Plan and Punctuality

There's no need to be reminded on the importance of plans. Yet how many people actually get down and put in an effort to do proper planning? It'll be much harder for dreams and desires to come true without plans and goals. Concrete plans (especially those written down) are the blueprints to attaining your goals and act as a roadmap to set you in the direction to reach your desired destination.

Yet how many times do we see the results of poor planning? While most people may not realise it, punctuality is a sign of whether a person even bothers to plan. In fact many people these days do not value punctuality much, although it is clear for example, that if one bothered to set off a little earlier to be on time, then it is unlikely this person be late. Proper planning would usually include reasonable buffer times. For example, if one knew that bus waiting times were erratic, or if one was unfamiliar with the route, then it would be reasonable to cater more time in one's planning.

Arriving early and being punctual is a virtue. It also gives the impression that one values the appointment and gives respect to the person one is meeting. If everyone thought casually of punctuality, then when an appointment time is set, everyone would end up being late - it is simply a waste of everyone's time. It would do everyone good if everyone was punctual and stuck to the original meet up time.

Punctuality can also be extended to delivering a promise or a good on time. Similarly, if proper planning was factored into production and processes, then the product or service would be delivered on time. It's no point setting ridiculous timelines just for the sake of a product or service to be delivered way ahead of schedule. When the time comes for delivery, things may turn ugly. It could result in heavy delay penalties and time wasted on the "blame game"; or even inferior products or services being delivered, gradually affecting the reputation of the company.

One reason for poor planning could result from hierarchy or bureaucracy. For example, a higher level manager passes down a work instruction with a deadline, but the next manager in line shortens this deadline and on it goes till the person who actually does the work gets an impossible one day to get the work done! Probably some of us have even been a victim of "I wanted this the day before yesterday.".

Another indication of poor planning is the phenomenon of "wait to rush and rush to wait". Some projects with poor planning end up with people rushing to complete a particular task but turns out this task is dependent on a decision that takes a long time. Sometimes it seems people are rushing for the sake of rushing. Rushing is a sign of poor planning and proper planning ensures a good pace.

Good planning is not easy and basically requires effort. Yet with good planning, the world would flow much smoother and more efficiently.