LPT: If you know you will be late for a meeting (personal or professional), it’s always better to inform the person in advance than trying to make it on time.

Submitted by gorney_huy t3_z2c7ao in LifeProTips

Majority of the people, upon realizing that they will be late for a meeting, try really hard to haste and make it in time. If you have already realized that you will be late, the likelihood of you being on time by doing a few things in haste is extremely low whereas the likelihood of you doing something utterly stupid, like driving recklessly, being mad at someone or neglecting something important in the spur of the moment is really high. This could not just be harmful to you but unsafe for others too who have nothing to do with your situation.

On the other hand, if/when you call up a person in advance and inform them that you will be late and then actually make it by the new time, this results in - 1. The other person respecting you for respecting their time and being clear on expectations 2. You coming across as an aware and empathetic person who respects timeline instead of a careless person always running late and trying to catch up

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threedogcircus t1_ixfy1af wrote

Yesssssss.

My biggest pet peeve is unannounced lateness. Call or text that you're going to be late if you're going to be late.

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gorney_huy OP t1_ixfz2ox wrote

+1 I suppose it’s usually the guilt of actual being late and then having to face the consequences that forces people to act irrationally and try to make it🤦‍♂️

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murphpan t1_ixgkbz1 wrote

And don’t arrive with a fresh coffee.

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kwecl2 t1_ixhird9 wrote

But but what if I bring it from home?

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red_bull68 t1_ixg1ejp wrote

In addition to this post when calling where possable try not to lock yourself into how late you will be, just say " I am running late and I will, be there as soon as possable". There is nothing worse than calling to say you are running late on your late estimation.

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DanishWeddingCookie t1_ixg6uyk wrote

But it’s not that like the first paragraph of the drug dealers handsbook? I am almost there when in reality they haven’t even left the house.

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Aidentified t1_ixh1v2j wrote

"Bro I'll be five wyn" - Man who will wake up in 8 hours

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pappyvanwinkle1111 t1_ixg4ckg wrote

Too many assholes are purposely late as a power play. We had one person that did it Every. Fucking. Time. Finally my commander was gone so I was leading the meeting. This was in Korea with people from the US, and local Korean managers, including the president of their corporation. I made sure that we started on the dot. When he/she waltzed in 15 minutes late they were shocked that the meeting had started without them. They tried to cover by saying, " I really am important." To which I said, "That's not true. We give important people clocks." The room ROARED with laughter. They were never late again.

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Confident-Giraffe-24 t1_ixg17tj wrote

Always let someone know you're going to be late for anything 🤷‍♂️

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DanishWeddingCookie t1_ixgpfz5 wrote

I’m on my way to my funeral, running a little late.

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boxing_fool t1_ixh2425 wrote

My family (mom and adult siblings) actually were a little late for my dad's funeral. He was also chronically late, wouldn't have had it any other way.

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mizzanthrop t1_ixhic11 wrote

Elizabeth Taylor had directed that her funeral start 15 minutes late for this same reason. She was always late so of course she late one last time

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robmacgar t1_ixgzs17 wrote

Another LPT: over estimate how late you’ll be. Nothing worse than saying you’re running late and then running late to that new time!

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earhere t1_ixht5zt wrote

"I'm running a bit late. I'll be there in about 9 hours."

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vorpal8 t1_ixh71sh wrote

I work in healthcare. If a patient gives me a heads up like "I'm going to be 20 minutes late because my tire was flat, can I still see you? I'll say, "Sure!" If they don't communicate and just leave me waiting, I may assume they aren't going to show up at all.

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Tristessa27 t1_ixit2vw wrote

^THIS. Sometimes, we have patients arrive super early. If WE KNOW someone is going to be late, sometimes we can switch them with a patient that is already there and there's no harm done. But when we don't know, we wait and so does that other patient.

Also, if you're late, apologize. Things happen; we understand that. But when a patient walks in 15 minutes late without so much as an acknowledgment that they're late, it's a giant piss-off.

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VantasnerDanger t1_ixhzot2 wrote

Someone asked me once if I steal. I said, "No."

Then they asked if I've ever been late to anything. When I said, "Yes", they followed with, "Isn't that stealing someone else's time?"

Oof. Been sitting on that for over twenty years.

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petdance t1_ixgafh6 wrote

It’s always better to give bad news early.

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HonestCup20 t1_ixgaru3 wrote

yup.. just call, and keep doing what you're doing.. no need to rush or run to like 99% of things.. last time i actually ran to make a deadline was my Bullet train was leaving and I wasn't paying attention to the time, we had 4 minutes, to pay for our food, run up the esculator and get on the train.. luckily we were super close, but we had to carry luggage and everything and get our meal paid for.. lol but before that, i don't think i've ran to make a meeting time, or "closing time" in a long long time.. i just don't care about most things enough.. but that bullet train..lol it would of left without us, and we would of been out a good $200 for our "gran class" (1st class) reserved seats, and then need to pay again. lol.. so yah, we ran.

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EyeSeeYou_Clairly t1_ixgrnh0 wrote

I call 20/30 minutes ahead to inform but I’m hardly ever late to anything . I’m usually extremely early … 30-60 minutes early 🤣 I hate to be late.

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ThingThatsJustBegun t1_ixhhvj2 wrote

I generally communicate three times when I know I'll be late

  1. When I first realize I'm going to be late
  2. At the time I was supposed to be there, to give an update on when I expect to be there
  3. When I know for sure what time I will be there (even if it hasn't changed from #2)

Obviously sometimes three times is overkill, depending on the situation.

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OutsideBottle710 t1_ixiawbu wrote

I hate it when people drive really fast just to get somewhere on time, just like be 5 minutes late and tell them?

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Wtcher t1_ixj53bh wrote

I like giving time spans.

“I’ll be there between 4 and 5”.

Four is when I think I’ll be there (after working in potential delays*, etc). Five is buffer time in case I get stuck in traffic or something else comes up. The buffer means I’m not rushed if something comes up, which means I’m more relaxed and less liable to make bad decisions.

If I can, I’ll tighten the time period.

*yes, I double-dip how long I think I may be delayed. Better to be potentially early than late. At least if you’re early, you can get a coffee somewhere and wait it out.

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keepthetips t1_ixfmtyy wrote

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jvcgunner t1_ixicwsv wrote

If you’ve said you’re gonna be late and are early, just be late.

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onlytech_nofashion t1_ixir7an wrote

Fünf Minuten vor der Zeit ist des Deutschen Pünktlichkeit.

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htzlprtzl t1_ixiur2s wrote

Especially be honest about how late you will be. If you say five minutes when you mean fifteen, it's so much worse than having said fifteen in the first place.

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peekay234 t1_ixhbhi4 wrote

LPT: Always arrive early for meetings which shows respect and enthusiasm. Plus you have time for last minute preparations. There’s a saying along the line of being on time is being late…

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karmickickback t1_ixhisk4 wrote

Do you account each time for the kid puking and the tire going flat and the accident on the freeway and the train blocking the roadway and getting pulled over by the cops each time you head for an appointment?

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[deleted] t1_ixgvgvl wrote

[deleted]

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HedaLexa4Ever t1_ixh0v1s wrote

Imagine arriving late to a meeting with a bunch of donuts. I think most people would call you dumbass for wasting time buying donuts when you are already late

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