DON'T BE LATE!
When Amy Barnett was a teenager, she was almost always late. She did not come on time for appointments with her doctor, and she usually arrived at school in the middle of the first lesson. Amy tried to be on time, but she found it very difficult. "I know so many people with the same difficulty," she says. "This is one reason I studied psychology in university. I wanted to find ways to help people like me."(lines 1–5)
Amy is now a psychologist, and she gives a popular online course for people who want to stop being late. "In my course, I give a lot of advice. For example, I suggest that if people do not want to arrive late, then they should try to arrive early," she says. "But some people say that they hate arriving early. They say that it's boring to wait to see the doctor or to wait for a bus to arrive. So I tell them to make sure that they have something to do while they wait. For example, they can text their friends or read a book. It is much easier for people to wait if they have something interesting to do."(lines 6–12)
In her course, Amy also explains that in many cultures, arriving late is not always a problem. "For example, in Brazil and in India, it is acceptable to be late to social events such as birthday parties or family dinners," she says. "However, even in these countries, everyone must arrive on time for business meetings. They also must not be late for important appointments."(lines 13–16)
Last year, over 8,000 people took Amy's course. "I'm very happy that my course is so popular," says Amy. "But I also want the information to be available to people who don't like taking online courses. So I'm planning to write a book on the subject. I just need to find the time to write it."(lines 17–20)