# The psychology of punctual people vs late people according to lisalan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875 "2011-01-08T13:58:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![tessatune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9f8e36/32.png) [@tessatune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tessatune)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875/321 "2014-07-21T22:05:34Z")
My reasoning is that if one either volunteers and/or agrees to be somewhere or leave at a predetermined time then that person should do what they say they’re going to do. That’s got nothing to do with"quirkiness" and everything to do with integrity. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875/322 "2014-07-21T22:32:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I think part of our disbelief is that, IMHO, the OP is wrong. \*\* Punctuality is not a “skill.”\*\* It doesn’t take enough effort to “master” to call it a skill. Punctuality is a choice. Either you choose to get there on time or you don’t. If you aren’t leaving in time (leaving aside cases where you’re delayed by forces truly outside your control) then you are choosing not to. > > What skill is involved in it? Someone showing up late to work every day is choosing to be late. If you’re late on this one occasion when there was a bad accident on the highway, hey, that’s life. Late every day is a choice. Good point. If punctuality is really a “skill”: 1. Where do I go to train in punctuality, to improve my punctuality, and/or to learn punctuality strategies? Can I get a Career Certificate in Punctuality from the Institute of Time Management? 2. Is there a way to measure punctuality _skill_ separately from punctuality _motivation_? E.g. maybe Bill is usually late because he lacks sufficient time management and/or estimation skills. John is usually late because, despite having excellent time management and estimation skills, he chooses not to use them. If you say that training in punctuality would consist primarily of motivational material to convince people to not procrastinate - you’ve just lost the argument, because that is motivational training, not skills training. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875/323 "2014-07-21T22:41:38Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Good point. If punctuality is really a “skill”: > > 1. Where do I go to train in punctuality, to improve my punctuality, and/or to learn punctuality strategies? Can I get a Career Certificate in Punctuality from the Institute of Time Management? > 2. Is there a way to measure punctuality _skill_ separately from punctuality _motivation_? E.g. maybe Bill is usually late because he lacks sufficient time management and/or estimation skills. John is usually late because, despite having excellent time management and estimation skills, he chooses not to use them. > > If you say that training in punctuality would consist primarily of motivational material to convince people to not procrastinate - you’ve just lost the argument, because that is motivational training, not skills training. Here’s a great [article](http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/07/18/a-man-is-punctual-the-reasons-youre-late-and-how-to-always-be-on-time/) that discusses both the reasons for lack of punctuality (addressing your point #2) and tips for learning to be punctual (addressing your point #1). There are plenty of similar articles available online, and you can certainly take courses in time management that cover this topic. And now the word punctuality looks really odd to me. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875/324 "2014-07-21T23:21:51Z")
I still say this is one of the funnier threads I’ve ever seen get zombie’d. The conversation started something like 3 years ago. How late can you be to join it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tessatune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9f8e36/32.png) [@tessatune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tessatune)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875/325 "2014-07-22T01:50:28Z")
If someone had invited me to join 3 years ago, I would have been punctual. However, considering that I just found this all on my own, I feel justified. Funny that a person who is on time is never considered “rude”, or “has a bad habit of being on time”. Perhaps because they are considerate people who don’t keep others waiting for them and making them feel less important than whatever is perpetually holding them up. (I’m talking about the **chronically** “punctuality deficient”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychology-of-punctual-people-vs-late-people-according-to-lisalan/566875.md?page=16)