“Where’s Kyle? Why isn’t he here yet?” Coach bellowed in frustration.
“He said he’d be here early, Coach,” Tom responded tongue-in-cheek, knowing that Kyle wouldn’t come early and had asked him to cover for him.
“This is outrageous! The game is about to start in a few minutes, and our goalkeeper isn’t here yet! Jason, you’ll have to stand in as goalkeeper today.”
Eventually, due to Kyle’s tardiness, Tom’s dishonesty and Jason’s unpreparedness, they lost the game 3-0.
There’re certain things in life that aren’t in unending supply; they’re limited; one of them is time. There’s joy and fulfilment you get when you respond to people promptly and see the look of gratitude on their faces for saving their time. When people meet you, they ought to be glad they did; they ought to leave you happier, and one sure way of ensuring this is by valuing their precious time.
If you were to schedule an appointment with a friend or group of friends, for example, try as much as possible not to make open-ended appointments. It’s better to say, “See me at 5.15pm” and be ready at that time, than to say, “See me between 5 and 5.30pm,” and keep the person guessing when exactly to show up.
And if for any reason, you know you wouldn’t be ready at the time you planned, reach out ahead of the agreed time to cancel or reschedule, tendering your apologies. Do your best not to destabilize other people’s day. Always remember, successful people are always time-conscious and punctual.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for your wisdom at work in me, causing me to use time wisely and prioritise my activities for today. The Holy Spirit guides me to be productive and effective in everything I do today, to significantly make progress, advance the work of the Kingdom, and improve my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
