Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalamualaikum. May my dear readers be in the best of health.
Many months ago, I was stalking Vivy Yusof’s Instagram page and she posted videos of a talk she attended on her Instastory. It was pretty late. I had just put my daughter to bed, and because I did not want the sound of the video to wake her up, I watched the videos without its sound. Couldn’t be bothered to take my headphones downstairs either. Watched the video, read the caption to one of the videos, which immediately caught my attention.
1 minute late, 3 times, and you’re out
Woah! That was the first thing that crossed my mind.
And then I was reminded of a story shared by the COO of my previous employer. The COO shared that once upon a time, the organisation hired this employee who was an over achiever. Always meeting deadlines, KPIs, targets and even bringing in profit to the organisation. However, this employee’s punctuality was poor, at times walking in and out of the office at their own convenience. Not long after, this employee’s employment was discontinued.
Being punctual, respecting time as something given to us, is often times taken very lightly. And it also happens to be one of the most difficult things for us to be disciplined enough to comply to.
Have you been to Japan? Or at least watched a video of the train service in Japan? Yes, they are spot on time. If the working hour starts at 8:00am, at 8:00am, they start working. Not arriving, putting their bags down, rushing to the washroom, saying their hellos. Nope, none of that. Their respect for time is admirable.
Now what do we find ourselves saying when we see how the Japanese respect time like this? We are in awe. We say ‘if only we can do the same’. We wish to go there to experience the efficiency. Yes?
Meanwhile, back in our homeland, we say, “Tomorrow lah”, “Later lah”, “Next week lah”, “Wait lah”. We remain in admiration of the Japanese, wishing it were the same here, but we don’t really make an effort to make it happen.
Punctuality may seem petty. But the reality is that we all have 24 hours a day regardless of which part of the world we are at. If we respect time, make full use of the time given and practice some form of discipline, I truly believe that sooner or later, we will achieve the same amount of efficiency we wish we could have. Let’s be inspired by our admiration, and make it a reality.
The best way to start this, is with our self. Practice being punctual, respect time. And then, let’s get our family members to practice the same habit. When all of us start, InsyaAllah, a new culture will be born. And then, a generation treats time with respect, Insyallah.
The Prophet said: ”Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth before you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you become poor; your free time before you become preoccupied, and your life, before your death.” (Narrated by Ibn Abbas in the Mustadrak of Hakim & Musnad Imam Ahmad. Sahih)
Time is golden. Time is of the essence.
With love, inspiration & passion,
Iman Rozhan
Acting Principal
Abedeen Academy
-Developing World Leaders-