What is Punctuality?
Punctuality is the habit of attending to a business just in time. It is the exactness in keeping appointments.
In a wider sense, it is the habit of doing things in the right time. If a man does a piece of work exactly at the appointed time, he is said to be punctual.
Why is it important?
The importance of punctuality is felt in every walks of life.
Punctuality is the key to success in life. All great men are punctual and even in the smallest affairs of life they do not break the rules of punctuality. Great men do not reach their heights by sudden flights. They work without haste, without rest for years and win success. People, who waste their time in idle gossips, generally come to nothing. A lawyer, who is not punctual with his clients, loses his clients and suffers in practice. A doctor who neglects to attend on his patient is seldom called in.
On the other hand, an unpunctual man is one who does not turn up in time. He does not value his own time. He does not attach importance to another man’s time. In an office the clerk who attends his office punctually, earns the good opinion of his master.
Punctuality is the soul of business. It is absolutely necessary in the prompt performance of work. If a man opens his shop later than the appointed time, his customers go away to other shops to make purchases. A businessperson loses credit in the market, if he fails to keep his appointments. He has to do a large amount of work. Each piece of work is to be done at a certain time. If he does not do his work regularly, he cannot finish all his work.
Punctuality is equally important for success in student life. If a school student attends his school after the business of the school is commenced, he loses his lessons for the time being, and if he goes on indulging in this habit, he becomes unsuccessful in passing the examination at the end of the year.
Punctuality is an essential habit if we want to fulfill our duties successfully. Work done in time is done well. Work put off is often remains undone. If we get up from bed very late, we shall have to hurry through all our duties. Things done in haste are rarely done right. When we go late to our school, we miss the lectures of our teachers. If we do not do our lesson in time, we shall lag behind our classes.
Punctuality empowers us to do things well. Left over work is often forgotten and are never done. If we miss an opportunity, we may miss it forever. Time flies fast. Time that is over can never be called back. It is often said that ‘Time is money“.