All of the above when I don't really care about the task. When I do care, then I go into a perfectionist woraholic mode that usurps all of this.

 

Yes to all except #3.

 

Exactly...diggin that new avatar by the way.

I think I prefer things fairly orderly. I always make my bed, I dislike it not being made. I have riituals for keeping things neat and orderly, but I can accept a little randomness if I am deep in thought about things. I'm very structured and orderly at work.

I have tremendous problem with being a "workaholic"...that's what others term it. I willingly work weekends.

Absent-minded - Um, I have to catch myself, remind myself about where I am and what I am supposed to be doing instead of languishing in my inner thought world about whatever was intriguiing me at the time. I am constantly walking into rooms and asking myself "why the hell did I just walk in here?" I will sometimes smile and laugh at my inner dialogue and think "Oh God did anyone just notice that".

I am detail oriented as a means to an end. As I am working I will focus on certain details repeatedly, but it is not a skill I can sustain for very long. I have to go from macro to micro and back while working to stay efficient.

The INTJ I sit next to at work talks to himself all day, full on conversations...he's a brilliant man too. Speaks over 10 languages fluently. I think he does it to stay focused "Okay now I am going to do this..." because he is easily distracted by his inner thought processes and talking helps him with his S function.

 

Yes, you could be either INTJ or INTP. Many of those things sound about right to me. I am not absent minded, though... I have a ridiculous recall. Absent-mindedness only when I am consumed in something else. Recall is dimming more from when I was a child, though. I do and don't procrastinate... if it's something unpleasant, I will wait until the last minute, but if it's something that bugs me, I want to get it done immediately. I can be messy in some areas, but I can't stand mess in my immediate surroundings. I can allow mess in the areas I don't care about, but the areas I want neat, I will not settle for mess. As for overlooking details... yes. I see so many uncommon things and minutia, but I can overlook a blaring detail. It's weird.

 

A lot of those characteristics seem to apply to me and I am INTJ.

1. I am extremely absent- minded and my observation tells me so are a lot of INTJ's. We tend to forget things that are insignificant like car keys, etc. for we are generally thinking of something else and not paying attention to what we are doing thus our absent mindedness. But if we are interested in something, then we would remember the tiniest bit of detail in it.
2. I think this is correlated to being absent minded (See point number 1). I do tend to overlook details becasue of my absent mindedness but if we are talking about an idea then I am well aware of the big picture as well as the little details.
3. The J characteristic should indicate towards 'not being a slob' in general. So you might be an INTP. However, its possible that your J function is rather not as well developed but you are still dominantly J. Also, maybe you think that the task of cleaning is unimportant, for INTJ's only pay attention to things they think are worth it and important to them. So, maybe you fall in that category and that's the reason why you are not as much into cleanliness.
4. I am a procrastinator but my J function is not as high so that I am a mixture of J and P but predominantly J. Again, maybe you are an INTP.
5. I am a perfectionist falling into Type 1 of Enneagram. A lot of INTJ's are perfectionist and many are not. I don't think this is a major factor in determining your type.

If you are sure about INT part, then you might be an INTP or an INTJ with not as dominant J function.

 

Yes and no to all. You shouldn't draw direct links between MBTI types and actions. MBTI is a game about cognitive functions an even they are merely tones of behaviour and thought (often subconcious).

 

We do not use subconcious in science! :O

 

Hi PG. I had a close friend once (if you can believe it), who was INTJ, and he was extremely absent-minded. A brilliant mind otherwise-- just really bad with the little stuff. It used to upset him quite a bit, because he prided himself on being in control. He hated to think that he could be toppled by some insignificant little detail.

3. Can you be kind of a slob? It's not that I don't like for things to be organized, but I have a hard time getting motivated to clean, especially if it seems pointless (i.e. making up the bed, and proceeding to mess it up again the next night; mopping if there is a bunch of rain coming--I have 2 big dogs that track in mud--even if the floor has muddy paw prints all over it, I see it as wasted effort). Usually I guess there's just other stuff I'd rather be doing than cleaning, but sometimes I get in the mood and will keep going until everything is spotless. If I start it, I want to finish it.

4. Do you tend to procrastinate? I am a big-time procrastinator, it can get pretty bad sometimes, but I always manage to finish everything on time, and almost always very well. My mother is, to this day, completely baffled by how I manage to do this--to get everything done, and not go crazy thinking about all the things I am waiting to do. Haha...

5. Are you a perfectionist? I am, big time. Problem is, I'm kinda lazy, and I am pretty absent-minded... sometimes it's hard to be an absent-minded perfectionist... but I manage.

Those ones sound like good old-fashioned ISTP. The first two are exactly like me, especially the part about always wanting to finish what you start (I'm almost compulsive that way). Re perfectionism, that's not altogether incongruent with ISTP either... I've been called a perfectionist all my life, because when I put my mind to something I don't settle for anything less than perfect. But I'm not absent-minded (at all), so I don't know.... you got me there. My dear, you are one tough nut to crack.

 

Cool, thanks everyone. Yeah InvisibleJim, you're exactly right. I have been doing a lot of reading and digging on cognitive functions in the past month or so. I'm pretty sure my Ni is much too strong for it to be my tertiary function--as it is in ISTP, and I don't think I am INTP because I don't think I prefer Ne.

Lenore Thomson's book really helped me solidify the differences in attitude between Ne and Ni and Te and Ti users (the others, too). I just got done reading it, and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it to really start to understand the different attitudes. (I decided to start calling them attitudes instead of functions or processes, because it's more accurate, it seems.)

Well, thanks again, all. I'm pretty sure I am INTJ. For now.

 

Just to add another set of answers...

Just to add another perspective, as sometimes it may be useful:

1. Sure, I'm absent-minded about a lot of things at times. I can forget where I left something or what was I trying to remember to do. It happens every so often and sometimes it can be a bad thing and sometimes it just works out that way. I often feel, I'd forget my head if it wasn't permanently attached.

2. Sometimes. I'll admit that since my work tends to involve being detail-oriented and focused on specific results and stuff, overlooking the details is pretty simple to do. This could also be seen as a common iNtuitive trait in terms of overlooking some details.

3. Yes, after all the structure we want isn't necessarily obvious to everyone. Some things we just may not care about and thus that is a mess but we don't care about that.

4. Absolutely. Though some of this can come from not wanting to do something or from fearing that something will be a time sink for me. By time sink, I mean that I could picture spending a lot more time on something for minimal gains. For example, I could have 3 weeks to do a book report but I'll wait until the night before it is due to work on it. I'll still meet the deadline but the idea in waiting till the last minute is to prevent wasting time that may be spent as I probably could spend hundreds of hours on the book report if I want it to be perfect. I'd often edit essays and come up with a completely different but necessarily better essay at the end. Thus, I questioned why waste so much time editing it in this case?

5. Heck yeah! Enneagram type 1 all the way. My top strength from a "Strengths Finder 2.0" was Learner which refers to how I enjoy picking up new things, correcting, revising, upgrading and absorbing information. This can be a strength if managed properly is my current thinking about this. It isn't necessarily a bad thing to have high standards. The key is to not be overly self-crtitical about this.

 

Your answers echo almost exactly what I would've said for the questions you gave.

 

I notice everything... but my mind goes so fast sometimes I forget a lot of it.

 

I took the test at a local college and scored INTJ, didn't really know what it meant so I looked it up when I got home. When I first went to the Keirsey website I instantly went to the Rationals then I saw Masterminds, and I knew for a fact that, that was the one I am. Still know so.

Haha, I almost crapped myself when I saw that masterminds were INTJ. I knew I was right.

 

Yes...though I have a feeling I'll turn into a complete neat freak once I get away from my slovenly family. Any attempts to keep this place clean is ruined within a matter of hours. (Granted, there are seven people in this household not counting pets.)

Absented minded? I can be. Just a month ago my boss stared at me and asked if I noticed anything different. (I hate those questions!) My initial haircut guess was incorrect. It turns out the kitchen had a new microwave that was exactly the same color as the old one. :dry:

 

I agree with your points and it is really amazing, because it's as if you are talking about me, hehehehe. Something I dislike a lot about me is not being too detail oriented! Boy I hate that! I guess I am too focused on the big picture and many times I miss the small details. I am aware of that and I try to overcome it.

Comment about point 3 is that I consider myself organized and a clean person and I enjoy order and structure, but I understand what you mean about not doing it when it is pointless, since I do EXACTLY the same thing.

 

All of the things on the list only apply to me when it comes to my relationship with the physical world. Mentally, I organize constantly, know where everything is at all times, and run a very tight ship.

 

Yeah, that sounds like me.
We may be Js but we're intuitives, not sensors. The outside world and practical details isn't our main focus/priority unless it is a project or an obsession or compulsion, and we can easily procrastinate if we know damn well we'll still get it done when we start last minute. Missing details is very N too.

 

1. Yes, sometimes being blind to things that are right in front of you is pretty normal. It's got to do with having a brain that focuses on relationships between things and not so much on the things them selves.

I have a solution for your "lost key" problem. Have a fixed place for them. Always leave them in the same place. I developped this way so that I don't have to look for them as I hate not being able to find things.


2. That door example is funny. You'll notice that you treat that door wrongly because in your mind it's suppose to open the other way. You´re probably right too.


3. Your mind is very organized and that's why your surroundings aren't. The worse thing that can happen is if other people clean up for you. Then you can't find anything anymore.

4. Priorities change depending on how much time you still have to do it. The longer you wait, the higher the priority. It's easier to do things when the priorities are higher.

5. Yes, I want things to be perfect. It's just no fun to do a job badly. I'm bad at finishing things because once I have figured it out, the details of implementation are often boring. Much better if you can leave that work to others.

 

I find myself consciously making mental notes about where I set keys, etc. I'm much more likely to remember later when i do that.

 

I really want to know which letter's behind the "won't do it if it's pointless" point of view. When it comes to making the bed, I couldn't agree more!

I HATE procrastination though. At least with schoolwork, it physically hurts if I'm not doing something I could be doing. Procrastinating is like agreeing to put myself in pain by refusing the band - aide that I could be using. Did that analogy make sense?

 

I really want to know which letter's behind the "won't do it if it's pointless" point of view. When it comes to making the bed, I couldn't agree more!

I HATE procrastination though. At least with schoolwork, it physically hurts if I'm not doing something I could be doing. Procrastinating is like agreeing to put myself in pain by refusing the band - aide that I could be using. Did that analogy make sense?

Perhaps, but you know that band-aid sometimes is just there to hide you wound, right? Eventually your body will heal, the schoolwork does not work like that. You still have to do those overdue work yourself. Using body analogy it would be like refusing to do manicure and ending up with ingrown nails.

To the topics

1: That happens quite a bit lately. Something to do with lack of sleep, I guess.

2: Sometimes, especially something that is not within my sight.

3: Always want to arrange things in the room but there is no space left to put things. Others are attempting to make my room their warehouse. :angry:

4: Lack of motivation is the major issue for me. Work can become quite boring sometimes.

5: Not much of a perfectionist except what I think I am good at. Used to try to do everything the best I can, but eventually I just do not see the point as it does not yield anything really good for me. Would not leave things half-done, however.

 

I found ths page by typing "personality type forgetfull absent minded unorganized"

This sounds exactly like me. I immediately signed up and am posting this message.

Does this make me "INTJ"

Jeremy

 

1. Yes, but I don't count little things like forgetting where I put my keys. I can be thinking about some subject that interests me intensely and forget to eat. It's a whole other grade of forgetful.

2. I almost never overlook details. It happens from time to time, generally when I mistake some detail for being irrelevant and toss it aside, but--as a rule--no.

3. I can be a slob, but I don't enjoy being a slob or feel indifference when I've really let my space go. If at all possible, I try to be neat. This is not the same thing as being anal as all hell, or a minimalist. I've got quite a lot of books and movies and toys...but they're usually in their proper homes unless being used.

4. No, I don't procrastinate. For some curious reason, I like to think that I do, but no. When I need to have something done, I will almost always finish it on time or early, unless I hate what it is that I'm doing so much that I can't even bear to look at it. In that case, I won't complete it, ever, under any circumstances.

5. I couldn't be a perfectionist; I too easily see the futility in holding such a view. There's no perfection that can come from human effort so why waste the energy on thinking such a thing possible, let alone hold yourself to an inherently impossible standard? I try to do well; that is the best one can achieve.

 

I can relate to all of your statements. It's probably because being a perfectionist makes you not want to do anything out of fear and causes you to forget things because you're too busy being fixated on the problem. It's a circle of madness