WHEN I returned to Fiji in 2010, I was quite amused to see T-shirts with the words “I AM ON FIJI TIME”. Of course, it was meant for tourists – to be lazy and relaxed in our beautiful paradise – oblivious of the time since they were on vacation.
But I quickly found out that many Fijians had adopted that as part of their personal and, alas, professional lifestyle. And that was quite troubling
Because how we manage and spend our time shows what we value in life.
Time is one of our most valuable resources, but most people fail to manage it properly. William Irvine said, “people are unhappy in large part because they are confused about what is valuable”.
If we don’t know what’s valuable, we won’t be able to prioritise it.
And that’s why people are habitually late. I have noticed that the top brass of the country, including ministers are generally late because they are too drunk with power and derive some perverse pleasure from making others wait.
They are too egoistic and vain to realise that true leaders are always respectful of other people’s time
Being punctual shows that we value our time, but also the time of those around us.
And although punctuality is partly related to the environment we grew up in (don’t we know that too well) We all can change our habits.
If we can’t even make it on time for a meeting, how should people trust us and believe that we’ll be able to keep other promises?
People who are always on time plan for delays. They know that unexpected situations might occur. So they have a flexible schedule.
This doesn’t mean that punctual people do less or are lazy. In fact, it’s quite the contrary, they are aware of the activities and tasks that consume most of their time.
Not all the tasks are fun and some people tend to leave them to the end of the day.
But that has a downside. It keeps nagging them while they are involved in important work thus affecting their efficiency and productivity.
So they get rid of the unpleasant tasks – eat the frog – the first thing in the morning.
Sometimes, being aware of what we might lose helps us be more disciplined.
If there is no consequence for being late, then there’s no incentive to change our ways. If we know what we might lose by being late, we’ll be more careful.
Would you be late for the first date with the girl of your dreams?
We must treat all appointments as our first date or we will lose out.
One major loss is missed opportunities. Quite often, the most exciting conversations happen before a formal event starts.
By being late, we miss the networking and fail to connect with people who have formed a negative first impression because of our tardiness.
When I was the group HR manager at a premier retailer several years ago, we had advertised for the position of a HR co-ordinator for the Central Division.
We had shortlisted the applications to six applicants and the HR assistant had called everyone to confirm the appointments.
One applicant had sterling credentials on his CV. His appointment was at 10:30am.
I received a message at 11am that he had just arrived. Needless to say I did not interview him. I am sure he learnt his lesson.
This may seem like a harsh reaction, but if we continue to tolerate tardiness, people never learn. Old habits die hard.
Also, we can’t perform at our best when we’re stressed. Being late is a mental burden and causes unnecessary pressure on our minds. These are just some of the potential downsides of tardiness.
Being early to an appointment and waiting can help us relax, collect our thoughts, and be ready for the meeting. Another way to use these downtimes is by taking a book or a copy of The Fiji Times.
The CEO of a Forex company and I meet every week at the Zig Zag in Nadi Town just for a cup of coffee. We always arrive within a few minutes of each other even though it is just for a casual get-together.
We need to make small improvements to be more punctual and send fewer messages to our friends saying, “hey, I’ll be 10 minutes late”.
Sending a text message to inform someone that we’re late doesn’t solve the problem.
My boss in the US has a simple and effective way of ensuring that everyone was on time for meetings.
He would send an email to say the meeting will start at 8:57am. This was better than saying that the meeting will start at 9am.
It gave more urgency. Otherwise, the attendees strolled in around 9:05am. He would also lock the door of the conference room at 9am. The habitually late attendees learn their lesson and were never late again.
If we want to be competitive with other countries, we need to adopt the best business practices and one of the most important business practice is punctuality.
We can have very compelling reasons, but in this dog eat dog world where competition is fast and furious, reasons don’t count.
It’s actually very simple – take responsibility and decide not to be late. We do not have to look foolish – and more importantly – not lose an important client or contract.
Of course, we can be on Fiji time when we are on vacation. Or when we go to weddings or parties.
Women like to be fashionably late so that other women (and men) will cast admiring looks at the dazzling attire they are wearing.
My wife is very beautiful and looks very elegant in a saree. So it is good for me to be on Fiji time when we go to a function.
It feels great to be with the most alluring, charming and lovely lady at the party.
- ARVIND MANI is a former teacher who is passionate about quality education. He lived in the US for 35 years and was actively involved in training youths to improve their speaking skills. The views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper. He can be reached at theinspiredteacher9@ gmail.com
