Greetings!
Being punctual is one of the thing taking for granted in this current generation and it's a thing of concern to many, most especially those people that keep to time in which I'm one of them. It's so disheartening so see people not meeting up when it's come to time management. It's a pity because time they say is money and there's no way you'll talk about being punctual without time. Time and punctuality are two things that are inseparable. Infact, I will liken both to a siamese twin that have been conjoined together right from the outset.
Like the popular saying which says, " punctuality is the soul of a business, yes that's just the simple truth about punctuality. And for this reason, my question now is that, why must we play or toy with a soul of something that's very important to us? Toying or joking with the soul of our business shows our level of unseriousness as everything we do will be surely affected.
All our day to day activities can be said to be our business and for this reason, all are anchored on punctuality and time and if we are not so serious about being punctual in carrying out those activities of ours, then there's danger ahead.
Someone said punctuality is the soul of a business which is generally agreed to and accepted, he also said it's about coming to a particular place as stipulated, I also concurred, but not fully, to me, punctuality is far beyond being prompt as stipulated, it's beyond that, to me, when talking about punctuality, it's about being at the right place at the right time. What do I mean by this, some people can come early to their workplace very early enough but doing nothing, yes, they are there as stipulated, but doing nothing or the wrong thing which is actually not right. So, being at the right place and at the right time and doing the right thing at the right time is my own simple definition of punctuality.
As regard being at the right place and at the right time and doing the right thing at the right time, I will like to share my little experience that prompted me to arriving at this. As a teacher in one of the government school, one thing I have realized in my place work is that the students are not punctual at all. Apart from coming late to school, these students even when some of them come to school early enough, they tend to not do the right thing as expected of them, for instance, right in the morning when you come to school in my area as a student, what you're expected to do is to join your other students in the general cleaning of the school, but these my students, instead of joining in the general cleaning will get themselves assembled at the back of a class, gisting about what's not so important to them and their assignments in the school. Can that be refers to as being punctual? To me and in my own opinion, it's a NO for answer, not only that, even, when classes were ongoing and teacher dishing out knowledge to them in the class, some will not even write, some instead of writing will be distracting and making a noise, are they doing the right thing? That's even better, thank God we still have some in class, what of those that are punctual at school, but not in class, these set of students will leave their various homes early enough and come to school at the stipulated early hour of the morning, but thay will not come to the assembly ground talkless of coming to school, they are not always at the right place at the right time all they do is vice versa. What a waste of time.
Though, this is not limited to the students alone, the teachers are also victims of this doing the right thing and at the wrong time or vice versa, some teachers are early comer, but their coming to school is totally not needed or a total waste of time as there's nothing they do with their early arrival, I have seen a teacher that came early to school and did not even attend a class before the close of work that day, she only stayed in the staff room gisting away her time, not only her time, but that of the students that are supposed to be the major beneficiaries of the the periods of time allotted to her, what a waste of time and resources? This is a big mess to the word punctuality.
In this part of the world, we now have what's called African time. I don't know where the phrase came from, that phrase African time is a bad one as it's synonymous to lateness, and it's now become the culture of most Africans to be late to an event, well not all Africans, but most are working in tandem with the phrase, African time. It's in this part of the world that you see the leaders keeping people waiting for hours until they arrive at the venue of a event that supposed to have started early, only for them to spend few minutes and leave. What a waste of time resource. Some even go to church very late all because even at the church, those that are in charge are just taking their bath at around 8 am when the service ought to have commenced 6 ; 30am. Is punctuality the soul of a business in that area. Let's all check ourselves.
To business owner, the popular saying that says, " for punctuality is the soul of a business. " should have been their watchword or what they should have strictly adhere to, but the reverse is the case, and for this reason, they complain so much about not making sales, now, my question to them is that, are they at the right place, doing the right thing at the right time? To some it's a NO NO answer, though, few of them adhere strictly to the rule, but not all. Can you imagine a taxi driver going out at the odd hour to do his business, what kind of a business orientation is that. Who will be around at the odd hour of the day. That means for that kind of a man or woman, he's only doing the right at the wrong time and this means he's not punctual at what he's doing.
Atimes, we are the architect of our own problem and not being punctual will only do us more harm than doing us good. Be punctual in whatever you do, be at the right place and at the time, doing what is right and have a lifetime of changed experience.
There's no rocket science anywhere, only for you to adhere strictly to the rules of nature.
Thanks for reading.
All pictures are mine.