Sick of This Text: 'Sorry I'm Late'
online.wsj.com
online.wsj.com
YMMV, but my circle seems to simply be generally more flexible about time. That may be considered rude to some, and rude by standards of 20 years ago, but as long as everyone is generally on board, it's not a problem. In fact, it's more flexible and arguably efficient (I'm thinking of just in time inventory). I'm wondering if we're simply witnessing a generational shift here. (Full disclosure, I'm in my 40's).
(Presumably, some part of the system/society is gaining advantages from it; we're not just all and entirely one-sidedly enduring a bad habit.)
Now, to rectify my own bad behavior: Commenting before I've read the article.
Edit: Read the article. I remain with the same question.
I speculate the answer might intersect with recent commentary on the inhibiting effects of a surfeit of choice -- or, at a more basic level, mental stimulation. Too many things vying for our attention. There have been articles describing the deleterious effect upon the individual of encountering this in the form of too many products to choose from, when shopping. One effect being that you never make the purchase. Or you draw out the consideration to a crisis point, whereupon you snap up the item closest at hand, which may actually be a sub-optimal choice in terms of quality and features.
In the modern, (U.S.) consumer landscape, more and more of the different brands are being manufactured by the same few conglomerates. Is there an analogy in the time management landscape? How many of those TV program choices are from the same conglomerates? How many of the conflicting demands upon your time come, actually, ultimately from the same employer?
Is tackling the problem in part aided by recognizing the commonality of much of this distraction, and seeing it for that: One and the same?
(So, make your choice and execute, and choose further to tune out -- at least while doing this -- the rest?)
I feel I'm really going out on a limb, posting this rambling. But I wonder how others see this working, not just the impression that it's bad.
Poppycock. It's in your hands to determine whether it's okay for the other person to be late, messages or not. If you've been waiting for over 30 minutes, leave and tell your partner that you've done so through your "gadget".
Or, for repeat offenders: leave and don't tell. They'll figure it out when they get there... (passive-aggressive? surely)
Variations include "I am on a tight schedule. I'm sorry but 20 minutes in without even ordering is too much." If texting, I have found word choice to be crucial in delivering how upset you are since there is no tone of voice.
Inclusion of an actual reason and/or "maybe next time" is completely optional.
The rule is wait 15 minutes and then leave. After a couple such incidents, then you flip the flakey bit, and stop agreeing to meet that person one on one such as at restaurants or for day trips.
It's still OK invite flakies to parties or group gatherings where it doesn't matter if they show up or not.
I am also aware of the time and place, so if I know I will be driving east on I-40 at rush hour I will need to bake an extra 5-10 minutes into my schedule.
I don't do this to make myself look good, I do it because I respect the other person and would like to be treated the same when the other person is meeting me somewhere.
Some European countries have the academic quarter[1] which basically means that it's ok to be 15 minutes late.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_quarter_%28class_timin...
It's not ok for students to be late to class even 1 minute.
15 minutes is the amount of time that students must wait for a teacher to arrive before they can assume that a class has been cancelled and disband.
This is not about tolerating tardiness but a rule that clarifies what happens when a teacher doesn't arrive to teach the class in a timely manner.
It's also not something that happens often. It's a rule for contingency planning and not a rule to promote a standard of teacher tardiness.
At least in Poland.
At least i Poland :)
It was very helpful to decide that we should no longer wait and could assume the lesson was cancelled, instead of waiting around for an hour and a quarter not sure if the professor was coming or not.
Just the nature of the cultures, where they take it chill, drink a lot of coffee, and never rush for things, work to live, not live to work. Maybe that's why they have lower GDPs compared to the northern ones.
To say more is to be horribly politically incorrect.
They were both late.
That's kind of an unfortunate acronym for TED conferences.