You're not in a movie, racing against the clock to defuse something big and shiny to save the world, it's safe to take it down a notch. I've gained so much piece of mind from letting people get in front of me in traffic, not arguing over a dollar or two difference in price, not rushing or working hastily to meet the arbitrary goal of 'exactly on time' or 'to the penny'. If you aren't a church going person, this is your chance to pay your tithes in a much more constructive and objectively more direct fashion, love your fellow man...they often times need far less than 5 minutes of your time or $5.
Some people’s brains tell them that certain activities don’t take any time to complete - the “Zero Time Activity” misconception. For example:
“We need to leave the house at 09:30 to arrive at our appointment for 10:00. Good. It takes 30 minutes to get there. Good. It is now 09:30. Let’s leave the house. All we need to do now is…”
- Nip to the toilet
- Find my coat
- Find my shoes and put them on
- Find my wallet/bag and check I’ve got what I need
- Get the kids in their coats and shoes
- Get in the car, strap the kids in
- Find the address of our destination
- Program the satnav
- Drive to the destination
- Quickly stop for fuel
- Find somewhere to park
- Walk to the destination from the place parked
Everything above - in the late person’s mind - has a duration of zero seconds
It goes without saying, but ever single activity above does actually take a small amount of time which all adds up. Once you internalise the idea that there isn’t such a thing as “Zero Time Activities”, you’ll notice that you start arriving on time.
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