Time ....

I think some where I had read, which went something like  – to know how much others value you , check how much they value your time … and I have realised this is pretty correct measurement of ‘How much you are valued by others’ both professionally or personally. And same rule applies when you have to measure how much you value others – how much you value others time … :)

Let me give you examples where I have felt being taken for granted , felt that the other party thinks that my time has no value – Sunday evening 8 pm I am at my friends place, and I get call from a company’s HR asking me if I would be available for meeting the next day. I am surprised I initially say No , its too short a time, but then after a pause I say , ‘Alright, but I will be able to attend only between 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm’. The meeting scheduled for 3:30 – 4:00 pm’ I reach the venue at 3:15pm , I am informed that person I am suppose to meet is in a meeting and will be available by 3:30 as scheduled … I smile and I wait reading newspaper. Its 3:30 no one in  sight , 3:45 the person comes , asks me join his cabin, around 3:50  asks me few questions about my work, and all the while he is doing something or other , I wonder if he is listening to what I am saying … he then seeing my expression tells me that he has got a flight to catch and has to leave by 4 ! By 3:55pm   I come out of the venue  feeling insulted, and irritated ! Why was the meeting scheduled ?

I had another experience some time back, a meeting was scheduled and after that meeting I was told that there will be few more meetings the same day, I told the person in charge, that I was not aware about the other meetings and since I have other commitments at work it wont be possible for me to attend. They understood my stands and checked with me my convenient time and scheduled the other meetings accordingly and they kept their time – Now that’s what I call ‘respect for others time and Respect for others’

Now coming to personal examples – ‘You calling your friends for 15mins tea break , they telling you

in 5 mins ,and that 5 mins continue for 15 mins , and by that time you

have to do some other work, Or you calling up your friend to check if your friend will be available on certain day at a particular time ‘ Oh sure’  you get the answer , you confirm again and then the day you are suppose to meet your friend , just before reaching the place you call up and tell that you are reaching, and you get the answer ‘its raining, will be there in 30 mins ‘ after 30 mins when you call ‘Oh I am stuck in a queue, will be there in 30 mins’ and after 15 mins  you call again you tell ‘don’t take the trouble to come, I have to leave in another 15 mins !’ Or when you are trying to help your friend by getting a plumber/ house help/ advocate – you calling them asking when will they be available, they telling you that they are on their way just 10 mins and that 10 mins extend for 30 mins , ..and you deciding not to try helping any more friends as you end up wasting your time and credibility ….  At personal level I think we all think its ok to waste others time – but we forget that we don’t like ourselves or our time to be taken for granted but too often we end up taking others for granted ….