Podcast – Episode 0297 – Cognitive Functions And Time
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In this episode, Joel and Antonia talk about the Myers-Briggs cognitive functions and their relationship to time.
In this podcast you’ll find:
- A float tank is excellent for Introverted Intuition
- Introversion and extraversion have an interesting relationship with time and space.
- All the extraverted functions live in the outside world.
- So they are intrinsically tied to the laws of interfacing, which are laws we need to agree on to interface with other people.
- One of those laws is the law of time.
- We, as humans, experience time linearly.
- We are linear but time and space are not.
- All the extraverted functions are bound to time and space as a continuum.
- The introverted functions are untethered from the laws of interfacing because they are inside of us, so they aren’t tethered to linear time.
- Extraverted Functions:
- 2 Extraverted Perceiving functions:
- Extraverted Intuition
- Extraverted Sensing
- 2 Extraverted Perceiving functions:
- These are the parts of us that want to have freedom and learn, so they are the most rebellious to time.
- These functions tend to resent time because it means less time for experiences.
- 2 Extraverted Judging Functions
- Extraverted Feeling
- Extraverted Thinking
- These functions are more likely to hand themselves over to time because they recognize the need for schedules.
- You recognize you can’t have full freedom and get goals accomplished.
- Extraverted Intuition tries to cheat time by packing as many experiences in as possible
- Extraverted Sensing cheats time by being present and having the most intense experiences it can.
- Extraverted Perceiving functions are both eager for experiences.
- All extraverted functions acknowledge that the rules of time and space exist, but they react differently to them.
- Extraverted perceiving functions rebel against time
- Extraverted judging functions work within the laws of time.
- All introverted functions don’t need to interact with the outer world at all.
- Introverted Functions:
- 2 Introverted Perceiving functions
- Introverted Intuition
- Introverted Sensing
- 2 Introverted Judging functions
- Introverted Thinking
- Introverted Feeling
- 2 Introverted Perceiving functions
- Introverted functions get to decide whether or not to interface with time.
- Introverted Sensing is fascinated with the past
- Introverted Intuition is more interested in the future.
- But both can interact with the past or future.
- They capture experiences and bring them inside to interact with at their leisure.
- Post-processing.
- Introverted Perceiving processes don’t need to obey the laws of time, but they master it within themselves
- This is why Introverted perceivers will sometimes struggle with time management because the outer world isn’t their usual way of interacting with time.
- INFJs and ISFJs may struggle with organization because they must wait for a catalyst or need to get them into action.
- So, these types may struggle to interface with time similarly to Extraverted Perceivers.
- Introverted Judging functions are the least tied to time because they create systems in their heads.
- Time Binding is a thought or concept written down thousands of years ago which holds up thousands of years later.
- Data isn’t bound by time.
- Extraverted Judging functions are the most likely to hand themselves over to the rules of time.
- Introverted Judging functions are the least likely to hand themselves over to time.
- Introverted Perceiving functions could ignore time, but they have chosen not to because it is pleasurable for them to be gods over time.
- Introverted functions are often called selfish because they are self-oriented.
- All the extraverted functions are imperious. They believe they should be able to get their way.
- This info may help us give grace to each other.
- Introverts aren’t selfish; they just self-reference.
- Extraverts aren’t overstepping they are just experiencing in the outer world.
- Sit down and write down your four-function stack, as we do in the car model.
- The ENTP driver process is Extraverted Intuition which rebels against time as much as it can.
- ENTPs copilot is Introverted Thinking which doesn’t care that much for time.
- So, an ENTP needs to find another part of themselves to interact with time in a better way.
- ENTPs tertiary is Extraverted Feeling which has a responsive relationship to time.
- So, an ENTP needs to set up catalysts in life to put them into motion and get things done to meet external needs.
- It may be okay for you to be beholden to people if it helps you get things done.
- ENTPs inferior is Introverted Sensing which isn’t going to interface with time reliably, but it can review concepts of time.
- Extraverted Intuition wants to rebel against time, but Introverted Sensing sees itself as the master of time and has a friendlier relationship to it.
- So, if an ENTP wants to develop a friendly relationship with time, they can use their inferior function to develop a friendlier relationship with time.
- But the highest leverage function for the ENTP to interface well with time is their tertiary, Extraverted Feeling.
- It won’t be a strength. It will be a bit idealistic and sloppy, at first.
- ENTPs are very good at performing at the eleventh hour which helps them overcome their weaknesses with time
- ENTPs have a more responsive relationship with time than ENFPs who must use their tertiary Extraverted Thinking.
- Extraverted Thinking is going to be more proactive with time and less responsive.
- ENFPs may tether to time better than ENTPs because of their tertiary.
- Our relationship to time and space is only one node of how we interact with time and space.
- So, are IPs screwed? No
- When Introverted Feeling or Thinking realize something is truly important to them, they bring all the conviction and integrity with them and blast it to the outside world.
- IPs can be unstoppable.
- Because IPs can’t rely upon time and space as the thing that gets them going, they need to use their superpower of conviction and integrity to determine what is important.
- You aren’t screwed if you don’t have a natural tethering to time.
- The stereotype is that the EJs have the most natural ability to interact with time and space.
- But EJs lack the relationship with their inner calibration, so the things they get done aren’t serving them as well as if they were able to interface more fully with inner conviction and integrity.
- Don’t see this as fatalistic.
- There are many components to getting things done.
- One of the advantages to extraverted perceiving functions is that they still recognize the laws of time and space.
- So they get a lot done.
- They are less worried about the economy of their actions.
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Are there correlations with cognitive functions and core value/s?
i.e for INTJ would core values be perspectives and effectiveness, or ENTP exploration and accuracy, etc.
Great one!
“Extroverted functions tied up to the law of interfacing” This analysis really helps me to go deeper about the nature of each function.
There should be more interesting themes to consider from this perspective other than time and space.
I hope this conversation extends in the future!
Hahaha! That was great podcast you guys. As an INTP who is very over-reliant on Ti, I was thinking “Hm, I do not feel like a god of time or rebellious against time.” And then you guys said “But what about IPs?” Haha, the immovable object is very accurate, at least in my case. Usually, I find that when I notice time, it is mostly to be shocked that it exists. I like to mull things over in my head for so long, all of a sudden I will realize “what, that’s due tomorrow?!” Or I will spend so long meticulously analyzing a certain passage (I am a music student) that when I go into lesson or rehearsal measures 21-37 and 54-66 will be perfect! And the rest of the piece I will barely be able to play. I have found that when I am most productive in terms of output, I write down a schedule for the day and set a timer to go off every half hour. I still never accomplish everything I needed to do, but it at least acts as a reminder that time exists and is passing.
Hi there!
I’ve been listening to your podcast on Spotify for a few weeks now and I really want to say a big thank you for what you’re doing!
I’ve been depressed for the last year and I’m finally getting better. What helped is combination of things – going to therapy, reading a number of psychology books (“Feeling good: The new mood therapy” was the most beneficial, actually – life changing), keeping up a healthy lifestyle, meditating daily and…listening to your podcast! Before, I have been heavily focused on the impact of my childhood/ upbringing/ relationships with my parents and others, various past events. When I found out that I’m an INFP, that provided me with a more objective understanding of- and a more forgiving attitude towards myself and others. While past events and traumas are definitely important to be faced, my internal critic is now less harsh knowing the weaknesses and tendencies of mine and others. That also explained why I have such a complicated relationship with my father who is ISTJ.
As for the topic of this podcast, I definitely struggle with time management as an INFP. I find it very hard to get to places on time, overestimate what I can achieve in a given time and so on. I always felt somewhat irritated when traveling with my parents who always wanted to see and do as much as possible during the holiday, while I wanted to really experience/ feel the place without rushing.
Sorry for a long post and thanks again for the brilliant content!
Btw, I should probably mention where I got to learn about you – I was listening to another completely different podcast called “Illustration hour” (by Julia Dufosse) – each of the episodes is an interview with a different graphic designer or illustrator. Your podcast was mentioned by Allison Filice (episode no.1) and the way she presented it really got me interested. So happy about this recommendation.
P.s. sorry for any typos/ broken English, i’m not a native speaker.
This podcast helped me understand my INFJ response to time. It is hard for me to understand how one can pull off an entire Thanksgiving meal, yet a particular guest is an hour late (with the mashed potatoes or whatever) every year. It feels inconsiderate and dismissive. A wise friend asked me if several of the procrastinators in my family were optimists; they are! They tend to overestimate their abilities or underestimate the probability of a snag in the plan. I would be the pessimist who assumes numerous versions of said snag.
I also relate to Charis’s aha moment regarding her quiet reflection vs. the extrovert’s exuberant enjoyment of a beautiful scene. So helpful.
I chuckled at the knocking down a wall before the holidays. I have lived this for 29 years. I have actually been able to use the mess to my advantage. This experience can cover a multitude of sins or dust bunnies and get me out of an unwanted imposition. Take heart singles it is survivable.
As an INFP with a ESFJ mother, this makes so much sense!!! I love y’all’s content, and this podcast especially was very well done. Thank you!!!
I just wanted to leave an anecdote that my sister reminded me of when we were discussing this podcast (which we both loved!). It made us laugh to the point of tears to recall all the times that time has quite literally smacked us in the face.
I’m an INTP and my sister is an ISFP. This last spring we were headed on a 3 week trip to explore London together. It was the day before we were leaving and I had just barely enough time to finish all my left over tasks; do laundry, pack, locate my passport, go to my classes, and take 3 exams I would be missing while we were gone. Needless to say, I was cutting it a little short. That’s when it hit me. In order to graduate everyone needs to take their major fields test. My professor had reminded me over and over that it’s a requirement, but I still hadn’t taken mine – It’s a 2 hr test, a huge chunk of time that I never wanted to commit to. Now it’s March and the test due date is going to pass by while I’m in London! I ran downstairs in hyperdrive trying to get my ass out the door to start completing all my tasks. My sister noticing how stressed I was asked what was wrong. After I unloaded my whole list she asks “when exactly is the majors field test due?” And I responded May (whatever the date was). She started laughing, so I did to. After all, I’m always getting myself into these situations and it has become a running joke. Then she pointed out that it was only March and I had 2 more months once we got back to take the test. I was so detached from time that I was living in the wrong month!
I do not understand how Antonia is so able to capture the experience of ALL the functions – even those she doesn’t use and in positions they are not for her. You articulate everything so precisely, succinctly, and so simply yet without sacrificing any of the depth and nuance and complexity that makes it worth saying and pondering. I am absolutely floored every podcast by this display of Ti, which as an INFP, is just straight up not something I can wield with any effectiveness. I feel like you’ve summed up what I sort of intuitively understood but had not seen in words or ever interfaced with. More deep dives please! Also, I do love Joel’s constant awareness of his listeners and the need to affirm or encourage. Also, my Te can relate so much to his need to take the big picture and then apply it to concrete examples. You guys make an excellent pair for this reason.
Wow this was a brilliant episode.
Another INFP here, married to an ESFJ. This podcast was great! I laughed out loud when Joel gave the example of going to a restaurant and planning ahead of time about how to take care of everyone’s needs. Every time I go through a drive through with my family, I get a small amount of anxiety about making all of those decisions and hearing everyone’s requests and keeping it straight. It’s like my brain shuts down and it’s very challenging. I’d much rather figure everything out ahead of time and just have my wife dictate to me when we’re there. Pretty funny.
Also, I regularly enter a time warp where apparently I’m just stewing in my Fi and don’t realize that time is just slipping by. This might be while I’m washing dishes or doing something else mundane. It doesn’t bother me though. 😀.
My profession is a project manager and structural engineer, so I’ve had to learn processes to manage time. I definitely lay things out sequentially, with the help of my Te, even though it is technically my inferior.
Thanks again for another great podcast to learn about myself and others!
This was a really good one, guys. Thank you. I love the deep dives like this. I listened twice. Once while at work and let it be a chew toy for my brain to keep it occupied while I had to do some menial task work and then later when I could focus on it more to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
I also can’t resist trying to help in clarifying a few things from comments above – FWIW.
Dario Nardi in the book “Neuroscience of Personality” said that, using EEG technology, he noticed that INFPs engage every area of the Neocortex (the thinking part of the brain) when they listen. I don’t think any other type has that focus – especially conversationally.
Scott James, who has been closely associated with PH and (I think) was one of the first people (if not the first person) to complete PH Profiler Training (shameless plug) has a video on YouTube called “John Lennon’s Myers-Briggs Type – INFP or ENFP?” that talks about this (with video examples) of the way INFPs listen.
I won’t link either here, but you can look them up if you’re interested. It might help some of the INFPs commenting above to process and frame some of their difficulties with their frustration surrounding distraction and understanding why they approach conversation and focus differently.
As an ENP, my distract-ability and seeming inability not to mess with the person I’m talking to, riff on something they said and reference a movie quote, song lyric, quote, point out some weird interaction with a couple or group at another table at the restaurant, etc., has been a source of profound irritation to those in conversation with me and led me to do some research in this area.
As to the idea of selfish IPs. Selfish and self-referencing are different animals. IP emotional sympathy by using their own experience to replicate an emotion is self-referencing, but by no means does it automatically make it selfish. Some people may think it is selfish because it usually results in the IP sharing a story from their own life trying to explain that they are relating, but I think a growth opportunity for the IP is in a partial quote from something I saw recently entitled “Notes to Self”. Note 1 of 9 is:
Remember that you can’t control how other people receive your energy. Anything you do gets filtered through the lens of whatever they are going through at the moment, which has nothing to do with you. Just keep doing your thing with as much love and integrity as possible.
By IP, I really mean IFP/INFP.
I needed this podcast and this site in 1984 when I was first typed as an ENTP. My life could have been so much more productive! I finally learned to lean on my other functions, especially my Si. The Si ability to harness the past and categorize it led me to finally making notecards for research papers and it was like a light came on. I started making to do and shopping lists. But I am still motivated almost solely by my Ti devotion to what makes sense and sometimes struggle with remembering to let my Fe take stock of my people. Sometimes I get a look at myself from the outside and see just how unresponsive I can be and really how emotionally tone deaf to other people I can be–okay AM on a regular basis. I’m going to go listen to one of the podcasts on developing my Fe.
I don’t usually comment but this was an outstanding podcast guys, best one you’ve done in a long time, and that is certainly not to take away from any of your other podcasts because they have all been very good but this is next level. It’s genuine new content that I haven’t seen anywhere else and yet it is just so true, all of it. I think it’s just been waiting to be put into words. This was absolutely spot on for every single person that I can think of and how they deal with time and is something that I have felt, or subconsciously understood through my Ni, but never been able to articulate or even really being consciously aware of knowing, and yet every single word just resonated truth. Antonia, you have not only absolutely hit the nail on the head with understanding how it all works, but you’ve somehow also managed to articulate it in a way that is within reach for other people to understand. I’m always in all of your amazing Ti.
One of my absolute favourite podcasts so far guys. It’s not just about reframing existing information about types and functions in a way for people to understand but it’s really new insightful information. I know that you tend to hold back on the really detailed content because you have chosen to create a brand around information that is accessible even to people who are new to typology, which I absolutely respect and is how I was able to build my knowledge up over time. But please don’t hold back on things like this because it’s actually really comprehensive and accurate and I would say a big chunk of your listeners could understand this more than what you would realise. If you are putting the disclaimer at the start that this is maybe an intermediate or advanced level podcast, then you have given listeners the choice to wait until they have a more thorough understanding of function theory while at the same time satisfying a deep craving for more detailed and abstract information that a LOT of your listeners have.
In awe of*
So, I try my best to be on time and be cognizant of time frames and in all honesty.. if it weren’t for my husband, I’d still struggle more with this. I think when fully engaged “inside” I can totally overlook time, as well as clothes that I’ve placed strategically as to not forget them!! and still manage to look right past them. Ugh! I do love my to do list and feel fully accomplished when I complete it but it seems to never end. Also, I have to take into account if I’m giving enough attention to my husband, pets, and myself. I took two different verifiable MBTI tests and I got INFJ and INFP. I feel as though I’m always in the middle of everything, lol. I think one day I may find a balance. Only time will tell -ha!!
Love the abstract deep-dive on this topic! It was very insightful to hear you unpack some of the type-based tensions regarding time and time management, especially when considering it in the context of co-worker or family dynamics at the local level. In previous episodes, you have referenced motivation and tasks/timelines with regard to Future Self, which also resonates. Adding kids into the mix — even as an ENTJ — has required me to recalibrate a lot of personal expectations around time and space. Thanks for another great episode.
Joel and Antonia, this was a great podcast. As an INFP, I have something to contribute about the space aspect of time/space. Please bear with me while I explain the context:
I am visually-impaired and unable to see the car model as it appears on my computer screen. For the last two and a half years, I have simply listened to your description of how it works and created my own mental image of the driver and passengers. Today, however, perhaps for the first time, you summarised the car model in terms of quadrants, referencing the front right-hand quadrant as the driver, and I had a moment of cognitive dissonance that felt as if my brain were having to turn itself inside-out. Surely, I thought, Antonia has made a mistake? Why hasn’t Joel picked it up? Then I realised that I live in a country where cars have right-hand steering, while you live in the US where cars have the steering wheel on the left. In other words, my mental image was the reverse of the one on the PH website even though it was perfectly functional.
Now, the above is just a funny story until you consider it as an example of how the introverted feeling function or Authenticity relates to spacial models. Being visually-impaired, I discount the external world with its actual displays of quadrant diagrams, creating instead an internal image which serves the same purpose. Spatial arrangement is still very much a part of my process of understanding, but it is not the same arrangement as you see. Essentially, I am treating space as an inner resource, something I can manipulate to make sense of things, but which need not resemble what others experience at all.
I never thought of space this way before but it is really quite fascinating. Whereas most people believe space to be an entirely self-evident and commonly-held concept about the world in which we live, it must actually be subject to language and culture, or how else would I have visualised the car model as I did? Space is really very open to rearrangement indeed if you consider the way we picture settings in novels or the faces of presenters on the radio!
With regard to time, I find that my biggest issue as an INFP is that I hate to be interrupted. Whatever I am doing or saying, I like to be able to complete the part I am focused on before I have to yield to someone else’s agenda.
For example, this morning over breakfast I was answering a question my husband had asked. Halfway through, he shifted his attention to our puppy who was licking his ankle. Feeling annoyed, I waited for him to return his attention to what I was trying to say but it was as if he had forgotten all about it.
I lead with Authenticity so I had the conviction that what I was saying needed to be heard. But if I reacted with Authenticity I would have to complain that my husband had disrespected me. My copilot of Exploration couldn’t help because it wanted to ignore the interruption and finish talking, whether he heard me or not, but that would still make me mad. In the end, I resorted to my tertiary Memory function and did what I was raised to do; that is, politely allow my husband’s attention to veer away in the hope that it would return, and when it didn’t, accept that time had moved on.
Thanks for provoking some good avenues for investigation, guys, and thanks Antonia for sharing your flash of insight from the float tank!
And here’s another INFP who gets disoriented by interruptions.
My experience of Fi is that it creates a parallel world, which is just as real to me as the concrete world is to a Te-Dom.
Like Leanne says, these images are constructed within that inner space, just like the creations we see (buildings, people, events, etc.) and the last thing you want is an interruption, which can bring your construction tumbling down like a sandcastle.
Another INFP, resonating with this episode, and trying to figure out how to live with time in a way that feels like less of a struggle. Last week, as we were arriving late (again) to my son’s sports class, and he was complaining to me about how we were always late, I promised him that I would be better, that I would “follow all the Time Rules and not break them”. Because that’s what happens: I plan a timeline, thinking I can contain myself and my children within my plans, and then in the moment, I break all the rules I made, thinking time will somehow stretch, or compact, or everyone and everything will cooperate with my last minute rushing. But shoelaces break, and feelings flare up, and projects happen (and want to keep happening), and dogs want to keep walking longer, and pretty soon all the Time Rules have flown out the window and we’re late. Again.
So, here i am, trying to be committed to following the rules of time this week. Or really, still figuring out what some of those rules even are.
When you mentioned IPs, I was just nodding and grinning, because it was so true for me. And I don’t know if I’ll ever figure out how to wrangle my 3yr old Te into getting my real world 6 year old and 10 year old out the door or to bed “on time”, but maybe my son’s disappointment will give me the conviction I need.
Thanks for another interesting conversation, and…I can’t resist apologizing for writing such a lengthy post (and I have to mention that I wrote this instead of getting my kids to bed earlier, as I had planned this morning…so much for following my Time Rules)!!!
What an intriguing podcast. Thank you. Great timing too as I’ve been thinking recently about my relationship with time. Great to hear how others experience time differently.
I’d love a follow up podcast on the concept of space. I’m an INFJ and I have to concentrate incredibly hard to make my internal compass/GPS work. My ESTJ husband walks new streets in a new city and just knows where he is at all times. It blows my mind – I can be so disoriented. It’s been some growth work that I’ve done to engage with the outside world more including engaging when traveling and turning my GPS on!
Ah yes. As a Ni user I relate heavily to both concepts- the concept of being the god of time and also the concept of being completely disconnected from time.
When I am looking for insight, I get completely disconnected from reality and am totally unable to feel the flow of time happening around me.
I imagine that when you come out of a float tank (or if you’ve done yoga and gotten into a deep meditative state or when you wake up from a very “real feeling” dream, etc.) you experience a moment or two of total disorientation to time and space. It’s that feeling, but on the every day level.
I think knowing that I have that tendency to “drift” easily is why I feel the importance even more so of setting up schedules for myself/anchoring myself to reality in some way.
I do not however feel any rebelliousness towards time, that’s a good insight and a big difference between myself and NPs I know.
I just tend to in every day life easily lose track of time. But that simply ignites in me a desire to keep track of it even more because ultimately my external judging function wants me to accomplish things in the outside world. It’s not enough for me to receive the insight. I need to do something with it.
And here’s another INFP who gets disoriented by interruptions.
My experience of Fi is that it creates a parallel world, which is just as real to me as the concrete world is to a Te-Dom.
Like Leanne says, these images are constructed within that inner space, just like the creations we see (buildings, people, events, etc.) and the last thing you want is an interruption, which can bring your construction tumbling down like a sandcastle.
Excellent Show! I am an INFP, Authenticity user. I really appreciate the brief but dead-on and encouraging description of “Immovable Object transformed into the Unstoppable Force”. When I heard that phrase I simultaneously wanted to laugh AND cry. Hahaa hahahh.
While the understanding and use of “time” with respect to my own life can seem at times like a switch, either all in and pedal to the medal, or turned off with wheels spinning hard going nowhere… THAT IS NOT HOW IT IS IN CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS.
In just about every meaningful conversation I have with others it is natural and easy for me to assess the other person by seeing their values and emotions in the present, what their values and emotions were in the past, and then encourage them into their future. I understand time and use it in a way that gives context to everyone I speak to that goes beyond the initial, idle, introductory chit-chat. I am more “energized” thinking about time IN TERMS OF OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES THAN I AM WITH MY OWN.
I’ve always kind of known that, but just now listening to this podcast re-affirmed it and made it crystal clear. It really is unfathomable to me that anyone can say that introverted perceivers use of it can be selfish. It seems to me that it is the most selfless in its design. Maybe I am an Outlier in this, and maybe also, I am old enough to have made enough mistakes to finally see things this way. I don’t know.
Interesting. Insightful. Life-Giving, as always.
I really like this episode!
Yet I’m somewhat disheartened. As an ISFP you explain my relationship with time very well:
irrellavant resentfull/now
play nice rebellious
Witch ends up with a three year old trying to boss a 10 year old around. Needless to say, i scedual a lot and then do something compleatly different. ADHD scedualing advice seems to be where i need to start from.
Any other advice for us ISFP’s on the “immovable objekt” stage?