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In this episode, Joel and Antonia talk about the struggles Perceivers have with schedules.

In this podcast you’ll find:

  • Scrum Board
  • Schedule vs. rhythm
  • Judgers create the schedule first then the rhythm comes from the schedule
  • But for perceivers, we suspect the rhythm comes first, and the schedule evolves around it
  • Perceivers can get unrealistic about how much they can get done at any given time, so they struggle with sticking to a schedule.
  • They will abandon schedules because they never seem to work.
  • When you have an extraverted Judging function higher up in your stack, it is easier for you to keep track of what is happening over a long period of time.
  • EPs fixation is unfettered freedom, so schedules can feel like life has no color.
  • They may unconsciously sabotage a schedule to maintain their freedom.
  • Judgers put a schedule to paper, and it becomes their motivation.
  • To check it off the to-do list.
  • Perceivers hate To-Do lists.
  • Schedules facilitate you to do the things you want to do.
  • All of us have stuff we don’t want to do, but it’s the best way to get something done.
  • Perceivers – Make peace with your schedule.
  • Schedules don’t have to hurt.
  • Find what works for you and craft your schedule around it.
  • Schedules are a platform for opportunity.
  • When you are trying to figure something out, you aren’t sure which rules you can break.
  • So, Perceivers may often look more militant about maintaining schedules than Judgers because they don’t know how to adapt if something goes wrong with their schedule.
  • Perceivers can tend to forget what they accomplish, too.
  • Celebrate the things you accomplish.
  • Create anchor events for yourself that are non-negotiable then fit the other things around the anchor events.
  • Anchor events may not happen until you find your rhythm.
  • Perceivers – Make peace with the schedule and go with the rhythms of your life.
  • Go to bed at a decent time, so you have more energy to accomplish things.
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Exercise
  • Eat nutritious food
  • Put your shoes on every day
  • Judgers need to make sure they don’t have too much energy sapping things in their schedule
  • When they were designing Disneyland, there was a patch of grass people kept cutting through, so Disney told them to pave it and create a path.
  • Judgers create this Stay off the Grass situation and force themselves into a schedule that isn’t energy efficient.
  • Judgers – make sure you aren’t wasting time and effort by shoe-horning yourself into a schedule that is too arduous.

In this episode Joel and Antonia talk about the struggles Perceivers have with schedules.

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33 comments

  • M
    • M
    • November 30, 2022 at 8:53 am

    I’m an ISFP and for me what’s difficult as a perceiver is not so much making a schedule, but rather just getting organized in general. I keep telling myself that one day I’m going to have a filing system and arrange all of my papers and go through all of my mail and decide what to keep and what not to keep. And one day maybe I’ll actually get rid of the stuff that I don’t use that’s just taking up space and creating clutter. But I just for some reason can’t bring myself to get organized no matter how much I try. And if I do get organized it usually only lasts for about a week or so. It’s so frustrating! I don’t know how Judger types do it!

    (Not sure if anyone will read this comment considering how old this episode is. Oh well).

  • barb
    • barb
    • February 1, 2021 at 5:11 am

    I’m an INTP (maybe) or and INTJ (maybe) and I completely related to everything you said. I hate schedules with a passion but I love making them. And then completely ignoring them.

    Every single productivity course I have done has said I have to put things on the schedule so that I do them. So I dutifully do that. I have beautiful colour coded calenders that are a wonder to behold.

    I say I’m going to work on XXX project at 10am but 10am comes around and I don’t want to so I don’t, and as soon as I mess one thing up like that, the whole day is wrecked for me. I completely underestimate how long things will take, and if I’m not 100% clear on the precise task I’m going to be doing, I procrastinate and do “research” and end up getting nothing done. Days where I don’t have to do anything and can do anything I want, I end up doing nothing.

    Joel, when you said you wanted to sabotage the schedule, I had the biggest smile on my face. Schedules exist to be sabotaged!

    That said, I think I have been unconsciously been building in “anchor” things into my days that I can build some sort of order around. And I have some projects I really want to get done that I have been having some success with progressing if I actually do set aside time to work on them at set times rather than hoping I’ll find some space during the week. And I have gotten good at going to bed & not staying up late so I can actually get up in the morning.

    The comments on here make me wonder, am I an INTP or an INTJ because I love organising stuff so much but hate sticking to it, is there something else in there that is rebelling against being organised. I still don’t know!

  • auroradormita
    • auroradormita
    • October 13, 2020 at 9:47 pm

    This podcast (plus many others) was very helpful and thought-inspiring for me.

    I thought I would share a method that I stumbled into last year that has been revolutionary. I’m INTP by the way. I have always struggled with making and keeping small habits – the kind of thing that you know you should be doing regularly and are easy to do, take very little time, but are kind of boring. I would get a kick of energy and start a habit for a while but not be motivated one day and decide not to do it that day, which actually led to me never ever doing it again. Ok without getting too wordy here’s the method:

    1) Download a habit tracker app, or ten. The base requirements are that you have to be able to check off the items, and that it will automatically repeat the items so they recur each day. If you’re not sure what app works best for you just download a lot and check them out – you’ll quickly get a feel for which you like best. Delete all but one within the week because simplicity is a vital part of the success of this plan!

    2) Make a list of habits. Now remember, so far you actually only have one habit you want to learn: the habit of sticking to your habits! So make this list very simple. Put things that you basically can’t fail on. One of my habits was “eat a warm, healthy meal each day.” Read your list and imagine you on a bad day, or when you’re extra tired. Are you going to be able to meet these goals? Another habit I set was “do 10 pushups.” Even if I’m really tired, I should be able to manage to do that, it takes less than a minute. Set yourself up to succeed, every single day.

    3) The last habit, on the bottom of your list, should be: “cross off all your habits.” This is your most important habit! Your one and only goal, every day, is to cross off this habit. That way you can’t negotiate with yourself “oh well, I did five out of eight habits today, that’s pretty good.” No, the question is, did you do this final habit, this king of habits, or not? That’s what matters.

    4) Don’t miss a single day! This is why doing step two properly is so important: you have to have created idiot-proof habits. Or at least expert-excuse-maker-proof ones!

    5) Once crossing off habits every single day becomes an obvious part of your life and pretty much part of your identity, now is the time when you can change it up a bit, and not before. Maybe add some harder tasks to challenge yourself. Maybe if you’re having an extra rough day you can be lenient on yourself.

    Good luck!

  • Christi
    • Christi
    • February 9, 2020 at 7:34 pm

    Sarah, I totally understand where you are coming from. I have 4 boys and getting things done late at night is one of my weaknesses. I love the quiet and the lack of interruptions. I also work night shifts as a nurse so I think this is just a rhythm that I have because I have to be productive at night when I’m at work. So I’m not the best person to give you advice on how to break the habit, but maybe setting some boundaries like silencing your phone would help? I would think that creating the discipline of going to bed earlier and having a calming night time routine like reading and drinking some decaffeinated tea would help. I get your struggle though because even when I do make it to sleep early I often wake up around 2 am with my brain full of ideas and ready to go.

  • Christi
    • Christi
    • February 9, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    Megan, I agree as Ni is listed under the perceiving functions. I struggle as well when my schedule is too strict and need some free time.

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