UNITED STATES—Time is perhaps the one thing so many of us in America wish we had more of, but we never get it. With that said, nothing and I mean nothing is more annoying than when a person attempts to dictate one’s schedule. If there is anything people know about me it is that I live on no one’s schedule. Do NOT plan anything without talking to me, do NOT assume something without having confirmation and most of all respect my time.

Why do you say that? People might assume that if you’re not doing something that means you have a bit of free time. You’re right, I might have some free time, but that’s the point it is MY FREE TIME, not yours so don’t plan things as if I’m just going to be free, willing and ready to do whatever you want when you ask. Respect boundaries people, but that is the problem with people, they don’t always respect boundaries, but they expect you to just react without being annoyed in any fashion. Well think again.

I tell people the one thing I hate to waste is time. Time is precious and once gone, guess what America: you cannot get it back. It is gone and that is a terrible feeling to be left with. Wondering what you could have done with this and that if you had just a bit more time to do it America. Hell, most of us are working 8 hours a day, commuting to and from work 1-2 hours, then you factor in 6 to 8 hours of sleep and guess what, you ONLY have about 5-7 hours to yourself in a given day.

For those who work 10-12 hours or more in a single day, you have even less hours, simply because work and sleep as the top focus. When you have spare time, a lot of the time is utilized to run errands and do things that you cannot do during a typical workday. Yes, most Americans get 1 to 2 days off during the week where they have that time solely for them and no one else. Think about what you would do with 24 hours. You’re hoping to get 8 hours of sleep then you have 16 hours to do whatever. You might have a doctor’s appointment, you might have to go to the grocery store, run some miscellaneous errands, dine out, pay bills and maybe even check out a movie or two.

You might have your schedule already planned, but then someone throws a curveball. Oh, I have such and such stopping by today, I don’t know what time, ok, and? Are you expecting me to just sit around and wait for someone to decide when it’s convenient for them to stop by? I hate, I mean I hate the notion of you being told of a window that a utility provider will come. How about you just have a set time, why? Because don’t tell me between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and I’m waiting all day, just for you to show up at 3:50 p.m. Seriously!? That is just beyond annoying people and I cannot explain it in a way that makes sense.

People just don’t respect other people’s schedules anymore, but at the same time we have to be aware of others time to. Many people are good at being respectful, others not so much depending on the situation. All I am saying is people should NEVER plan a person’s schedule without asking or talking to them first. You don’t know what they have planned or what they will or will not want to do. Never assume someone is available, you need to be certain before you assume. In life, some of us live by schedules and we don’t like when those schedules are messed with.

Written By Zoe Mitchell