Blogg Six: Chronemics - Punctuality

When I was young, punctuality was rarely up to me, for I was not in charge of myself. I have two older siblings, and my mom was responsible for getting all three of us dressed and ready and to school on-time. When it comes to punctuality, as is the result of moving at an appropriate speed, my oldest brother was the worst. Even when he reached high school, he never completed his morning routine in a timely manner. In fact, his perpetual tardiness was such an issue that my other brother felt the need, really for the sake of the world, to submit a new time management product to his middle school “Invention Convention” science-fair. Anyway, I was rarely on time to school, sports practices, and the like; it was just known that the Gordon family would be late. And as much as my mom hated for that to be our reputation, it didn’t change.

However, when I received my driver’s license and became responsible for myself, I developed my own punctuality habits. I contribute much of this development to my participation in school athletics. My basketball coach ran a tight ship – the first day of practice, we synchronized our watches to hers, and that became the law. Her adopted motto, “To be early is to be on-time; to be on-time is to be late; and to be late is unacceptable,” was repeated daily. If I arrived at the gym one minute late, I ran one “horse” (a running drill we all came to loathe); two minutes late, two “horses”, and so on. Consequently, I became a very punctual person, even though at first it was out of fear of the consequences. This punctual behavior was not limited to the basketball practice realm, but seeped into my every day life. I came to appreciate my coach’s standard of using my own time effectively and respecting and valuing the time of others. I decided it was a good standard to implement for myself, and to which to hold others around me accountable, even when they didn’t expect or desire to be held in such a way. I believe punctuality, excluding any outrageous circumstances which might cause me to be tardy, is now simply a part of who I am.

There are cases, however, in which I am not punctual. This is intentional tardiness, of course. You are all familiar with the concept of being “fashionably late.” Certain events or perspectives, by some unspoken cultural norm, call for such an out-of-character behavior. Being the first one at a function, such as a dance or party, has been deemed “lame” or “awkward” in my generation. While I may not agree that these social interaction labels are inevitable in many cases, I still abide by the unwritten rules. Similarly, I keep from being the first one in a classroom because that would make me a “nerd” or “not cool.” I like to arrive somewhere in the middle, after some students, but before the “slackers.” (I would like to acknowledge the fact that I am often one of the last students, along with Bree, Nicole, Callie, and Ashley, to enter our Nonverbal Communication classroom. However…have you seen out the castellaw living room? It’s a gem. We like to soak up every last magical moment on those couches. We always leave promptly at 10:08, just in time to finish our conversation in a few short steps. I extend no apology, only an invitation).

I read several articles online concerning the issue of this intentional tardiness and proper etiquette. Though this one wasn’t necessarily the most useful, I found the author, “Miss Manners” of msn’s lifestyle page to make a humorous point: “Why no one wants to arrive first is a matter that has always bewildered Miss Manners. You get to talk with the hosts, you don’t have to forage for food and drink, and you have an excuse for being the first to leave.” I think she has a point. What were we thinking making tardiness a norm?