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[Jungian Cognitive Functions] how to be more productive and consistent; building mental stamina?

Rebe

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Nov 15, 2009
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positive interactions with the external environment usually gives me a good amount of energy and optimism to make plans for the present and the future. and do some of the work to carry them out. but little things are exhausting to me, doesn't even matter what they are, the fact is they are nowhere near important enough to be influential on me. but it completely exhausts me to the point where i need a whole day of being in a comatose state to recover. or maybe that's a delusion, a bad habit.

i make plans but it takes me a lot longer to carry them out because i get sidetracked. when my emotions are high, i can do anything, get anything done. when my emotions are low, i don't do anything. it's a bad, bad pattern. to me what can be done today can always be done tomorrow. :doh: i know i have the energy if i really want it. i know i do. i have flipped my day around to do something i want even when i had worked 16 hrs straight but if i don't want to, i can't be bulged to move a finger.

i need to be more consistent and when i make a plan, i need to stick with it. it's like trying to control the weather; i never know if it's going to be sunny or rainy tomorrow. i love it when i am 'high', i see possibilities and options everywhere and i am making things happen. i would like to sustain that high for more than a few hours each day.

similar problems, anyone?
 

Vamp

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YES. Still working on it. I consider it a huge test or battle to be won. I also find that visual symbology of what getting stuff done means to you helps. Another thing that helps me is physicality. I can't afford the things I want but I can exercise by myself. That seems to propel me. Not only by giving me more energy and making the other things seem easier but also by encouraging me to get the mundane things out of the way first. A rewards system works great.

I have to endure and push forward.
 

Rebe

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YES. Still working on it. I consider it a huge test or battle to be won. I also find that visual symbology of what getting stuff done means to you helps. Another thing that helps me is physicality. I can't afford the things I want but I can exercise by myself. That seems to propel me. Not only by giving me more energy and making the other things seem easier but also by encouraging me to get the mundane things out of the way first. A rewards system works great.

I have to endure and push forward.

Thanks for replying. No one else?!! :huh:
 

Arclight

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I read very recently that indecision is the mother or the P function.

If you are indecisive because you want to make absolutely sure about something before committing , you are probably a healthy P

If you are indecisive for unhealthy reasons.. like me.. it could mean you are actually a J with issues. Like not making a commitment because you are insecure about your own ability to chose correctly.

There is going with the flow or swimming against the flow.. And then, there is not even jumping in the water.
 

gromit

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I guess part of me has accepted being mediocre at most things. Most of it is not a big deal. And what matters is if I’m happy or if I’m harming others, right?
 

KDude

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We need to think very hard on what's important F wise first. Find who we really are.. Be slightly "Ji", and not divert oneself with every P factor that comes along. That's how you energize yourself, and not let N, details, comfort, other people, or mood get too much in the way. Our sense of productivity doesn't come about in a Te way, but in Fi, in a strong identification towards something. It can't be rushed either though ;)

Also, what Vamp said makes sense. Exercise, nutrition, etc.. We are what we eat. I'm sure it makes a difference and I'm working on that myself.
 

alcea rosea

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positive interactions with the external environment usually gives me a good amount of energy and optimism to make plans for the present and the future. and do some of the work to carry them out. but little things are exhausting to me, doesn't even matter what they are, the fact is they are nowhere near important enough to be influential on me. but it completely exhausts me to the point where i need a whole day of being in a comatose state to recover. or maybe that's a delusion, a bad habit.

i make plans but it takes me a lot longer to carry them out because i get sidetracked. when my emotions are high, i can do anything, get anything done. when my emotions are low, i don't do anything. it's a bad, bad pattern. to me what can be done today can always be done tomorrow. :doh: i know i have the energy if i really want it. i know i do. i have flipped my day around to do something i want even when i had worked 16 hrs straight but if i don't want to, i can't be bulged to move a finger.

i need to be more consistent and when i make a plan, i need to stick with it. it's like trying to control the weather; i never know if it's going to be sunny or rainy tomorrow. i love it when i am 'high', i see possibilities and options everywhere and i am making things happen. i would like to sustain that high for more than a few hours each day.

similar problems, anyone?

I've had a life long project with organizing (I was the messiest child on this planet) but making things happen isn't a problem for me. I would suggest you work on your extroverted thinking (organizing, planning, categorizing, prioritizing) as well as your extroverted sensing (acting, doing, enjoying, moving and such). It'll be difficult if it is not familar and a life long project (organizing is that for me too) but slowly things could change to a little bit and you could deal with this better.
 

angell_m

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it's much better to just give up. not to be confused with giving in.
 

skylights

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We need to think very hard on what's important F wise first. Find who we really are.. Be slightly "Ji", and not divert oneself with every P factor that comes along. That's how you energize yourself, and not let N, details, comfort, other people, or mood get too much in the way. Our sense of productivity doesn't come about in a Te way, but in Fi, in a strong identification towards something. It can't be rushed either though ;)

Also, what Vamp said makes sense. Exercise, nutrition, etc.. We are what we eat. I'm sure it makes a difference and I'm working on that myself.

this is exactly the opposite for me (besides exercise and nutrition of course!) :)

i suspect it has to do with Ne dom. i energize with N stuff, just have to check in with Fi occasionally or i get out of hand. Te is my productivity. i am a compulsive planner and will plan things out... i just won't do it...

anyway, yes Rebe, i get the same thing sometimes. i am a powerhouse if i am motivated ("you can sleep when you're dead!"), but if i'm in an emotional funk, then there's not much of a chance i'll be productive.

i have particular trouble with needing external motivation (screw what common psychology says about needing to be internally motivated, i need external motivation, i am simply too ExxP - that external motivation just has to match my inner desires). having an encouraging friend around is great, and stuff like schedules, calendars, checklists, even fun pens and brightly-colored paperclips, etc... little Te motivational tools really help me. also trying to figure out what i can be excited about within an otherwise boring task can really help.

right now i'm facing the problem, like 15% of my entire country's population, of unemployment (well technically i'm a self-employed freelancer, but i'd like a more consistent paycheck) - and it's hard to get out of this funk. there aren't many jobs that seem up to my standards (obviously i need to get over this), and i also don't want to spend much of my money, so i've kind of been not doing much lately, which makes me more lethargic about everything in general. i'm weird, if i get excited and productive in one area, it usually extends out to everything else - like, the more busy i am, the more productive i am - but if not, i'm just lazy all across the board. and that blows, because i feel like i'm turning into a zombie. brainnnnnnnnsssssss
 

Vamp

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this is exactly the opposite for me (besides exercise and nutrition of course!) :)

i suspect it has to do with Ne dom. i energize with N stuff, just have to check in with Fi occasionally or i get out of hand. Te is my productivity. i am a compulsive planner and will plan things out... i just won't do it...

anyway, yes Rebe, i get the same thing sometimes. i am a powerhouse if i am motivated ("you can sleep when you're dead!"), but if i'm in an emotional funk, then there's not much of a chance i'll be productive.

i have particular trouble with needing external motivation (screw what common psychology says about needing to be internally motivated, i need external motivation, i am simply too ExxP - that external motivation just has to match my inner desires). having an encouraging friend around is great, and stuff like schedules, calendars, checklists, even fun pens and brightly-colored paperclips, etc... little Te motivational tools really help me. also trying to figure out what i can be excited about within an otherwise boring task can really help.

right now i'm facing the problem, like 15% of my entire country's population, of unemployment (well technically i'm a self-employed freelancer, but i'd like a more consistent paycheck) - and it's hard to get out of this funk. there aren't many jobs that seem up to my standards (obviously i need to get over this), and i also don't want to spend much of my money, so i've kind of been not doing much lately, which makes me more lethargic about everything in general. i'm weird, if i get excited and productive in one area, it usually extends out to everything else - like, the more busy i am, the more productive i am - but if not, i'm just lazy all across the board. and that blows, because i feel like i'm turning into a zombie. brainnnnnnnnsssssss

This is me. Total identity. I need external feedback or I just feel like I'm spinning my wheels and I quickly become demotivated and overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness if I am also in an emotional low point.
I am also unemployed right now. Money's always been tight and I haven't had any consistent diversions I'd like well. ...ever. That just takes the legs right out from under me. I need to find a way to get around that because it's tanking me.
I am also a compulsive planner. No one would ever guess I am ENFP by seeing the amount of "planning notebooks" stacked up in my room.
 

Rebe

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We need to think very hard on what's important F wise first. Find who we really are.. Be slightly "Ji", and not divert oneself with every P factor that comes along. That's how you energize yourself, and not let N, details, comfort, other people, or mood get too much in the way. Our sense of productivity doesn't come about in a Te way, but in Fi, in a strong identification towards something. It can't be rushed either though ;)

Also, what Vamp said makes sense. Exercise, nutrition, etc.. We are what we eat. I'm sure it makes a difference and I'm working on that myself.

Excellent point there! Yes, Fi inspires me the most and pushes me the most. Everything else is just bleh.
 

ItsAGuy

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positive interactions with the external environment usually gives me a good amount of energy and optimism to make plans for the present and the future. and do some of the work to carry them out. but little things are exhausting to me, doesn't even matter what they are, the fact is they are nowhere near important enough to be influential on me. but it completely exhausts me to the point where i need a whole day of being in a comatose state to recover. or maybe that's a delusion, a bad habit.

i make plans but it takes me a lot longer to carry them out because i get sidetracked. when my emotions are high, i can do anything, get anything done. when my emotions are low, i don't do anything. it's a bad, bad pattern. to me what can be done today can always be done tomorrow. :doh: i know i have the energy if i really want it. i know i do. i have flipped my day around to do something i want even when i had worked 16 hrs straight but if i don't want to, i can't be bulged to move a finger.

i need to be more consistent and when i make a plan, i need to stick with it. it's like trying to control the weather; i never know if it's going to be sunny or rainy tomorrow. i love it when i am 'high', i see possibilities and options everywhere and i am making things happen. i would like to sustain that high for more than a few hours each day.

similar problems, anyone?

Do you also find that the lower you are, the less capable you are of doing anything that might carry you higher? I'm suffering from what you describe and what I describe rather intensely lately...
 

Qlip

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Getting to know your personal (lack of) work habits is important. Once you know them you do can do things to trick yourself into being more productive. After a day at 'work' my personal projects can suffer because I can all too easily do absolutely nothing all evening. But If I tell myself I'm just going to do something for 30mins, that turns into 2 hours once I get moving.

Also, as mentioned above, health and food, and sleep, especially having adequate sleep is important on being able to be consistent. Also making allowances for the time you actually need to slack is important as well.
 

ItsAGuy

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I found that it helps to give myself artificial deadlines, too... when I wrote the first draft of my novel, I did it over 5 months by having deadlines that I'd publish each 'episode' of the content on the 21st of each month. And... I did! After I stopped the deadlines, the work ethic died off.
 
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