“The hard part about being on time is standing up and moving on. But the cost of being squishy is that you’re not only disrespecting the next person, you’re stressed all the time.”
Anyone who knows me knows that I like to be on time. I’m actually early most of the time. I’m early because I don’t like to arrive anywhere feeling rushed. I also want the people I’m meeting feel like I value them. I care about their time. I don’t want anyone to be waiting for me.
While I have no problem arriving on time, I do have problems leaving something. Even when I know that I have somewhere else to be, I find it hard when someone wants more of my time. When someone wants to continue the conversation even after I say I need to leave, I see it as a compliment that they want to spend more time with me. But is it a compliment or an insult? Are they saying that whatever they have to say is more important than my time or what I have to do?
Leaving late can have a snowball effect. If I don’t leave on time, I’ll be late for the next meeting and not early as I prefer. By continuing the conversation, there is no time to regroup for the next meeting. Rushing may cause me to speed and get a speeding ticket which will only make me later.
When it is time to go, I need to say my goodbyes and leave. Don’t allow the conversation to continue. If more needs to be said, I will explain that I will call and set up another meeting.
I need to be more mindful of the leaving time as much as the arriving time.
When it is time to go, I need to let people go. Don’t make them say they have to go again and again. When it is time to go, say goodbye.
No comments:
Post a Comment