In the professional world, especially in the professional media world, deadlines are important. They are a fact of life in the world of journalism, writing and content creation. You have a set, regular time at which your work is going to be shared with the world and you better move mountains, if necessary, to make sure your work is ready. 

Nothing throws that whole process into disarray faster than when someone misses a meeting. Even in the wider world, a missed meeting usually means wasted time, wasted gas and wasted effort. Sitting there waiting for someone to show up, watching the minutes tick by without the faintest idea why the person you are meant to be meeting is not showing up, can be a terrible feeling.

It is totally understandable when someone misses a meeting due to emergency circumstances. Illness, family deaths, accidents, crimes and all other emergency situations that might cause someone to have to drop everything are forgivable. But when someone completely loses track of time, and simply does not do their due diligence to keep up on their schedule, that is the epitome of discourtesy. Having someone take time out of their likely busy schedule only to waste it on a meeting that is not destined to happen is one of the most irritating things a person with a busy schedule can have happen to them. 

With so many tools out there to provide minute-by-minute planning of one’s day, with direct alerts about what is next on the agenda sent to your pocket, missing a meeting for any non-emergency reason should be a thing of the past. And while mistakes will inevitably happen, each and every person in the professional world today should be doing their absolute best to make sure they do not waste someone else’s time. We all have such a limited amount of the stuff already.