Malaysian Timing is such a widely recurring phenomenon in this country that it is an open secret that most of us just plan to initiate events one hour after the supposed start time in the invitations because that’s approximately when everyone arrives anyway.
Those among the sufferers of Malaysian Timing may sometimes wish to improve themselves, but then it is three months later and they realize that they still arrive at 3.26pm to a 3.00pm event.
Why Does Malaysian Timing Occur?
One reason why it is so hard to cure this phenomenon is because most sufferers do not fully understand why they are doing so. It may please some people to discover that often, people who are always late have been psychologically proven to be more optimistic.
That’s right! For better or worse late people often become late because they are positive that they have more time than they actually do. An article on Elite Daily states that:
“People who are continuously late are actually just more optimistic. They believe they can fit more tasks into a limited amount of time more than other people and thrive when they’re multitasking. Simply put, they’re fundamentally hopeful.”
Perhaps this does say some good things about Malaysians as a whole.
Furthermore, habitual latecomers may also suffer from an inability to estimate the time they take for each task. For example, once in a rush, you were able to complete your morning routine in just 15 minutes and as a result you have it imprinted in your head that 15 minutes is the time it takes for you to get ready even if on a normal day, it takes you twice as long.
With these factors in mind here are some app recommendations that can help you tackle your Malaysian Timing issues, or at least, let you pretend that you’ve solved them.
1. The Rock Clock
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Who among us doesn’t know who The Rock is?) cares about whether we achieve our goals and has created an app to help us accomplish them. The Rock attributes his successful pro-wrestling and Hollywood career to an early wake-up call and now wants you to succeed too.
Habitually waking up early does indeed help with lateness as it instills discipline, as well as gives you more time in the morning to complete the tasks that too often cause you to be late. Set what your goals on the app with an optional deadline, and then be greeted in the morning with customised ringtones all lovingly created by The Rock himself.
Yes, hear The Rock wake you up in the morning, with your choice of either The Rock singing you awake with soft guitar, or the selection of ‘Old School’ for those of you who are nostalgic for his wrestling days. Download the app and peruse the alarm sound collection yourself to live your dreams!
You can read our full review of this app here.
2. Interruptive (currently in beta testing stage)
As written on the label this app interrupts what you are currently doing by an invasive call to remind you that you have an important task to get to.
How the app works is that the user is able to set the time for an event (say 4.45pm) and also what tasks need to be done prior to the event. (e.g. change clothes and driving time, both 5 minutes each). The app will then give the user a ring at 4.35pm, and will keep calling until the user answers and is able to key in the single-digit number that is relayed only through the call.
The app also employs a shame system by checking up on whether the user was on time, and providing an immediate option for users to increase the time needed when they indicate that they were late.
Unfortunately the app only works for people with US numbers while in Beta, but we are definitely looking forward to a more global release.
Sign up for the beta with an add-on extension on Google Chrome.
3. Squawk
Some individuals only move when they are continually harassed into doing a task, which is the function Squawk serves without you needing to bring another distressed human being into the equation.
The app appears as a continuously as floating pop-up on the screen, with the option for the user to continuously press “snore” until the task is completed. Squawk is a good app to have in-hand for time-sensitive tasks that need to be tended to and its user-friendly interface will definitely be useful to even the most ardent of procrastinators.
To further assist chronic Malaysian Timing sufferers, Squawk provides the option to add sub-tasks to the normal list of tasks so that one can better able to estimate the amount of time needed to get ready once even the smallest details are written out and observed as a list.
Available on Android.
4. Oii – Never Forget (currently without official release)
This homegrown app by StrongByte Studio is for those of us who perhaps still prefer the human touch when it comes to getting reminders to reach places.
We have previously covered how Oii can help your friends become competent adults by using this app. Guess what? It works the other way around too! Now get your friends, family and colleagues to send reminders to you so that you are on track for all of your tasks from all aspects of your life.
In fact, create a check and balance system where you give and take reminders with the people in your life, to help grow a community of on-timers. Perhaps when all else fails, embarrassing yourself in front of your loved and esteemed ones might just be the kick you need to jolt you out of our lateness. Give it a try if you agree.
As the app is currently unreleased so do be prepared for any potential bugs that may occur.
Available on Android.
