Late is a message, even when you didn’t mean to send it.

Arriving late says something about priorities whether or not you intended it, because people read behaviour rather than motives. That is unfair in plenty of cases, since buses exist, and it is still what happens while somebody waits. Knowing it is useful, because the repair is cheap: tell them before you are late rather than explaining afterwards. Repeated lateness, though, stops being a message and becomes a description.

If you are going to be late this week, send one line in advance with a realistic time. Arrive early to the things that matter to you. Watch which appointments keep sliding, because that pattern is worth knowing.