Better late than never

I can't really describe this phenomenon in words really well so I'll tell a short story as an example of the countless times this has happened.

My boss was away on a business trip and I was the only person in the office for many months. He assigned me to relay to him all the messages he received on his answering machine when he's gone but he doesn't want to receive an email of all the messages every single day.. he wants a recording of all the messages in a single MP3 once a week so it doesn't clutter his inbox.

One time, I completely forgot to send him the messages and remembered to send it the next week, so he was really mad even though I apologized. Another time after this first incident, I realized I was late in sending him the messages. But he never called or emailed me to send them to him, but I knew he wasn't gonna be happy when I send them and he realize they'd be late so I ended up procrastinating. I sent him his messages over 2 weeks late when it should have been once a week. Needless to say, he was furious, but I countered with "Better late than never."

It's understandable whenever people are angry that you're late in giving them something, but for a long time, this led to me procrastinating even more whenever I've come to the realization that something is past due but the person requesting that thing isn't actively reaching out to me about it. But now, whenever I realize I'm late in giving someone something, I'll apologize and give it to them at my earliest convenience in the near future. And if they still make a fuss about it, I reply with "Better Late than Never."