There are many ways to show respect and there are many things you should respect.
Being a professional is what it’s all about. If you are a true professional, you have mastered certain skills that make you an accomplished and skilled person. You want to become the master of your specialty and make sure that you push the scope of your ability so that you continue to move what you do and yourself forward.
Time is and should be a priority in all our lives and it’s something we should have the highest regard for – RESPECT TIME.
We live by the clock. We don’t really have a choice. We begin our day at some designated time and from the moment we wake – we are on the clock. Self imposed or mandates of a work/personal schedule, we are on that clock. Things to do, places to go, people to see – we have an agenda in front of us each and every single day. Even the days off, there are things that need to get done. Maybe those days offer some latitude in the way we manage time – but we still have a list and the goal is to check all the things off that list before the day ends.
We make appointments and live on a schedule. We might not like it – but we do it and we do it because, with some exceptions, we have no choice. Now that we are a mobile society and culture, we send ‘invites’ and wait for the response and confirmation to add yet another thing to our busy agendas. I often smile at how difficult it can be to coordinate a conversation on the phone. The e-mails go back and forth between 2 people for several minutes trying to get an agreed time on a calendar, when if we just picked up the phone at that time, we probably could take care of the business we are working so hard to schedule and talk about at a future time/date. Silly – isn’t it?
Either way, I have learned to respect people’s time and not minimize how significant it is to all of us. And the worst part is it goes too damn fast. Monday becomes Friday in a heartbeat, so I want to maximize the minutes in every day and not take advantage of time offered to me from others. I respect the time of the day and I especially respect the time people are willing to give me. It is a valuable commodity and it’s hard to come by. Learn to have respect for time and honor it as a privilege that needs to be appreciated and not misused. Maximize it and don’t take it for granted.