A public schedule hides the private preparations that make arriving on time possible.

A schedule shows arrivals and conceals everything that made them possible. The person who walks in on time may have started two hours earlier, arranged childcare, taken a slower route, or paid in some way you will never see. The public record is a set of clean timestamps laid over a great deal of invisible logistics.

When judging reliability, remember that you are looking at outputs and not costs. Ask what the arrangement takes, particularly of the people whose lives are less flexible than yours. And when you are the one doing the invisible preparation, it is worth saying so occasionally, because nobody can appreciate work they cannot see.