Poll in a minute…
Somebody else’s lateness is stressing me right the hell out, and I’m trying to get a handle on how bent out of shape I should be. The never-on-time thing rarely affects me directly (as in I’m not the one left waiting) but the indirect effect could possibly be fairly devastating.
(You can choose multiple options)
Can’t vote, but yeah I am often late. I’ve always been happiest in places where it’s okay to show up a few minutes late. Indeed, that’s one thing I really like about DC.
Personally - I’m a chronically early person, if anything. I HATE being late and it stresses me out.
But also, I have a good friend who is chronically late. We meet up for one thing or another a couple of times a month and I have seriously never known her to be less than 15 minutes late. It used to irritate me a lot, but I’ve learned to shrug it off. She’s not going to change, I’m not going to make her change…so <serenity prayer> Even so, if we agree to meet at, say, 11 for brunch and I know she won’t be there until 11.15 at the very earliest, I’m always there on time.
Back in the 1990s, I did craft shows with a chronically-late partner. Usually we’d meet up somewhere and caravan or carpool to wherever the location was. And she was always late, which made us late getting there and setting up. Once I told her that under no circumstances was I going to wait even one minute past out agreed-upon meeting time, she magically got her shit together and got punctual.
My parents are chronically late – I had to tell them a fake time for the start of my wedding since they already showed late to all important life events including my high school, college AND law school graduations. I didn’t invite them to my swearing in because at that point, fuck them if they don’t care. (Why, I’m hardly bitter at all!!) Needless to say I have an absolute horror of being late, especially to ceremonies important to others, but really to anything.
I was late to school a lot when I was in primary school, so ever since I started secondary (actually more like fifth/sixth grade), I’ve taken the initiative and be always early or on time.
Being late stresses me out, and I also tend to get lost when I go to places the first time, so I like to have time to relax and find the place without rushing.
I sometimes depend on a ride, and that person usually is on time, and I try to be ready as well.
I am a pathologically on time person and there are two types of chronically late people and I deal with them differently.
Overcommitted and trying to be everything to everyone types - These I deal with in the chiroptera method, I plan for them to be late, carry a book in my purse and just deal.
People whose time is clearly more important than mine. I don’t put up with this anymore. If you constantly schedule things where they know they’re going to be late but are trying to maximize their time by minimizing the value of mine I don’t need to spend time with them.
The 1st place i worked at out of college was fanatical about being on time. The motto there was “If you’re not 5 minutes early you’re late.”
That has stuck with me for years and years.
Being late is stressful, so I always work hard to make sure it never happens to me… then I married a late person. No matter where we go for whatever reason, she can make us late. She was late for our wedding! She just looks at time in a different way from me. When we agree to meet at a certain time, I can see the wheels turning. Most of us would think we must get there before the agreed upon time, to be safe. My wife hears the time and seems to think, “I’m good until that time, then I need to get moving.” She will find a way to be late for her funeral, I just know it.
None of the choices fit. I’m nearly always on time for meetings, but I don’t obsess over it.
New England born and breed. New Englanders are the most time conscious people on the planet. I think the definition of the word “late” to mean “dead” started in New England. If you are late there, we assume you are dead.
Yeah, this is pretty much me. If I ever plan my own funeral, I will arrange to arrive late (if it won’t inconvenience anyone too much).
I voted for the second and penultimate options in the poll. I recognise this is hugely selfish, and sometimes (OK, often) this is the cause for my lateness. I do usually manage to be on time for work, barring circumstances beyond my control. But I really hate waiting around. I just can’t get it into my head that wasting time before getting ready to go could just as easily be converted to wasting time when I arrive early somewhere.
Despite my choosing the penultimate option, I don’t complain when others are late, I figure that’s fair enough. But if I am chairing a meeting, I will start it on time regardless of whether everyone is present or not.
I had a music teacher in high school whose favorite saying was “To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late”. If band started at 315pm, that meant we were suited and lined up at 310, ready to go at 315. If you were not ready, you ran laps or did push ups.
I became an early person then, and strive to remain so today.
I’ve always heard it: To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is to be fired.
Well, mostly.
The person stressing me out was born and raised in Brockton MA 
I am very punctual and for important stuff, I will arrive early enough to go and find a cup of coffee near the appointment location, so I can time my arrival to be appropriately slightly early (between 10 and 5 minutes for appointments that I know I can just walk into).
My family drives me absolutely mental over punctuality. I’ll tell them something is happening at 7:30 - they will wait until that time before they start getting ready to go. I now tend to say “It’s at 7:30, which means we will have to leave here no later than 7:15, also, we will have to depart at 7:15 latest - furthermore, if we leave after 7:15, we will arrive late - and just one more thing; we have to leave at 7:15 or earlier…” - I keep doing this until they tell me to stop repeating myself, then ask them what it was I was repeating, to be sure it sank in.
I’m never late for anything. No really. OK, there was a meeting two years ago and I got held up because they were paving the road.
It’s a mix for me. I am not a morning person which is a genetic thing. Starting the day, especially if it’s earlier than the time I’ve at least gotten used to… there’s risk I am going to be late with the usual being cutting it very close.
I am never late; but I do not stress about it. When I have an appointment I check for directions online. I think about how long it will take to get there and subtract that amount of time; then how long it will take to get ready and subtract that amount of time. It has always worked. I marvel when I see people who are always rushing and late and wonder if they are just poor planners.
I can’t stand chronically late people and drop them from my friends list pretty quickly. Late stresses me out and I’d rather be early anyday.
I’m never late but I don’t stress about it either. If it does happen that I’m running later than expected, I don’t consider myself late if I’ve contacted the other party and told them the meeting time is being moved up 
I don’t have kids or an SO, and I have a generally flexible job, so being on time is absolutely no grand feat for me.