On September 5th National Be Late for Something Day permits for us to not abide by our schedules. Go ahead and sleep in a little bit today as you have an excuse.

The holiday aims to promote the positive parts of procrastination. For example, those who focus more on spending quality time with customers and family versus being punctual seem less anxious overall.

  “Most people think they don’t have time to stop and smell the roses. This day tries to alleviate that factor.”
~ Les Waas, Procrastinators’ Club of America Founder

It certainly may be hard for some of us to do as we are taught to be punctual at all times.  We are also trained to obey rules and follow regulations and schedules.  In today’s busy lifestyles, the pressure to be here and be there causes us to watch the clock.

The observance urges us to ditch the clock for the day. Not only that but to forgive those who don’t live by the clock. Consider those you know who are perpetually late. Do they seem stressed by their lateness? Or do they tend to shrug it off to your further annoyance? Attempt their light-hearted approach to time.

Another focus of the day takes a look at missed opportunities. Is it really too late to put that birthday card in the mail? We often look at chores with a skeptical eye. However, it’s never really too late to get started on them. You know, those we’ve already put off. It might be okay to be delayed if we’re working on a pile of laundry.

Learn about Be Late For Something Day

Be Late For Something Day will be music to a lot of people’s ears! If you are the person who always turns up to an event late, you now have the perfect opportunity to do so, and you do not need to feel guilty about it! Sounds good, right?

The truth is that we live in a world that is heavily constrained in terms of schedules and a need to be at places at certain times. We need to take the time to slow down and go at our own pace from time-to-time, and that is what this date is all about.

This day encourages you to ditch the clock for once. Stop living by the clock. You can even put all of your wall clocks in the cupboard for the day so that time does not hold you back or distract you.

A lot of people get stressed by their lateness or they look at the clock and see that they have been procrastinating, and it makes them worried and they start to panic. Why not have a day whereby you ensure this does not happen to you by throwing the clock out the window? Metaphorically speaking, of course!

Of course, being late for something is more than okay in a lot of circumstances, but we would recommend not taking this day too literally in terms of heading to work or fulfilling an important appointment at the doctor’s.

We would hate for you to get in trouble at work because you have been honoring Be Late For Something Day. Equally, if you are late for an appointment, it is going to push the whole schedule behind for everyone else, which won’t go down particularly well, so choose your moments wisely on this day, that’s our advice!

History of Be Late For Something Day

There are some people who are just exceptional at putting things off and showing up late, and while normally we consider such behavior to be rude and entirely unacceptable, especially as a habit, Be Late For Something Day was established by the Procrastinators’ Club of America to tell us otherwise.

Every day of our lives we are taught to follow rules and stick to schedules and not keep anybody waiting, but really, when has being kept waiting really hurt anyone? Never! That’s when, and in fact there have been important business connections have only managed to be formed because someone was late, and met when they otherwise wouldn’t.

The stress of sticking exactly to a schedule has been shown to be detrimental to the health and well-being of people, especially when failing to do so causes people stress. Know why it causes stress? Because people are worried about sticking to a schedule and cause themselves to get stressed out if they don’t. Slow down, enjoy the world you live in, and give yourself a break when you might not otherwise.