The punctually-challenged often share personality characteristics such as optimism, low levels of self-control, anxiety, or a penchant for thrill-seeking, experts say. Personality differences could also dictate how we experience the passing of time.
This tardiness can be explained by a number of factors, including specific personality traits and a lack of time management skills, experts say. Often, it's caused by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which is characterized by traits such as inattention and impulsivity.
Being late is a tendency that some people cannot seem to shake. Many factors contribute to perpetual lateness, including time perception, time management and personality. We all know someone who never seems to be on time, whether it's to a lunch date or a work meeting.
Planning for Wait Time
For most people, running late has more to do with anxiety about where they're going. "There's a fear factor in which people are anxious about going at all or about getting there too early and having nothing to do," Sapadin says.
If you have ADHD, you may find yourself constantly running late. You might lose track of time when you're doing something you enjoy or get caught up in the moment. This can make it difficult to stick to a schedule or be on time for appointments.
Not only does consistent tardiness insult others, but it can also bely a lack of certain valuable virtues. It can convey that the late person has a lack of intelligence, a lack of time management skills, and a slippery grasp on their own priorities. It can also betray a lack of will power and empathy.
But lateness isn't just about poor time management. According to psychologist Dr. Pauline Wallin, "people who are chronically late are often wrestling with anxiety, distraction, ambivalence, or other internal psychological states". Here is just a handful of what really could be going on under the surface.
However, being chronically late is also confrontational only in a passive-aggressive manner. If you have a friend or colleague who consistently keeps you waiting, if at all possible, begin without them. This is not being rude but is also a communication.
As it turns out, those people aren't all wrong. There's some good news for those of us who just can't help but be a little late to the party, with research suggesting latecomers are likely to be more relaxed and optimistic than their on-time counterparts, essentially leading to a happier and more successful life.
1. Try "punctual".
Today's social behavior is centered around impressions. When people are late, they give the impression that they are disrespectful and unreliable.
Forgetting important deadlines, barging into meetings late, or crawling into work at random hours - habitual tardiness creates bad impression. It implies that you do not respect others' time.
The Effects of Being Late to Work
But in the workplace, punctuality has considerable effects. When someone is late, they might cause meetings to be pushed out, impacting colleagues' schedules. They may also miss important tasks, adding an extra task to another team member's to-do list.
1. Depression: Because depression causes not only sadness, irritability, and changes in sleep and appetite, but also loss of focus and energy, depressed people may be chronically late — and that won't be the only symptom. The lateness is likely to be relatively new or to come and go with the mood disorder.
Mental health problems are common among seniors and may include isolation, affective and anxiety disorders, dementia, and psychosis, among others. Many seniors also suffer from sleep and behavioral disorders, cognitive deterioration or confusion states as a result of physical disorders or surgical interventions.
“Repeated lateness is usually a symptom of an underlying condition such as ADHD [Attention-Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder] or depression but it can also just be habit …
However most narcissists are notorious for being late. And keeping people waiting for hours on end. Lateness ties in with many of the narcissists foibles.
My rule of thumb for how long you should wait for someone who is late is 25 to 30 minutes. It is no different for family or friends than it is for your boss or a professor. After 30 minutes, you are good to go with no apology. There are people who are habitually late.
It means you're living in the moment
Research shows that forever-late-comers go through life more relaxed and easy-going. They have a lower stress-level, which drives us right back to the healthier lifestyle mentioned above. The tardy don't live by the minute, they'd rather look at the bigger picture.
Research suggests that those with ADHD are deficient in temporal processing abilities, which affect executive functioning. This interferes with our ability to perceive time accurately when tasks require our attention or present an opportunity for impulsive responses.
Adults with ADHD struggle with punctuality and getting things done on time. As a result, they: Procrastinate. Stay up late to complete assignments last-minute.
“It's important to remember that ADHD is a medical, physiological disorder,” says ADHD expert and physician Patricia Quinn. Some adults with ADHD say, “I like to stay up late because it's quiet, and I can get a lot done.” In other words, daytime distractibility and disorganization can lead to too-late bedtimes.