How long could you sit and enter numbers in a database before u NEED to take a break?

[Phantonym]

I've done this kind of database entry work before for a while. Absolutely loved it, so I voted for 6+ hours. I think I once did it for like 14 hours straight and seriously, without a break. Hm, but I was also 10 years younger. I wouldn't probably do that much again voluntarily for a lifetime since I happen to like having a humpless back and avoiding getting all sorts of nasty conditions due to this kind of restricted movement work in the long run sounds like a good idea. But the work itself wasn't boring at all for me, after a while the number crunching just becomes automatic and once you're in the zone, it's like everything clicks and you totally kick ass at multitasking and keeping an eye on everything that's going on super fast. Whatever is going on with the body and what it needs, that's just something in the background until it gets really, really bad. Carpal tunnel syndrome sucks though, I would imagine.

 

[Noon]

Si dom?:/

I don't see the relevance. It's tedious and mind-numbingly boring to me. Few people enjoy being bored.

 

[skylights]

crap, we're talking hours?

hahahaha. i was like hm... 15 minutes maybe...

i'm not really convinced this issue has much to do with N/S though

 

[Lady_X]

i put an hour because i could make myself do that but truthfully in about 30 min i'd be pretty restless.

 

[Synapse]

Hours is much too much, I notice my fingers start getting sweaty and I need to crack my knuckles or at least shake my fingers from the extra wrist action.

 

[Chloe]

I don't see the relevance. It's tedious and mind-numbingly boring to me. Few people enjoy being bored.

You are aware that some people do this with ease for their job their whole life?

It is NOT about being BORED it is about going/not going nuts!

Example my aunt, I believe she is ESFP, she is working in chair factory and putting always the same piece of chair together, and then the next one etc.
She has easier time doing it than I would about 1000x. I am pretty sure she hates her job and can think of 200000 more interesting things to do - but she does it easier than I would. I have trouble reading food recepies, ingredients, it makes me overwhelmed with details, so I know to do maybe 5 meals.
My mom is an ISTJ and accountant; she does this numbers entering whole day and its fun for her. Like for many Si. Many people are working in government departments and have siimilar repetitive job like OP and dont go nuts within 30 minutes, most ot them are S. When I was in med school we were counting blood cells under microscope and I went nuts in 10seconds while many other SJs could do it for few hours.
Dealing with details is easier for Ss; its not matter of having fun, its matter of how nuts you will go while doing it!!!! I am not saying Ss are having fun with this but you can notice its so much easier to them.


So yes of course its relevant - I didnt even invent this question. Its official quesion used by MBTI "experts" when they try to determine S/N letter.
I wanted to test it.
I was told that N's answers are "0-2 hours maximum" and they use it to "confirm N diagnosis" ...



but noooooo typoC experts know its irrelevant so it must be!

 

[rav3n]

Anything over 1/2 hour would make me crazy. In the past, I've helped staff enter data for short periods of time to meet deadlines. The only thing that made it tolerable was to set up a competition between everyone with the winner receiving a prize and the loser, forced to work OT with the deliberately leftover amount.

 

[Savage Idealist]

As boring as a task like that would be I could manage several hours of doing it, I mean I did complete high school and it's virtually the same thing. Granted all I would need to do is simply concentrate on the matter at hand until I stop becoming aware of my environment and focus only on entering numbers. But yeah, the only thing stoping me from entering number for beyond six hours or more is the physical limitations of my bladder.

 

[KDude]

It doesn't help that I smoke. I wonder what kind of upstanding, hardworking citizen I could become without that.

 

[Noon]

You are aware that some people do this with ease for their job their whole life?

I am aware. I'm not one of them.

It is NOT about being BORED it is about going/not going nuts!

Aside from the fact that I'm not a fan of numbers, performing tediously repetitive tasks with no favorable end = mind-numbing boredom = nuts, followed by strong resistance. That doesn't make me less of an SJ.

Example my aunt, I believe she is ESFP, she is working in chair factory and putting always the same piece of chair together, and then the next one etc.
She has easier time doing it than I would about 1000x. I am pretty sure she hates her job and can think of 200000 more interesting things to do - but she does it easier than I would. I have trouble reading food recepies, ingredients, it makes me overwhelmed with details, so I know to do maybe 5 meals.
My mom is an ISTJ and accountant; she does this numbers entering whole day and its fun for her. Like for many Si. Many people are working in government departments and have siimilar repetitive job like OP and dont go nuts within 30 minutes, most ot them are S. When I was in med school we were counting blood cells under microscope and I went nuts in 10seconds while many other SJs could do it for few hours.

My guess would be that it's Te, which as an ISFJ, I don't prefer. In any case, I can't say I place much value upon what works for several other Ss. I only know what works for me, and my experience stands; different strokes for different folks.

Dealing eith details is easier for Ss; its not matter of having fun, its matter of how nuts you will go while doing it!!!! I am not saying Ss go nuts with this bu you can notice its so much easier to them.

See above; I only know what works for me. What you're describing isn't simply a matter of preference for detail. You're ignoring several other factors that aren't directly related to S or N: focus, perseverance, patience, preference for numbers, individual motivators, the list goes on. There are a number of highly detail-specific tasks that won't drive me nuts like this one undoubtedly would.

So yes of course its relevant - I didnt even invent this question. Its official quesion used by MBTI "expert" when they try to determine S/N letter.
I wanted to test it.
I was told that N's answers are "2 hours maximum" and they use it to "confirm N diagnosis" ...

They should work on refining that
I frankly find it ridiculous. MBTI "experts" could agree that color preference was relevant to type and I still wouldn't agree just because it has their stamp.

but noooooo typoC experts know its irrelevant so it must be!

Oh, God. My not seeing the relevance doesn't absolutely invalidate the possibility that it is. Like I've said several times over, I only know what works for me. For me it isn't relevant so I don't much care.

 

[Chloe]

Noon - are you 100% sure you are an S ?

See above; I only know what works for me. What you're describing isn't simply a matter of preference for detail. You're ignoring several other factors that aren't directly related to S or N: focus, perseverance, patience, preference for numbers, individual motivators, the list goes on. There are a number of highly detail-specific tasks that won't drive me nuts like this one undoubtedly would.

so would putting WORDS in a database e easier for you?

about individual motivation - irrelevant completely. Question isnt would you enjoy doing it, it's how nuts would you go, because you cant control your natural preference. Assuming that nobody is very motivated to do it. Patience is kinda covered by question, overlaps. Focus on details too.

from what you said it turns out you answered more from the perspective that you wouldnt prefer to do it, you'd be bored etc. -but that IS irrelevant. It's relevant could you do it.

My guess would be that it's Te, which as an ISFJ, I don't prefer. In any case, I can't say I place much value upon what works for several other Ss. I only know what works for me, and my experience stands; different strokes for different folks.

i have ISFJ friend that is doing similar job, and didnt go nuts. She doesnt LOVE it but its totally different approach than I could have. She is okay with it.

They should work on refining that
I frankly find it ridiculous. MBTI "experts" could agree that color preference was relevant to type and I still wouldn't agree just because it has their stamp.

colour preference is silly example. they dont associate STJs with accounting job for nothing. and this typing method works. it's not that people mistype because of this.

Oh, God. My not seeing the relevance doesn't absolutely invalidate the possibility that it is. Like I've said several times over, I only know what works for me. For me it isn't relevant so I don't much care.

really wasnt talking about you! in general. really. (but it was in the end of my post so...)

 

[Chloe]

I watched so many Si dom girls do this with ease. They will say later that it was boring, uninteresting, will avoid doing it again etc... but while they are doing it, they are doing it much more naturally, without anxiety. I am turning around myself, become really anxious, they are more relaxed like they know it will be over eventually.... simply they can tolerate it for much longer.

 

[Noon]

Noon - are you 100% sure you are an S ?

I have a high preference for Feeling and Sensing.

so would putting WORDS in a database e easier for you?

I would have a much easier time, but I would still need frequent breaks. I would probably make too many careless mistakes with the numbers.

I don't have a problem with detail, but all detail isn't the same for me. Things like using scantron sheets, going over math work to check for accuracy, remembering specific dates, even reading a science or English grammar textbook... all not very good for me [though I can persevere with grammar more]. But I don't mind things like correcting spelling & grammar or reading recipes & ingredients, especially if with photographs. I easily recall audio-visual information in both gist and vivid detail.

i have ISFJ friend that is doing similar job, and didnt go nuts. She doesnt LOVE it but its totally different approach than I could have. She is okay with it.

Not me.

I could do the words thing maybe, but only if I didn't have to do it every single day, for hours each day.

 

[skylights]

So yes of course its relevant - I didnt even invent this question. Its official quesion used by MBTI "experts" when they try to determine S/N letter.
I wanted to test it.
I was told that N's answers are "0-2 hours maximum" and they use it to "confirm N diagnosis" ...



but noooooo typoC experts know its irrelevant so it must be!

i dunno though petra, do you really see this playing out in life?

my mom's an ESFJ and while she has much better detail attention and memory than me, i don't think she would do very well at this either. she asks me to type up her work reports while she dictates sometimes, and i'm cool with it. you'd think we'd be exactly the opposite, given the Ne/Si stereotypes. my grandma is an ISFJ and she had a job as a secretary typing up dictated letters, and she kicked everyone's ass at typing, so that would be more along the lines of this question, but i don't know if she would be very happy about entering numbers in a database if they didn't really have any meaning to her. she's very much a people person (though an introvert) and, knowing her, i don't think she'd be interested unless she knew it served a humanistic purpose. the Se doms i know aren't always particularly patient either.

i'm not trying to argue against the validity of the MBTI system, but i have to agree with Noon that if the experts said that type correlated with something like color preference (which, who knows, it may), i would still be disinclined to use it as a basis for judgment. i just think there are so many confounders to the variables that it makes them hard questions to base judgment on. it's not that in general, it may not correlate, but it's not really a sound dividing line, either, because many S and Ns will fall to the opposite ends of where they are "supposed" to on the spectrum. i know this is true for many quiz questions, and can't be avoided to some extent, but i'd prefer questions that are more specifically tailored to theory.

 

[Chloe]

i dunno though petra, do you really see this playing out in life?

my mom's an ESFJ and while she has much better detail attention and memory than me, i don't think she would do very well at this either. she asks me to type up her work reports while she dictates sometimes, and i'm cool with it. you'd think we'd be exactly the opposite, given the Ne/Si stereotypes. my grandma is an ISFJ and she had a job as a secretary typing up dictated letters, and she kicked everyone's ass at typing, so that would be more along the lines of this question, but i don't know if she would be very happy about entering numbers in a database if they didn't really have any meaning to her. she's very much a people person (though an introvert) and, knowing her, i don't think she'd be interested unless she knew it served a humanistic purpose. the Se doms i know aren't always particularly patient either.

I dont see where we disagree, I never said your grandmom would be happy to enter numbers, see a meaning in it, interested... and you said yourself she was good at this... so ... this is exactly what i am saying.
Also being patient is something unrelated to this, you can put it aside. when assessing this.

i'm not trying to argue against the validity of the MBTI system, but i have to agree with Noon that if the experts said that type correlated with something like color preference (which, who knows, it may), i would still be disinclined to use it as a basis for judgment. i just think there are so many confounders to the variables that it makes them hard questions to base judgment on. it's not that in general, it may not correlate, but it's not really a sound dividing line, either, because many S and Ns will fall to the opposite ends of where they are "supposed" to on the spectrum. i know this is true for many quiz questions, and can't be avoided to some extent, but i'd prefer questions that are more specifically tailored to theory.

It is used in oral type assessment, exactly because of people who think they will fall in line, because they misinterpret the question. Like you have in your grandmom's example. and some other in topic. I am not saying its the only criteria, but i think it's quite good if people would like to put likes/dislikes aside. Point is that if you and your grandmom both hated the numbers you are entering, she'd do it much easier, right ?!
ANd about the underlined - the example is simply horrible. Who cares what color someone likes, this is not about liking anything.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

If there is a deadline approaching.

I'll do it til it's done.

 

[Chloe]

If there is a deadline approaching.

I'll do it til it's done.

Me too, but that doesnt count. Because you'd be exhausted in the end, right ?

 

[Saslou]

I can go several hours without a break, not a problem. Numerical data is easy to input.

In the bank the longest the team went was almost 11 hours (that was a bad day, lol) and we took a 10 min lunch break which was literally run downstairs, smoke very fast and back to work. We got a member of staff to get us all lunch and we just got on with it .. i got sciatica from that as to save time getting out of my chair to get another report, i leaned across the table everytime .. My bad.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I've studied 11 hrs strait without a break.

That's my longest.

 

[Chloe]

I studied 16 hours, sleeping 8, and then again, every day, for 40 days