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First, INFPs:
Here’s how an unstressed INFP in charge of people will operate: Put everyone to work on just one or two big projects, there’s no hurry or pressure to push those projects through to completion, the INFP enjoys Ne-ing the projects: brainstorming, lots of discussion. So things move slowly, if at all.
By comparison, here is how a stressed-out INFP in charge of people operates: Acts like ESTJ sergeant, starts kicking ass to get lots of projects pushed through quickly, is disgusted with time-wasting Ne-ing and brainstorming--just get the damned thing done! Cut corners if need be, the main thing is to unclog the pipeline and get all these projects finished and move on to the next batch until the backlog is addressed.
Now, ENFPs:
Unstressed ENFP in charge of people: Lots of irons in the fire, enjoying juggling lots of projects simultaneously, no problem about cutting corners or being creative on a project; no harm if things are done a little half-assed; the main thing is to Fi each project and find an essential principle and address that principle above all.
Stressed-out ENFP in charge of people: Turns into an ISTJ super-cop, nit-picking everything and insisting that everything be done “by the book.†All of a sudden the flow of projects slows down, multi-tasking is not allowed, everyone works on a single project and the ENFP boss oversees to make sure every i was dotted and every t was crossed. No more Fi-ing the projects and letting their progress be determined by their essential principle; Fi is just a distraction. Now the focus is on eliminating half-assed, incomplete work; the focus is on oversight and procedure and doing things properly and to completion.
To sum up: The most obvious difference between INFPs and ENFPs (in my personal experience): When unstressed INFP bosses become stressed, projects that were moving slowly through the pipeline suddenly begin moving quickly due to the INFP’s drill-sergeant attitude: just get it done as fast as possible and then move on to the next project. The reverse occurs when unstressed ENFP bosses become stressed: Things that moved quickly suddenly slow down due to the stressed ENFP boss’s hyperfocus on oversight and attention to detail.
When it’s just myself (INFP) alone late at night trying to deal with stress, I sometimes do what Huxley described when stressed. Again, I do it in the same ESTJ spirit as described earlier: I feel like I’ve let personal projects get stacked up, and now it’s time to quit Ne-ing them (stop all the brainstorming/daydreaming) and just start pushing them through the pipeline willy-nilly. Don't worry about the fine points; just get it done and move on to the next one. Just start multi-tasking and cranking out projects like a madman until the backlog is addressed.
As I grow older, OTOH, I’ll handle a period of late-night stress by focusing on just one seemingly intractable problem and trying to cut through all the clutter around it and find some neat organizational principle that will help break the logjam. I’m pretty much up to date on routine projects, so I don’t need to do a lot of multi-tasking and cleaning; nowadays it’s more about tackling a single difficult tangle (a marital conflict or something like that) and trying to slash through it with a single stroke like a Gordian knot, with the emphasis on finding a solid organization principle to use as my blade.
I suppose an ENFP might go through a phase of prioritizing and organizing their life under stress, such as Huxley described above, but I suspect it would emphasize more of an ISTJ hyper-focus on details and doing things by the book, i.e., doing things to completion, as opposed to multi-tasking lots of projects at once and being half-assed about them. (Just guessing here--I don’t know how an ENFP deals with late-night stress when alone.)
Here’s how an unstressed INFP in charge of people will operate: Put everyone to work on just one or two big projects, there’s no hurry or pressure to push those projects through to completion, the INFP enjoys Ne-ing the projects: brainstorming, lots of discussion. So things move slowly, if at all.
By comparison, here is how a stressed-out INFP in charge of people operates: Acts like ESTJ sergeant, starts kicking ass to get lots of projects pushed through quickly, is disgusted with time-wasting Ne-ing and brainstorming--just get the damned thing done! Cut corners if need be, the main thing is to unclog the pipeline and get all these projects finished and move on to the next batch until the backlog is addressed.
Now, ENFPs:
Unstressed ENFP in charge of people: Lots of irons in the fire, enjoying juggling lots of projects simultaneously, no problem about cutting corners or being creative on a project; no harm if things are done a little half-assed; the main thing is to Fi each project and find an essential principle and address that principle above all.
Stressed-out ENFP in charge of people: Turns into an ISTJ super-cop, nit-picking everything and insisting that everything be done “by the book.†All of a sudden the flow of projects slows down, multi-tasking is not allowed, everyone works on a single project and the ENFP boss oversees to make sure every i was dotted and every t was crossed. No more Fi-ing the projects and letting their progress be determined by their essential principle; Fi is just a distraction. Now the focus is on eliminating half-assed, incomplete work; the focus is on oversight and procedure and doing things properly and to completion.
To sum up: The most obvious difference between INFPs and ENFPs (in my personal experience): When unstressed INFP bosses become stressed, projects that were moving slowly through the pipeline suddenly begin moving quickly due to the INFP’s drill-sergeant attitude: just get it done as fast as possible and then move on to the next project. The reverse occurs when unstressed ENFP bosses become stressed: Things that moved quickly suddenly slow down due to the stressed ENFP boss’s hyperfocus on oversight and attention to detail.
[...] when things get really stressful (as they have been lately) I can't sleep. My mind goes ape-shit over all the things I need to do. All my unfinished projects. Where is my direction? How do I decide what priorities have greater weight? Etc. THe only relief that I find is when I get out of my mind and start doing shit. This usually involves staying up late to clean, organize, do laundry, prepare for things I wont have time to do later in the week. I make charts and lists of how many hours I'm going to work, what my paychecks should be, what bills will be paid off, what days I will do certain chores, my goals, what days I plan to meet up with friends I've pushed off for too long, (Do I stick to these things, not always.) Sleep when I die becomes my motto.
When it’s just myself (INFP) alone late at night trying to deal with stress, I sometimes do what Huxley described when stressed. Again, I do it in the same ESTJ spirit as described earlier: I feel like I’ve let personal projects get stacked up, and now it’s time to quit Ne-ing them (stop all the brainstorming/daydreaming) and just start pushing them through the pipeline willy-nilly. Don't worry about the fine points; just get it done and move on to the next one. Just start multi-tasking and cranking out projects like a madman until the backlog is addressed.
As I grow older, OTOH, I’ll handle a period of late-night stress by focusing on just one seemingly intractable problem and trying to cut through all the clutter around it and find some neat organizational principle that will help break the logjam. I’m pretty much up to date on routine projects, so I don’t need to do a lot of multi-tasking and cleaning; nowadays it’s more about tackling a single difficult tangle (a marital conflict or something like that) and trying to slash through it with a single stroke like a Gordian knot, with the emphasis on finding a solid organization principle to use as my blade.
I suppose an ENFP might go through a phase of prioritizing and organizing their life under stress, such as Huxley described above, but I suspect it would emphasize more of an ISTJ hyper-focus on details and doing things by the book, i.e., doing things to completion, as opposed to multi-tasking lots of projects at once and being half-assed about them. (Just guessing here--I don’t know how an ENFP deals with late-night stress when alone.)