Punctuality for Tech Professionals

The simplest of social skills prefer more important than new people in technology realize. Showing up on time for appointments is not simply a nicety, but rather a vital skill. Punctuality will help or hinder your tech career in ways that you may not even realize.

[@FDJustin]

I used to have quite a problem with punctuality. There were two problems. 1: You probably just don't pay enough attention to time. Develop habits like setting alarms, it's paramount. 2: You're a bit too covetous of your time. Bring something to read, or listen to, and show up about 20 minutes early. You aren't wasting your time, you aren't disrespecting your time, and you aren't disrespecting the time of others.

[@projectpunk706]

My mother never taught me punctuality.. She has always been late for everything, and still is. I held a high position for a sales company in my early 20s and was terminated within a year for being late. About a year after I learned the importance of punctuality and I learned how not to be late. It's unfortunate it took so long and the opportunities I lost made a very big impact on my life, but I look forward to the future. This is mostly for people saying "I can't believe Eli has to tell people this" a lot of people don't know :/

[@superchuck3259]

When folks don't respect others time, they won't get respected. Clearly your mother has an issue with respecting others. Don't look at it as a negative, it is just how you needed to learn. Now you won't do that again!

[@projectpunk706]

@@superchuck3259 Actually she has no problem respecting others. It's probably her number one priority. It's been 5 years and what I would say to this comment is I could not give less of a fuck about some corporation who thinks they are doing me and my family good for firing someone over being a couple minutes late. This shit is all fake and your boss makes 100x what you do. What I WON'T be doing again is working for some bullshit company who thinks they can abuse employees however they see fit because they are seen as objects and not people.

[@electric_sand]

@@projectpunk706 Wow, this is some 5 year change.

[@elithecomputerguy]

▶ Punctuality for Tech Professionals - KZbin

[@ChiragNayyar91]

Great talk.. keep it up eli to motivate us

[@BDBD16]

Tashia Redublo Haven't used them first hand. Voip with BluIP is great from my experience.

[@ajuthomas]

Tashia Redublo I like OOMA for Business. Just check their website for more info.

[@InfectedScrotum69]

Eli the Computer Guy Hi Eli, i was hopeing you would do video about the new "snoopers charter" just anounced in the UK, it sounds preety scary and i hope you could elaborate on it :)

[@MarkParkTech]

Eli the Computer Guy What factors do you take in account when pricing the labor portion of your services? Do you have any recommendations for advertising when starting out?

[@joshuajerrick]

Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. ~William Shakespeare

[@DergEnterprises]

You're right. Because of my military training, I am (or try to be) always early. When I ask for time off, my manager just says go ahead. It's all about reputation. I know that there is going to be a day that I'm way late (over slept) for work and my reputation I'm building will make that no big deal. I think you missed that last part in your monologue though. The reputation that you build, will define how you are treated when you screw up.

[@dowskivisionmagicaloracle8593]

This is a highly-underrated video. As a tech professional who built a career after coming out of the ghetto I was raised in I can attest to having had to battle and conquer my own piss-poor ingrained behaviours and attitudes and build skills in all of the areas Eli talks about: punctuality, relationship building, and communication.

[@yoitired]

Some times it's easy to forget that you're a computer guy because you also understand psychology so well. It reminds me that I shouldn't just focus on the technical skills; if I want to get ahead I really need to work on my people skills too. Would you consider making a video on the subject of "essential social skills for geeks" or something similar? I think a lot of your viewers would really appreciate this kind of information. I know for me I just don't get a lot of business/social nuances, and I'd be fascinated to hear your brutally honest take on this subject.

[@progammingstuff2466]

Well I don't think anyone who watched this video will ever turn up late if they were to meet up with Eli haha. Great stuff like always, Eli.

[@CK-vf8xn]

Eli, this is one of the best KZbin videos I have ever watched. Keep up the good work.

[@wisenber]

As a tech person, one of the challenges with punctuality is the actual work. Most days, I may as well toss out my schedule by 10 as situations evolve. I *could* book according to the longest likely time slot for a customer, but that would result in me having about a third fewer appointments on average. I try to identify "hard" schedule points and leave enough time around them to ensure it fits, but if every appointment had a "hard" time slot, it would have s serious income impact. Identify the "hard' time slots and make everything else fit around them, and communicate any updates to the rest well in advance so they can make the most of their time. Having fewer moving parts makes keeping schedules easier. Unfortunately, income is derived by those moving parts. The server upgrade you mentioned falls under a "hard" schedule point. Lots of bodies are involved and the moving parts of their schedule is impacted by the moving parts that you bring. Logistics has about as much of an impact on a project as the actual work.

[@mikeyvester]

I finally gained tenure in the IT field, a full time permanent job with benefits. I always start my day 30 minutes early. It shows my boss respect. My performance evaluations always have terms in it like miracle worker, part of the team, wonderful to work with and just about anything else that would indicate a great worker. I am always 10 minutes early for any meeting where I have to travel to a different part of the city. Earning respect has finally started paying off. IT finally gave my a computer that I was free to do whatever I wanted to it.

[@centarforumi]

Hahahahaha, that guy really pissed you off, didn't he? :D But, you're right, being punctual is important. My first thought on this video was: "Well this is just common sense, why the hell would he record a 45 min. video on this?" And then it hit me that everything you talk about is "just common sense" to someone, but is valuable information to the rest of us. So, kudos, great video.

[@dowskivisionmagicaloracle8593]

This is a highly-underrated video. As a tech professional who built a career after coming out of the ghetto I was raised in I can attest to having had to battle and conquer my own piss-poor ingrained behaviours and attitudes and build skills in all of the areas Eli talks about: punctuality, relationship building, and communication.

[@ghost9pm407]

Great video Eli! These types of videos are extremely useful. Anyone can pick up tech skills but if you continually show up late or are generally disrespectful all that work is for nothing because most companies will give you the boot before you can use those skills.

[@goulash32]

What an awesome message, Eli. Sound interpersonal skills and respectful interactions are sometimes relegated to the bottom rung in this industry. Lately I've had to confront myself about similar flaws in my methods. Humility, as well as a supportive and healthy amount of self-criticism are necessary for any personal growth and development; not just in the tech industry. I'm a big fan of your videos for many reasons -- your realism and and common sense being among those. Keep up the great work!

[@MitchDenham]

Punctuality is very important to me. Granted I am not a business professional (I just work in retail), however, I always get to places early, out of respect to the other person/s. Even if it's just to hang out with friends, I get there early. And if the other person is late (more than 10 minutes), I am annoyed as they hadn't shown me the same courtesy as I showed them. And if I am going to be late, I call and let them know. Simple.

[@tite732]

I'm just watching this vid and I keep waiting for a grizzly bear to pop out behind Eli... lmao

[@JeffryLandry]

tite732 The bears are hiding behind the trees terrified that Eli will see them

[@BDBD16]

Gimp Geek Also Eli is bearded up and uses his hands to talk therefore appearing to be a bear or "Scary" himself.

[@danatopereira]

+tite732 actually this place reminded me of some "The Walking Dead" scenario, I was expecting a walker to jump out anytime lol

[@JeffryLandry]

Great video that many should watch, not just Tech Professionals, but everyone

[@dreznik]

eli your content is very good but constructively it could be delivered in 20 min

[@saadhusain1]

Well said. In Business, time is money and if you are late you are wasting at least two people's time. BTW: You should come to Michigan. It is beautiful here.

[@HankyUSA]

Well said. We shouldn't pity people who don't want to become what they want to be.

[@R0ssee]

I always stumbleupon this guys videos and then I'm stuck listening to his videos for the rest of the evening....

[@centralscrutinizer6046]

im just curious, but are you doing these meet-ups for free? or are they paying ahead of time? either way it sucks to have your time wasted, but if this was for free, then i TOTALLY understand your frustration especially since you are being generous with your time. of course if they pay, hey, might as well give them that 20 minutes. -- i actually do get the point of "the meeting isn't even worth it" because you need to get your shit together before "my" advice is effective.

[@elithecomputerguy]

Anne Droid The meetings are free... frankly driving the F150 it costs me $5-10 in gas when I drive somewhere to meet someone (I do miss the Prius sometimes...)

[@centralscrutinizer6046]

thats incredibly generous of you! knowing that you aren't charging people, says even more about the need to be on time. there aren't many tech pros at your level who are just handing out free chat time. -- late to a business meeting? well it just hurts your bottom line and maybe future business deals. not showing up to a free meeting that could provide career changing advice? just a bad decision all around.

[@ryanr780]

marine vet, same saying if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late

[@DergEnterprises]

Nice "green screen." lol

[@guardianangel5254]

I agree. I believe early is on time. On time is late.

[@Stickytaks]

I'm always the early/punctual person and it starts to wear on me when other people don't respect my time when I try to respect theirs... just common courtesy, at least give me a GOOD excuse and don't REPEATEDLY make me wait. Once or twice, maybe something happened. Every time... even the most patient person starts to lose their respect for the late party. Definitely not just applicable to business or tech... but in any relationship.

[@quigley61]

QUESTION: Hi Eli, Would you say its worth while to learn the correct etiquette for writing Emails,letters, etc. English is my primary language but I've fallen out of habits with the rules of emails and letters such as how to address people given the situation. I've also never been the best at putting my thoughts into words which can sometimes cause issues when it comes to debugging or trying to explain a concept to someone outwith the development team. English is my first language but I don't feel as if my command of the language is to a high enough standard. Thanks Eli.

[@superchuck3259]

For emails, I needed to learn too. Just be brief. Keep it to one topic. Just 1. Thanks!

[@network_king]

That's pretty much ridiculous 1.) that people need a lecture on this 2. that people think being an hour late is no big deal. Having autism I don't always get what the meaning I want across, but I recognize I need to work on it and make sure the other side understands how I intended. Even I get be on time maybe 5 minutes late okay just don't make it a habit. If I have to check if you're coming after maybe 15 min I'd do the exact same thing and say forget it. I had an internship through a state program for some reason the state person had to come in on first day and just meet everyone, err where you work. I got there like 8AM this person was coming in mid-day. One of the first things she asked the admin was if I had been messing with my phone, etc a lot as I guess that was an issue with a bunch of other people doing this. I just thought are you kidding me people are that rediculous.

[@dabigisland1]

10 thumbs up. I needed to hear this many years ago. Thank you very much.

[@alexanderharaldh4831]

Where i live it sometimes better to be late than to leave early.

[@manchesterremix]

Punctuality for Tech Professionals good one still going strong Eli.

[@superchuck3259]

Hey there folks, everything is an interview! Every day you show up to work. Every meeting you make with someone, it is a test of your respect level. This even goes for dating, you are late, don't expect great treatment.

[@MrMoonpie001]

The fact is you can never make up time, in any business. Lost time is lost money. I was in sales for 28 years in a very competitive business, I can tell you without a doubt the number one way to be the guy who gets the order is to be the first in front of the customers face. Huge deal with Punctuality! Thanks as always. Moonpie001

[@rawpower2672]

Yep I get incredibly pissed off when people are late and if they don't say sorry I just walk away

[@vikingvic]

Army saying... Hurry up and wait. You could boil it down to a "waiter" at a resturant taking 20 minutes to take orders at a a table. the customers will likely not be happy, or leave.

[@StrategicGamesEtc]

3Dtimespace With the size groups we sometimes go with, 20 minutes would be going along at a nice clip. :) But good analogy.

[@jmc1821]

Going on year two....in IT... this is so, so, so true....

[@DevineMeditationx]

If I can add one more thing that i learned in the military....Not only should you come 15 minutes early but come prepared!

[@DergEnterprises]

Andrea Cummings I still carry a pen and notebook with me everywhere I go. I also keep the same in all my travel gear and vehicles. I really surprise people when they hand me a receipt to sign and as they're looking for a pen, I've already signed the paper.

[@DevineMeditationx]

I do that as well. I always have a pen with me and a small notebook.

[@bee8396]

Great video

[@go_better]

Thank you for very valuable advices, Eli. But I literally didn't do anything))

[@davemz999]

"I'm here." "I'm glad your mama thinks that." lol

[@DevineMeditationx]

Awesome advice. Totally agree. :)

[@TodeffMinecraft]

I was always told that if you're early, you are on time.

[@andreek8559]

It's staggering to me that this is even an issue. Being on time is something that is spoonfed from early age on to me. I'm always too early, people don't like that either, :)

[@vikingvic]

often times things happen like traffic jams etc. Also it would help to discourage the 9-5 rush hour work schedule. Which is inefficient and backwards beyond words

[@vikingvic]

Daniil Pintjuk most of these things have been largely outdated by things like voicemail, email, skype/confrerance calls.. all im saying there should be alot more room for flexible solutions tailor made to most induviduals in 85% of business/trade. not a total "freeforall", butits obvious thats the way things need to go..

[@StrategicGamesEtc]

3Dtimespace How did that one Dilbert Episode end? Oh, right, no-one went to work. But in all seriousness, it's not a bad idea if you could think of a better way to implement it than Dilbert thought of.

[@AlbertFattal]

Hey Eli, do you have a projected timeframe as to when you may realistically consider a visit to Los Angeles?

[@Fluzzles625]

I cant stand being late to an appointment. Sometimes id rather be an hour early than a few minutes late.

[@PathToEntrepreneurship]

Eli, I keep arguing the same issue with my friend about respect. They just don't get it. I don't know why people don't have anything remotely close to respect. I think if I ever needed your help then I would be there 40 mins early because I am the one asking for help and I should show extreme respect for your help. Sorry that you have to deal with such shitty people.

[@ILykToDoDuhDrifting]

Why's it such a big deal for people to be late, but not a big deal to have every single meeting run over time?

[@amrg211]

Eli what was your mos in the army if you don't mind me asking? Great episode by the way although its sad that you even have to explain this.

[@NotJohnnyE]

The grammar in the description is off.

[@nimishak4119]

Good points man. Though you could wrap it up in 15 minutes, but you are right, and you talked about some important points.

[@ShotgunAFlyboy]

LOL back before it got out how "not well" san francisco was doing.

[@PathToEntrepreneurship]

Hi Eli. Last year was the first time where I started doing internships in Servers and Storage at a company downtown. I noticed that every Servers and Storage department for different company that I went to had 40-50% bald or near bald people. Do you know why that is or is it just a co-incidence?

[@wizzyno1566]

Being late means you have no respect for the person you are meeting. Its insulting. I'd have f****d off much earlier. You were very patient. Edit: I wrote that before i got to the Respect bit in the video 😃

[@PortlandOregonHomes]

Also..always confirm your appointments daily.

[@PortlandOregonHomes]

***** The point is, if you confirm your appointment all is good, it's a sign of professionalism that you can control. When you don't confirm your appointment you are at the whim of the other party's professional decorum that might not be at your level. The key here is the you agreed, but their definition of agreement may differ from yours. Just as their definition of "on time" may be different than yours. It comes down to whether or not you value your own time, what's a quick phone call or text and if there's no confirmation, you don't go across town to an out of the way Starbucks to meet someone that you don't know will even be there. It's a way for you to control your time by setting standards. Some need to have enough people show up before they change their process. Let's be clear, I'm not saying that it's Eli's fault that he got stood up.

[@photographedemode]

Your advice about punctuality concerns all careers. If you don't like a punctuality atmosphere come to the Marseille area in France, no one knows what puncutality is.

[@LJdaentertainer]

Hey Eli, I don't mean to pry into your personal life, but I have to ask since I was an avid viewer of your videos. Did your wife kick you out the house? You've been doing a lot of videos in the woods for a while.

[@joseesparza4133]

Amen.

[@jaimemunoz5920]

Early is on time, on time is late.

[@vanvino4074]

Show up 5 minutes early to 10 minutes prior.

[@fillemptytummy]

I feel so guilty 20 mins in so far... Sorry to everyone for always being late. I'm going to turn over a new leaf starting tomorrow (afternoon).

[@superchuck3259]

Don't be sorry. Change for the better. Change fast, don't be late in changing!

[@redmangaming2832]

hurry up and wait - USMC

[@gam85191]

But you're Eli the computer guy, you can show up at any time

[@allpepsi4me]

The ego is a bit large here. I like it.

[@patrickbrogan3655]

You sound like Jeff Goldblum when you talk. Lol

[@DonamarieG]

I can see why your wife may find you adorably real.

[@shawnwrigleys]

Eli.... Your repeating yourself over and over again... Failing back into your bad habit. Not saying you ever go over your problem of saying the same thing over and over again but you definitely lessened it prior to your break...

[@ktxed]

People lacking punctuality don't watch this video :)

[@seanperman2000]

Frst

[@davidisimo6421]

I assume you haven't tried online dating lately? lol