My New Year's resolution is to be on time. But the goal is not to remedy perpetual tardiness. I can say with absolute certainty that I've never been late. In fact, I'm always early. Very, very early.
This punctuality-plus is my trademark. But as another year draws to a close, I've come to realize this trait is not just a blessing but also a curse.
The origins of my extraordinarily timely behavior are unknown. According to my mother, it is a result of being born two weeks late. I've been trying to make up for the lost days ever since.
But I'm certain there is a genetic component, too. My father would leave for the airport several hours early long before the post-9/11 security measures. Today, if the TSA suggests arriving two hours before departure, my father and I get to the airport three hours early. And that's at the absolute latest.
I know where the lights are in every classroom on the Southern Methodist University campus. I'm often the one to turn them on. My professors expect me to be early. One recently remarked that I was "late" because I arrived only nine minutes before our scheduled appointment.
I met a friend for coffee last week, and she was early, "running on Kristina time," she put it. But not surprising to her, as she entered Starbucks with time to spare, she found me already commandeering a coveted corner table.
I attribute a large part of my personal and professional success to being early. It is an uncommon quality, especially among my generation. This puzzles me because being on time is a simple gesture that costs nothing. And it pays dividends. Timeliness shows eagerness, interest and enthusiasm. It is demonstrated thoughtfulness, a contingency plan for the "just in case," an extra cushion in the event of emergency.
It is also a good professional skill. First impressions count, and nothing says "hire me" quite like arriving early to an interview. And returning assignments before they're due reflects excellent time management. No one ever got fired for being prompt.
Being late, on the other hand, is disrespectful and inconsiderate. It says "your time isn't as valuable as mine," or worse, "I'm more important than you." It is an act of pure selfishness. Tardiness, after all, is no inconvenience to the person running behind schedule. And, as I have learned in law school, the consequences of delay can be serious: An untimely filing can torpedo even the most iron-clad case.
But if I've learned any hard-and-fast rules in law school and in life it's that balance is preferable to the extremes.
It is one thing to be on time. It is another to be early at the expense of living. The clock and the calendar have no feelings, and loyalty to them is unreciprocated.
This is not to say that timeliness isn't next to godliness - it certainly is in my book. But the important moments in life are the ones where time passes by much too quickly. A few extra minutes with family and friends means a great deal more than arriving to the next appointment with ample time to spare.
So in this time of new beginnings, I resolve to be a little less early and a lot more on time. But old habits are hard to break. I confess that I started my New Year's resolution early, before December even came to end: I submitted this piece to my editor only one day before it was due.
This article appeared oringially in the Decemeber 31, 2009, version of the Dallas Morning News.
Ms. Phillips has been a businesswoman for more than two decades in Texas, owning and operating one of the premier high-dollar fundraising companies which she established in 1981.
