Examining the Erosion of Timeliness and its Consequential Impact on Daily
In a moment of self-deprecating candor, we often lament our collective lack of a true “sense of time.” Evidence for this abounds: the restless audience enduring interminable waits for a chief speaker at a public gathering, or the weary passengers pacing railway platforms for hours, victims of egregiously delayed trains.
Time sense—the innate ability to estimate time intervals or the time of day without reliance on clocks or other timekeeping devices—was once a more deeply ingrained faculty.
Long before the advent of the wall clock and the widespread adoption of the adage “time is money,” the passage of time was marked by instruments like the sundial. Our ancestors possessed the capacity to discern the hour of the day with remarkable precision, even down to the second, by observing a simple twig under the sun. In my youth, children’s studies and play were governed by the peal of temple bells. Farmers laboring under the relentless sun could accurately gauge the time of day by the habitual performance of specific tasks at consistent intervals. Thus, a keen sense of time was not foreign to the people of bygone eras.
Lost in Time
Despite the ubiquitous presence of wristwatches and cellular telephones equipped with timekeeping functions, many struggle to adhere to schedules. Consider the individual anxious to arrive punctually at their office. After a hurried meal, they rush towards the bus stop, their shirt or coat flapping in the wind. Yet, the overcrowded bus passes by without stopping, and they are marked late at their workplace.
Even with personal transportation and a desire to reach a destination promptly, one must contend with potential delays arising from traffic congestion due to processions, political roadblocks, and unanticipated diversions imposed by traffic authorities, and the vexatious waiting periods encountered at junctions controlled by automated traffic signals. While metro rail facilitates rapid commuting, travel to a metro station itself can be delayed by snarled traffic.
Furthermore, laxity in accurately estimating time frequently results in embarrassing or problematic situations. A prime example is the passenger leisurely sipping coffee and reading a newspaper in an airport lounge, oblivious to the paging announcement signaling the final call to board their flight, which is poised for departure.
Here are a few illustrative examples demonstrating that individual efforts can be thwarted by the lack of cooperation from others: waiting for a guest who promises to arrive for tea in ten minutes, only to appear after an hour; the plumber who pledges to arrive at your doorstep at precisely 10:00 AM to repair a leaking tap, but arrives at 10:00 AM the following day; the tailor who delays the delivery of finished garments due to a lackadaisical attitude.
Time is perceived in a distinct manner by Eastern and Western cultures, and even within each of them, it assumes quite dissimilar aspects from nation to nation. However, it is universally acknowledged that effective time management is a key to success.