Calendars
and Personality Type by: Janet Barclay
I recently conducted a survey to
look at the relationship between an individual’s personality type and his
or her organizing and time management style, and noticed that the majority
of participants said they have a calendar system that works for them. As
there are so many time management systems available, both paper-based and
electronic, I thought it would be interesting to find out which calendar
systems are most popular with each personality type, and asked my ezine
subscribers and visitors to my website to describe their time management
system, what they like and dislike about it, and their personality type
according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®). The MBTI
measures your preferences in four areas:
The source of your energy (Introversion
/ Extraversion)
Taking in information (Sensing /
INtuition)
Decision-making (Thinking / Feeling)
Dealing with the outer world (Judging
/ Perceiving)
Because the Judging / Perceiving
preference pertains to the way you deal with the outer world, it has the
greatest influence on the way you manage time and space, however, the other
preferences also come into play, as described in earlier articles. Your
preferences in the four areas listed above combine to form one of 16 different
personality types.
This article is a summary of the
responses I received, according to the participants' stated personality
type. Where specific time management products were named, this information
has been included.
Due to their preference for planning
and their attention to detail, the Sensing Judging types are generally
considered natural organizers with a strong attachment to schedules and
deadlines. Most formal time management systems on the market were designed
by and for SJ types.
Although one ISTJ participant stated
that he doesn’t use a time management system at all, the others showed
a preference for a paper-based system. Most like the week-at-a-glance format,
either the Day Runner® or the Taylor Planner®, because it allows
them to visualize what they have to do. One student supplements her daily
planner with a wall-mounted dry-erase calendar as well as a dry-erase board
containing her weekly time map.
ISFJ participants also showed a preference
for a paper-based system. Although one stated that she loves technology
and was given a Palm Pilot®, she has no desire to give up her Day-Timer®,
which has a monthly calendar that allows her to see her commitments at
a glance. It also includes two pages for each day, with space for a to-do
list and daily schedule, as well as blank space for jotting down phone
messages and important thoughts. Others are less concerned with scheduling,
but use daily to-do lists.
The only ESFJ who responded to the
survey indicated a preference for the Palm Pilot®, which allows her
to easily search for and retrieve information and to sync with her Outlook®
calendar. She prefers to use paper for ideas that she needs to "sketch"
visually and for face-to-face situations with clients where the Palm Pilot®
might seem a distraction or even rude.
Unfortunately, no ESTJ's took part
in the survey, but according to Sandra Krebs Hirsch & Jean Kummerow,
authors of LifeTypes, and Larry Demarest, author of Out of Time: How the
Sixteen Types Manage Their Time and Work, ESTJ's like to-do lists and use
a calendar or planner to keep track of what has been done and what still
needs to be addressed. ESTJ's typically plan thoroughly, scheduling preparation
time for meetings as well as for the meeting itself.
Although a wide variety of systems
were reported, due to their preference for Intuition, INtuitive Feeling
types generally prefer time management systems that allow them to see the
big picture.
ENFP's reported using multiple calendars
for different functions. One uses a Palm Pilot® for scheduling, but
creates a daily to-do list using Microsoft Word®, so that she can cross
out tasks as she completes them. Another uses an electronic calendar and
task list along with a manual tickler file consisting of a folder for each
day of the month and a folder for each month, where she keeps all the paperwork
to back up her electronic system. A third uses a Day-Timer® system,
one page per day, folio size, with monthly calendar inserts to keep on
track,
along with a calendar on the kitchen fridge to keep track of family activities.
INFP's had the widest participation
rate in the survey, and reported a variety of time management system preferences,
encompassing both paper-based and electronic systems. One successfully
manages her busy schedule with a PDA to schedule personal and private practice
appointments. She schedules job appointments on her computer at work using
Outlook® and syncs her PDA and work computer upon arrival and again
before leaving work. Another uses the Palm Pilot® for scheduling and
alarms, along with Microsoft Streets and Trips® to find locations and
download to the PDA. She likes the ability to print her calendar and have
the entire month in front of her.
Another uses a Franklin Planner®
“when she thinks of it,” sometimes recording tasks that have been completed,
in case she need to remember when she started something, and uses the Microsoft
Works® calendar occasionally as well. One INFP designed her own multi-ring
planning system.
All INFJ participants identified
very strong preferences in terms of their time management tools, although
their preferences varied widely, and included both paper-based and electronic
systems. One likes the compactness, durability, and portability of her
black leather Day-Timer®, in the week-at-a-glance format. She doesn’t
feel her computer is reliable enough to use as a time management tool.
Another tried using the Outlook® calendar, but found it wasn’t functional
for her, since she isn’t always at her computer. She believes a PDA would
be useful as it would allow her to easily transfer information between
the two, but until she can afford one, she uses paper Day-Timers®,
one page per day format. She likes the monthly planner for seeing the whole
picture and the one page per day gives her enough space to "explode the
detail" when necessary. She also keeps a family calendar in the kitchen.
Yet another makes maximum use of technology, combining a Palm Pilot®
with desktop contact management software, and synchronizing the two regularly.
The only ENFJ participant uses Outlook®
combined with a Palm V®. She likes the ability to set recurring meetings
and dates like birthdays, organize a list of tasks and memos by category,
flag email for follow up, and set reminders. Other benefits she enjoys
include only having to handle paper when she chooses to print something,
and the Palm®'s compactness. On the downside, she mentions the Palm's
fragility and the risk of losing data.
Individuals with preferences for
iNtuition and Thinking also reported using a wide variety of time management
tools.
All of the ENTJ's who participated
in this survey reported using a combination of paper and electronic systems.
One prints her own calendar from MS Outlook® on Day-Timer® computer
paper (Desk size, 7-hole punched) and uses several of the Day-Timer®
accessories that are available. Another uses a combination of "brain power,
paper calendar and electronic organizer".
ENTP's reported a distinct preference
for portable electronic systems. One found a Palm Pilot® to be effective
because she could sync it with her computer, but no longer has the technology
available to her. She has had little success with paper calendars. Another
uses a Palm Zire71® with the Palm Desktop® system. The features
she considers most important are the color screen, the ability to take
hand-written notes, and alarms and snooze buttons. She found that a paper
planner was too much trouble to carry around.
INTJ's, on the other hand, showed
a preference for paper-based planners. One stated a reluctance “to go the
Blackberry® route” because she likes to flip ahead to whole weeks of
appointments and to staple information to pages in preparation for various
events.
As no INTP's responded to the survey,
I will share the following quotation from Larry Demarest’s Out of Time:
INTP's tend to be conceptual planners
– their plans being neither specific nor fully developed. They work in
blocks of time, and what gets written down may be sketchy and seem incomplete.
INTPs are not likely to use the planning categories, structure, or systems
provided by the manufacturer of an organizer (unless it somehow happened
to make good sense to a particular individual). Like many other aspects
of life, most INTP's will find their own way of planning and organizing.
(Though, this may not be typical, one INTP reported using three calendars
– two electronic and one hard copy).
As I found with my previous surveys
on organizing and time management, not many people with preferences for
Sensing and Perceiving responded. It may be that as action-oriented, spontaneous
individuals, they are not likely to be interested in doing Internet surveys
or in the topic of time management itself.
In fact, the only SP respondent,
an ISTP, said about time management, “I think those words do not go together
for my type.” She uses a thin 2-year monthly at-a glance calendar, and
writes appointments with a time and an initial e.g. 5-T, which is enough
to remind her. She puts labels of frequently called names, addresses, and
numbers in the back and keeps a paper clip at the front to attach temporary
notes.
In Out of Time, Larry Demarest states
that ISFP's keep track of what needs to be done in a variety of different
ways. Some use the popular calendars and organizers while others attend
to due dates and plan for the priorities, leaving considerable leeway to
be flexible and spontaneous about remaining work.
Demarest also states that many ESTP's
don’t use a calendar or planner and that those who do tend to use them
selectively. For example, one reported using a planner for work but not
for his social or personal life. Another records only the important activities
for each day. Some think and work in terms of chunks of time rather than
hour-by-hour. ESTP's also report using electronic calendars and organizers.
ESFP's keep track of their work,
according to Demarest, in a variety of ways, ranging from the prevalent,
more formal systems and computer calendars to relying on reminders from
team members and keeping a simple to-do list or a mental list.
Before the new year arrives, take
some time to evaluate your current time management system, and if it’s
not working for you, consider what other people of your personality type
find effective. If you’ve never taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®,
maybe it’s time that you discovered the many ways that a deeper understanding
of yourself can benefit you, both personally and professionally.
Although there are many online assessments
claiming to be the same as the MBTI®, the best way to understand your
personality type is to take an official MBTI® instrument from a professional
who has met the standards necessary to be "qualified" to administer the
test.
Further Reading
Out of Time: How the Sixteen Types
Manage Their Time and Work by Larry Demarest
LifeTypes by Sandra Krebs Hirsch
& Jean Kummerow
About The Author
Janet Barclay is a qualified MBTI®
practitioner specializing in time management, and the owner of Organized
Assistant. For more information visit www.organizedassistant.com.
Permission is granted to use this
article, as long as proper credit is given and you link back to www.organizedassistant.com.
An email letting me know which article you have used and where would be
appreciated.
info@organizedassistant.com
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