality is an admirable character trait, no matter where it is exercised.

Definition

Each entry in a list of character traits must have a definition to be useful to us. This is no exception, but how do you define punctuality?

Punctuality ensures that you identify and write down every deadline you have, and then causes you to take the appropriate steps to arrange your schedule in a way that ensures you will meet each deadline, even if it means sacrifice on your part.

Profits

Punctuality is an admirable character trait precisely because it offers so many benefits to both sides of the equation.

People who exercise this character trait receive higher respect than those who do not. Why? The act of being on time is a way of showing respect to those on the receiving end. People tend to value relationships with punctual people because they know those people won’t keep them waiting. As the 1950s folk song points out, it gets worse when someone is a slow push. Politicians, take note.

Life goes better with the character trait of punctuality. In Japan, where I lived for eleven years, punctuality is admired to the extreme. As a result, we were able to set our clocks by trains: freight, passenger, and commuter trains left stations precisely on the scheduled minute. Business transactions were carried out quickly and efficiently. Bank clocks were always accurate. Our private English classes always started on time, never being late to interrupt.

Punctuality literally pays. A study conducted in Ecuador in 2003 revealed that chronic tardiness costs Ecuador $2.5 billion a year. In some countries, that would be a small change, but Ecuador in 2003 had a gross domestic product of only $24 billion dollars. When they learned to admire and exercise punctuality, they learned to save money.

the 4 secrets

Punctuality can be taught and caught. Adults can learn this character trait for themselves. Character education teachers and parents can teach this character trait to young people.

In both the United States and Western Europe, there was a time when people had to learn to be punctual. Factory owners at the start of the Industrial Revolution had to work hard to instill speed. Many did not care that the workers arrived at the right time. They were happy that they arrived on the right day!

Punctuality involves four secrets. Learn them, implement them, and you can become a punctual individual.

· Carrots: This trait responds well to carrots: incentives. Train yourself to see the benefits you will get from being punctual. If you go to a job interview, for example, this may be the negotiator. Its opposite can be a deciding factor. Give yourself an incentive, a carrot, for being on time or meeting a specific deadline.

· Delusions: Magicians use illusions to fool the audience, but you can use them to fool yourself and be on time. Forget about setting the clock forward. That rarely works. A better plan is to create the illusion that your appointment or deadline is earlier than it is. Mark a 9 am appointment on your calendar as 8:45 am Force yourself to obey the illusion, even though you know it’s a trick.

· Amusements: Many of us hate punctuality because we are afraid of having to wait for someone who hasn’t honed this character trait. Carrying a diversion makes the wait enjoyable. In fact, you can anticipate a wait if you pick up a favorite book or crossword puzzle you want to enjoy.

· promissory notes: A quick IOU can often get you to an appointment on time. It can also help you exercise punctuality toward projects that have deadlines. Before we learn how to get to appointments on time, we often see things at the last minute that we just have to do. If we leave them, we think, we can forget them. If we do them, we’ll be late. Write yourself a promissory note to remember that you owe yourself the watering of that plant or any other commitment it may be. Then drop it and be on time.

Conclution

Punctuality is an admirable character trait, and one that pays off handsomely. Some people find it easy to build this moral quality into their lives. Others found it quite difficult. The character trait itself rewards both types of people once they begin to consciously and consistently exercise it.