I just read this entire thread, hoping to get some hints for my own predicament. I am still unsure whether I am INTJ or INTP.
Can I ask your opinion?
I'm not exactly sure which details are most helpful in discerning P/J dominance, but here are some:
I have always been a pretty "bad" student, in the sense that I am extremely undisciplined. I don't think I have ever done an essay or studied for a test more than one day in advance. I don't have too much trouble with missing classes. I began my delinquent career in elementary school and it has continued into college, except now that I'm older I have gotten more skilled at making myself do things. Even with my lack of discipline I have done okay in school, because I am very good at figuring out the right answer, and I test very well. I can learn things quickly. At various times in my youth I was placed in gifted programs, but I didn't want to have to do all the "stupid" work that teachers assigned, because I felt it was unnecessary. There were times that I would simply refuse to do an assignment. I would study other academic topics while in class. For instance, studying astronomy, for fun, while not paying attention in english class. I always wished my mom would homeschool me, by way of letting me learn things in my own way, on my own time, and by myself.
I am often frustrated that I am doing things that everyone else is doing. I am interested in almost everything, but nothing can hold my attention enough to make me commit to it. I have a very hard time committing to anything, and hate having a job for that reason. Having my time occupied with things I don't want to do really makes me anxious and I feel best when I feel like I have nothing to get done and have the freedom to do whatever I want, even if it's unproductive. I dislike anything that requires a lot of practice, like learning an instrument. I want to pick up an instrument and make a song. I do not want to play it and sound like crap for years before ever getting rewarded. I am extremely impatient.
However, when I am working and at home, I am extremely efficient about many things. I can quickly see what is the most efficient way of completing a project or getting anything done. I am very methodical in my thoughts and approach. I get irritated with other people who don't seem to grasp things immediately or who do things incorrectly/inefficiently. I very much enjoy planning things and while I don't necessarily have a problem with spontaneity, I tend to plan things.