Punctuality Quotes
“That old law about ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
“If I have made an appointment with you, I owe you punctuality, I have no right to throw away your time, if I do my own.”
-Richard Cecil
“Lost yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes; no reward is offered, for they are forever gone.”
-Horace Mann
“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
-William Shakespeare
“Each of us has the same quantity of the most precious commodity in the world….time.”
-Ted Janusz
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”
-Elizabeth Andrew
“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.”
-Brian Tracy
“Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.”
— Peter F. Drucker
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
— Carl Sandburg
” ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.”
— Timothy Ferriss
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.”
– Arnold H. Glasow
“Talent alone won’t make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: ‘Are your ready?'”
– Johnny Carson
“Timing has always been a key element in my life. I have been blessed to have been in the right place at the right time.”
– Buzz Aldrin
“People talk about perfect timing, but I think everything is perfect in its moment; you just want to capture that.”
– Eddie Huang
“I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything… at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.”
– Dan Millman
“You cannot afford to wait for perfect conditions. Goal setting is often a matter of balancing timing against available resources. Opportunities are easily lost while waiting for perfect conditions.”
– Gary Ryan Blair
“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no delay, no procrastination; never put off til tomorrow what you can do today.”
-Lord Chesterfield
“Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person’s money as his time.”
-Horace Mann
“Few things do more to alienate friendship than a want of punctuality in our engagements. I have known the breach of promise to dine or sup to break up more than one intimacy.”
-William Hazlitt
“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”
-M. Scott Peck
“Punctuality is the stern virtue of men of business, and the graceful courtesy of princes.”
-Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
“I owe all my success in life to having been always a quarter of an hour before my time.”
-Lord Nelson
“You cannot kill time without injuring eternity.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have.”
-Henry James
“If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.”
— Lee Iacocca
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.”
— John C. Maxwell
“I have fun when it’s the right time to have fun, but when I lock in for practice and matches, I’m not worried about fun.”
– Frances Tiafoe
“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.”
– E. O. Wilson
“Diplomacy is more than saying or doing the right things at the right time, it is avoiding saying or doing the wrong things at any time.”
– Bo Bennett
“Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over.”
– Octavia E. Butler
“Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.”
– Hesiod
“Money, I can only gain or lose. But time I can only lose. So, I must spend it carefully.”
-Author Unknown
“I could never think well of a man’s intellectual or moral character, if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments.”
-Nathaniel Emmons
“One cannot manage too many affairs: like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold down the other.”
-Chinese Proverb
“The while we keep a man waiting, he reflects on our shortcomings.”
-French Proverb
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”
-William Penn
“Being on time to appointments and meetings is a phase of self-discipline and an evidence of self-respect. Punctuality is a courteous compliment the intelligent person pays to his associates.”
-Marvin J. Ashton
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Punctuality is the politeness of kings.”
-Louis XVII
“Ordinary people think merely of spending time. Great people think of using it.”
— Anonymous
“You’ve got to know what you want. This is central to acting on your intentions. When you know what you want, you realize that all there is left then is time management. You’ll manage your time to achieve your goals because you clearly know what you’re trying to achieve in your life.”
— Patch Adams
“We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”
– John F. Kennedy
“Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land.”
– Joseph B. Wirthlin
“Success is not an accident. When you put yourself in the right place at the right time, then you’re likely to be more successful because of how you prepare yourself on a daily basis.”
– Andrew Cherng
“You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.”
– Yogi Berra
“The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity. These are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity without looking back, for there will never be a wrong time to do the right thing.”
– Unknown
How can you use Quotes?
- Start a discussion: Quotes can start a discussion about a character trait at the beginning of a meeting or the dinner table. You can ask questions about what it means, how they have seen the trait demonstrated in their own lives, or how they can develop it themselves.
- Provide a model: Quotes can provide a model of good character. When you read a quote from a famous person or historical figure, you show that people they admire also value the same character traits.
- Use quotes as writing/journal prompts: Ask them to write a short essay about a quote to help them think more deeply about its implications for their lives.
- Post quotes: You can post quotes where they will be seen/heard often – classroom, breakroom, lobby, dining room, email signatures, video bulletin boards, morning announcements, social media, etc.
- Read quotes aloud: You can read quotes aloud to your children during mealtimes, bedtime, or any other time you spend together.
- Make it fun: You can make it even more fun by incorporating games, activities, or crafts. Let children decorate signs with the quotes to hang in the classroom or a bedroom door. Record children saying it and post it on social media.