INTP's and neglected responsibilities.

[StevenM]

Just wondering how many of you have a mountain pile of things you need to do, but let it sit undone. House chores, being a big one. I tend to always distract myself from these worries, and now that I've taken a look, it seems daunting.

Any INTP's suffer from the same problem? How do you manage to get yourself to tackle it all?

 

[Helvete]

let someone else do it

Hope this helps

 

[Happy]

This is very familiar. When it happens, I write every little task down on a separate sticky note and put them all on the fridge in no order. Then I just chip away at them one by one.

 

[Brontosaurie]

this describes my entire life at any scale

 

[doncarlzone]

Any INTP's suffer from the same problem?

Yes.

How do you manage to get yourself to tackle it all?

I don't.

 

[someoneshady]

INTP's in a nutshell.

 

[Pyropyro]

Any INTP's suffer from the same problem? How do you manage to get yourself to tackle it all?

Guilty as charged. I don't, I simply separate them into tiny steps and do those steps instead. I takes me a lot of time to them all though.

 

[Anktark]

Eventually I just procrastinate my way through to the other side and just do it.

 

[nanook]

Minimalism is the virtue of the lazy man.

And environmentalism. Let there be life.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

A lot of stuff just goes under but I've been taking care of important stuff so far.


Do it as soon as possible
Meta-procrastinate (use the energy from avoiding one thing to do another)
Take out multiple tasks at once

Also:
Inform others, so they can pressure you
Get a work-mate
Start over (can't do this with most things though)

 

[StevenM]

A lot of stuff just goes under but I've been taking care of important stuff so far.


Do it as soon as possible
Meta-procrastinate (use the energy from avoiding one thing to do another)
Take out multiple tasks at once

Also:
Inform others, so they can pressure you
Get a work-mate
Start over (can't do this with most things though)

Getting a work-mate has worked good for me in the past. Starting over is always on my mind.

Good advice

 

[peoplesuck]

*look at the problem* " someone should do something"

 

[Pyropyro]

Meta-procrastinate (use the energy from avoiding one thing to do another)

Hey, that's actually kind of neat. I might have been inadvertently using this technique. I remembered cleaning our house because I don't want to review for the final exams.

 

[kvothe27]

Productivity is overrated. That said, a good way to complete various tasks is to trick yourself into becoming interested in whatever you have to do. Use a bit of imagination and you may find it easy to do whatever you think you have to do.

 

[StevenM]

I chuckled when I seen the responses. Didn't know this was such a strong trait of INTP.

Doesn't just stop at house chores though. I'm also wondering if you have neglected your health as well.

On top of the millions of chores looking at me, I'm realizing that I really need to work out, quit smoking. Hygiene sometimes becomes a problem as well.

 

[Base groove]

this describes my entire life at any scale

same.

 

[Pizzabeak]

But ur intj not intp

 

[Pyropyro]

Doesn't just stop at house chores though. I'm also wondering if you have neglected your health as well.

I did neglect my health, but it's because of financial issues and slight depression rather than procrastination. Fortunately, I think I'm regaining my old fitness back.

 

[somfoolishfoole]

well I'll tell you what I am NOT doing right now:
writing my report that is due friday, whilst sitting in my *clean* room and going to sleep right bloody now because I have to get up at 8 am.
Oh yeah.... I f%#king suck at upholding responcibiities

 

[Riiscup]

Yes. Back in my single, pre kid days, I would try to take care of things as soon as it came up. That way I'd be done with it and never have to think of it again. When that wasn't possible, I made checklists and would plan out when I had to take care of each particular thing and then just stick to it. In a way, I was giving myself mini deadlines thereby giving myself time to build up to the task. I probably should have done the task before my mini deadline, but I get to procrastinate up to that point and then I have to get it done. Procrastination on paper.

Nowadays this doesn't work because I make the list, sit it somewhere and totally forget about it. Things pretty much get done on an "as needed" basis which is not good because I'm never prepared for anything because I haven't planned for them.

 

[Jennywocky]

I actually find the list thing helpful, for me, if my "seat of my pants" approach starts to let me down.

I make a decent list; for some things, I'll even do a spreadsheet. But I'll organize it in a way that crossing off an item is actually a bit of a rush / makes me feel like I made substantial progress. Also, having a "granular" enough list makes you aware of each small step you take towards the goal. And having to sit there and THINK of the concrete steps well-enough for me to write them down helps break down the goal into tangible bits.

...But yeah... you have to be careful not to lose the list.

---

An issue I'm having trouble with now is weight / exercise. I really want to lose a large chunk of weight. I've done it twice in the past, but at the time I was living much more ethereally and was far more "in my head than my body," so it was easy to ignore my body's discomforts and impulses. Now that I integrated more into my body, my body has more power over my will, which I don't like... but what can I do?

Yes, it's possible to trick yourself into doing certain things. If you can redirect your mind, you can ignore body impulse. But you kind of have to get in the mindset.

I also agree with whoever said productivity is overrated. I've had to come to terms that I will never be a J-type. I'm not productive, I'm exploratory. My productivity is about learning and understanding experiences and ideas -- how things work. I can't live in that tiny regimented box. This has some negative side effects, but oh well.

 

[Riiscup]

That's a hard one Jenny. I was able to put mind over body too at one time and now I feel my body pushing back and refusing. As far as exercise, I take it slower. I have convinced myself that it is hard because I am out of practice and out of shape. I am trying to start my exercise routine at a slower pace and then I will build up from there. Once my body gets used to it, mind and body can be brought into sync. I just have to keep in mind that things aren't the same so it won't be as easy to accomplish as it once was, I have to be patient with my body.

 

[Jennywocky]

That's a hard one Jenny. I was able to put mind over body too at one time and now I feel my body pushing back and refusing. As far as exercise, I take it slower. I have convinced myself that it is hard because I am out of practice and out of shape. I am trying to start my exercise routine at a slower pace and then I will build up from there. Once my body gets used to it, mind and body can be brought into sync. I just have to keep in mind that things aren't the same so it won't be as easy to accomplish as it once was, I have to be patient with my body.

I think getting the routine in place is the most difficult. Twice this year so far I've started on an exercise routine, and then it's derailed after a few weeks (once, I got sick; another time, I started taking a medication where the side effects really laid me out and I had to wean off).

About to start again. Third time is the charm? But this kind of change has to be long-term; you can try to blitz, but the changes don't tend to stay.

The first time I lost the weight (and I was much younger), one thing I did was only eat when I was hungry... and ate slowly enough that I could recognize when I was no longer hungry. It's easy to blow that, to just eat without thinking. The body has gotten into a rut and you need to get the cart out of it, so to speak.

 

[Riiscup]

It sounds like the routine wasn't the problem. You were sick, and then the side effects took you off track. Doesn't sound like you could do anything about those things. Don't think of it as something you are doing for a short while. Think of it as something you just do (like brush your teeth) and trynot to think too much on it outside of that. Don't think of doing it to lose weight. Just do it cause that's what you do after brushing your teeth, but before jumping in the shower.. or something like that.