Is 51.5 a Good Time for Running the 400 in High School

iStockphoto.com/Thinkstock

You'd think punctuality had become passe. After all, we're now a country of perpetual latecomers and, ironically, we have modern technology to thank. How so? Because we have multiple ways to send a "Sorry—be there soon!" message, a lot of the shame we used to feel over wasting someone's time has been removed.

Texting, in particular, offers a perfect way to broker a little leeway. You can relay whatever's holding you up ("Alarm snafu!") without having to hear the annoyance in your pal's voice. And you can pre-apologize for keeping her waiting. "You may have every intention of arriving on time," says William Powers, author of Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, "but the presence of a mobile in your purse makes you think it's not a big deal if you're late."

What's the Holdup?
The reasons we're late in the first place are as varied as our excuses—and many of those reasons operate just outside of our awareness. Dan Ariely, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and economics at Duke University who studies irrational behavior, says a major cause of lateness is believing that "things will go smoother than they actually do throughout the course of a typical day." More specifically, people fail to plan for the varying nature of the delays they'll encounter. While they know they should tack on a little additional time for traffic tie-ups on the bridge or a lost set of keys, he says, they routinely ignore the fact that, on average, other stuff can—and usually does—go wrong: For example, you rip your skirt getting into the car, run inside the house to change, and accidentally let the dog out.

But less obvious things can also cause you to fall behind schedule. Let's say you're on your way to see a friend whose overbearing personality has always made you feel a bit uneasy. "Those ambivalent feelings can actually make you later than you normally would be," notes Elizabeth Fitelson, M.D., director of the women's program in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University. Even though you may not be fully cognizant of these feelings, your reluctance ends up slowing you down. Suddenly, everything from finding a different shade of lipstick to checking that long list of e-mail messages seems more important than getting out the door at the time you know you should.

Anxiety is a similar emotional trigger, says Fitelson. Being nervous about something, like a big presentation at work, can cause "errors in judgment," she explains. You're so emotionally keyed up about facing the big bosses that you accidentally go to the wrong conference room.

In the psychology of lateness, basic denial of how overbooked you are can also play a large role. "In some ways," says Fitelson, "my clients would rather deal with the stress of always running a few minutes late—even though that feels terrible—than have to deal with the fear that their lives are just too complicated to work properly." Powers agrees, adding that, once again, our digital world has created a new wrinkle:

"We have too much to do, thanks to a digital culture that creates the illusion that we can get more done in the same amount of time."

Tardiness Loves Company
Even though lateness may start in our own heads, no one is late in a vacuum. The effects of delayed arrivals can multiply, especially in groups, because friends may influence one another's timekeeping. It's as if people have decided that "the ideal time to arrive may be just one second before the last person arrives," theorizes Ariely. "But this is actually a bad social game," he adds, "because if everyone tries to do it, everyone will be late."

If lateness is contagious, it's a pretty nasty virus to catch, with plenty of serious consequences. In the workplace, for instance, being late can gradually eat away at your credibility. "If you're chronically late," cautions Neil Fiore, Ph.D., author of The Now Habit at Work, "you damage your reputation and may be considered unreliable, if not a flake." Tardiness might not get you fired, but it isn't exactly helping you nab a bonus either.

And being behind schedule, especially if it's habitual, can also erode friendships. A friend's consistent tardiness, explains Fitelson, can "convey disrespect and selfishness."

Put it this way: You may feel as if you're late because you're a slave to a punishing schedule and trying to meet everyone else's needs. But your friends may harbor suspicions that you believe your time is more valuable than theirs. And, notes Fiore, "There is no amount of texting that can repair that kind of damage."

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

Is 51.5 a Good Time for Running the 400 in High School

Source: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a19899911/be-on-time/

Share this post