Time is something we all wish we had more of, but it’s unfortunately a finite resource. Whether you’re trying to be less flaky, or you can’t seem to ever be on time for anything, it can help to remember that time is valuable for everyone.
Photo by Marius Brede.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in your own little world where the only thing that matters is your schedule, but that’s not so when it comes to work, friends, and other important obligations. Sara Kyle, founder and managing director at Vault Collective suggests you think of timeliness a little differently:
Remember that time is everyone’s most valuable asset, not just yours. Being respectful of other people’s time will help you gain respect . . . and your reputation is everything.
Giving yourself more time can mean taking someone else’s. Missing deadlines and being late not only shows that you can’t be trusted, it shows other people that you don’t care about their time. If you show them you value their time, they will reciprocate.
How to Be the Person That Never Misses a Deadline [Fast Company]
Comments
One response to “‘Time Is Everyone’s Most Valuable Asset, Not Just Yours’”
There are just so many things in this fluffpiece which aren’t true, It’s hard to know where to start.
1: It’s easy to observe that there are many people who value time much less than me. They’re easy to spot, they know about Soap Operas, and Oprah, they drive 20km to save 1c on fuel, they’ll drive for 30 minutes before asking for directions.
2: If you show people you value their time, only some of them will reciprocate. You should definitely stop making a special effort to evoke reciprocation from those who won’t.
3: Your reputation is worth a lot, but in a complex world priorities sometimes conflict. Unless your job is trivial your reputation sometimes requires you to be late (or even to reschedule).
4: If you *always* deliver on time, the people you supply will begin to underestimate the difficulty of your services.