People differ from each other. There are those who stress over the fact that they are ten minutes late when meeting friends and there are those who are happy with the fact that they are only ten minutes late.
If you fall into the latter category, you have science to back you up. Tardy parties, according to science, are not disregarding their schedules intentionally. Instead, they are just busy with a lot of things and they are busy juggling creative endeavors.
One perfect example is Ashton Kutcher. He is great at multitasking as he is a producer but he also runs a successful viral media company. On top of that, he invests in tech companies and startups like Spotify, Foursquare, Uber, and Skype. What’s more, he has to maintain his acting career. This means that whenever Ashton runs late in a meeting, it does not instantly mean that he is showing disrespect. It is likely that he just lost the sense of time with so many things on his plate.
People who have never been punctual are often labeled as self-centered and rude. However, a closer inspection to this trait sheds light on a positive aspect, and that is the fact that being late can be linked to optimism. On top of that, it’s also linked to the type B personality.
According to Jeff Conte, a researcher from State University of San Diego’s psychological department, B personality types are more laid back, creative, and innovative. Therefore, they have a more relaxed perception of time although they are not as organized or competitive as A type personalities. Conte also found out from his research that those who fall into the type B category perceive time as slowly passing by. In separate trials, those who are type A estimated a minute to have passed in just 58 seconds. Type Bs only stopped the clock 17 seconds after a minute has passed. This may seem minimal, but the 17 seconds actually adds up.
As for optimists, they believe that time is abundant and they have more to enjoy, leading them to move slower and leisurely through life. Psychologists relate this to “planning fallacy” which these professionals use to explain chronic tardiness. Let’s just say these people underestimate the amount of time it takes to complete a task. This is the only reason why they are late in most things in life, and not because they don’t have any respect for the people they are dealing with. This link may be considered a long stretch but it is definitely a positive take on the habit as is already demonized by modern office culture.
These assertions fall short of being scientific but they are good points. Entrepreneurs, artistic visionaries, and thought leaders have the tendency to see things at a bigger picture as opposed to getting hooked up on every minute of every day. For them, there is no point in rushing or sulking because an appointment is missed, so long as they are still on the right path.
