In praise of the early bird

It has come to my attention in the past few weeks, months and years, that the world, particularly the world of work but I think it goes much wider than that, is peopled by late people. Not dead people; don’t worry, this blog isn’t about to take a supernatural turning. I’m talking about people who burn the midnight oil, who arrive for things just a little on the late side, who are always still at work well after 6pm.

And the thing is, that’s fine and everything. But it sets a tone, an expectation. And this culture, this expectation, penalizes those of us who have to leave work on time.

That’ll be me. And, I think I can probably say, the vast majority of working mothers.

I should probably reveal at this point that this is more than just a rant on behalf of working parents, however. It’s more a rant on behalf of those of us who are far better at 8am than at 7pm; whose brains begin to shut down at around 9pm; who would far rather get up at 5am to work than start working on an assignment at 11 o’clock at night.

See, I’m a morning person. An early bird. Always have been. I get to meetings five minutes early, am always the first person to arrive at any rendezvous. I like to start the day early and finish on time.

But lately, being an early bird has been less about choice and more about necessity. I have to start the day early and I have no choice but to finish on time, most days anyway. I plan ahead, have book bags and sports kit by the door every evening so that there’s no mad rush in the morning; I allow time in between meetings at work so that I’m not tearing between them; I timetable each day to ensure I can deliver what I’ve promised.

But generally speaking, that’s not the way people do things. Particularly not the people who head up organizations. I worked for someone once who was unfailingly late every day – she never once made a regular 9.30am Monday morning that she was supposed to chair. But she was always there at 6.30pm, starting long meandering conversations with those still in the office. She also used to take note of those who were still in the office working and those who had ‘left early’ at 5.30pm, even though many of them had been there since 8am.

But how about looking at things a different way? How about conjecturing that ‘late’ people are generally much less efficient, much less organized than early birds? It’s a bit like people who are always late for social engagements. It’s not the traffic, or the babysitter; it’s the fact that they didn’t leave on time. Late people, evidence shows, generally underestimate the time it will take to get ready and/or travel somewhere. Early people, meanwhile, tend to be more realistic and will plan backwards. They won’t pack for a holiday on the morning of the flight; they won’t arrive home five minutes they’re supposed to be leaving for a party and announce that they’re going to have a quick shower. They understand the value of other people’s time and don’t want to waste it. Nor do they wish to squander their own time.

In fact, I would argue that early birds are way more efficient with their time generally. The reality is that if you’re committed to leaving somewhere on time, then you know that your time spent there is finite. You’ve got to pack it in, use your time well. If, on the other hand, you know you can stay late, you can spread out a bit, do things in your own sweet time. It means you don’t have to be so organized; it means that you can drift through the day, letting things pile up, because you have all the time in the world to go through them all later. And all the time you look totally devoted to your work because you’re always last to leave the office.

But it’s time to stand up for those of us who arrive at the office early, who have to be more organized than the CEO of a multinational simply to leave the house on time, children equipped correctly and packed off to school. Who have to multi-task throughout the day, be on top of everything and finish assignments absolutely on time, because there is no luxury of working late, because at 5pm or 5.30pm we have to be out of that door and on the way back home to take over from childcare, leaving a conspicuously empty chair, and facing disappointed glances from ‘late’ colleagues who were hoping to catch up on that important assignment (only they just couldn’t find the time earlier… wonder why?!)

When I rule the world, people will be penalized for working late on a regular basis; I’ll send them on time management and delegation courses. Sometimes of course the work piles up and late nights are inevitable. But on a regular basis? No.

Just… no.