planning ahead

I plan ahead a lot, always jotting down things on notepads or sticky notes.
I did notice I usually plan for the future, not really putting a time limit on it. It is mostly things that will make me a more rounded individual.
A habit I developed is writing down my thoughts as they come when I feel they are important, they are usually a word to a sentence in length, on a newly created text document. This document gets tossed in a folder that is named for example 'Summer 2012'.
I usually take forever to organize all these scribbles, they writing down is more important then the organizing.
 
Ame said:
How do you think about or handle planning ahead?

I know this is a J thing. But as an INFP, when I learned organization skills and learning to work with a schedule and meet deadlines I felt more productive and effective. However, it stresses me out. Planning ahead helps but sometimes, always having to plan ahead tires me out. Sometimes, I just want to focus on one task at a time and be in the moment.

So, how about you?
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When my schedule was more hectic than it is now, I got a medium sized agenda and wrote down my schedule for the year. What was helpful to me was to highlight things that for sure had to be accomplished that day, and leave the unhighlighted ones as more "flexible." It was a nice compromise, and the writing/changeable aspect of it was nice for an INFP, if I do say so myself.

The other thing I would recommend if you want to go software wise is outlook; great program. But ultimately it wasn't for me; having something on the go and being able to write things down on the fly was a better fit. Still, I think outlook calendar is probably one of the best programs if not the best.
 
If you're talking about work deadlines, I usually "sand-bagged" my boss by telling him I would need 3 times as much time as I think I'll need for a task. He objected, but I told him that allowing more time is wise and that telling him that I can complete a task within one hour when in fact, certain issues may extend the task duration to three hours would just be a stupid impractical lie, and he shut the hell up.

What works for me---since I'm becoming INFP lately---is to write down the task, deadline, and intermediate deadlines on paper, so it's etched in my subconscious. Then, I put all the lesser priorities out of my mind.

Usually, I set alarm reminders on my phone for important tasks.
 
Detailed planning is not my favorite thing to do (it draws a lot of amperage), but it is almost always preferable to the alternative. Starting and finishing well ahead of deadlines helps to maintain internal balance and satisfaction. It can be fun if the interest level is high enough.

Simple day-to-day planning; iPhone calendar and reminders, and sometimes an index card in my pocket for immediate items.
 
I've always planned out mentally, in my head (which has annoyed a couple of my ENFJ teachers). I also don't like to plan out details (sooo mundane). Sometimes I might not plan at all, just enjoying the moment, and usually I do this for free time. BTW, do INFJs ever feel compelled to plan out their free time or do they just have a "go with the flow" mentality?
 
I'm good at creating very detailed plans. Following those plans is another story. My entire family and neighbourhood was filled SPs, growing up, and eventually I lost the ability to formulate a strategic layout , set numerous contingencies and adhere to a structured timeline. Or put another way; I became very very lazy.
 
Thinkist said:
I've always planned out mentally, in my head (which has annoyed a couple of my ENFJ teachers). I also don't like to plan out details (sooo mundane). Sometimes I might not plan at all, just enjoying the moment, and usually I do this for free time. BTW, do INFJs ever feel compelled to plan out their free time or do they just have a "go with the flow" mentality?
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What are you talking about? ISTP's don't play, they improvise! :D

Jacob said:
I'm good at creating very detailed plans. Following those plans is another story. My entire family and neighbourhood was filled SPs, growing up, and eventually I lost the ability to formulate a strategic layout , set numerous contingencies and adhere to a structured timeline. Or put another way; I became very very lazy.
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Hmm, see, I can plan....but I'm terrible with time management....maybe that's not right....I can design ways of doing things but they don't often have good adherence to time. Though saying that the more things I have to do and are doing the better my time management is but then in that case I loose my ability to design solutions...I guess it's a bit of a trade off between making the perfect design for a solution and managing my time with activities and tasks. In either case I'll hit a limit to how much I can think ahead...maybe I should do that in the future, design as much as I can till I start to find it difficult and then break it into tasks and use time management to design and create my next day of activities.

....guess I should've been doing that from the start huh.....even typing it out now it sounds like the way I've had to do every single big project, why I haven't done this for myself each day is beyond me.
 
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DimensionX said:
What are you talking about? ISTP's don't play, they improvise! :D
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I remember going hiking up a mountain with an ISTP, when we got to a gap in the trail, his way of improvising was to jump over it. So often did i think I was going to die that day, ah good times.
 
DimensionX said:
What are you talking about? ISTP's don't play, they improvise! :D
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We don't play? What do you mean?

And again, do INFJs ever feel compelled to plan out their free time or do they just have a "go with the flow" mentality?
 
I meant plan not play, posting by phone has drawbacks :p
 
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