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[INFJ] INFJs... scatterbrained?

rhinosaur

Just a statistic
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
1,464
MBTI Type
INTP
I will think to myself, "okay, I need to do this and this and this before I go out... I should do them in this order so that I don't have to wander around the whole damn house again." But then I always forget what I'm doing, and will do them out of order, so by the time I'm ready, I've wandered around the house five times before I get out the door.
 

entropie

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
16,767
MBTI Type
entp
Enneagram
783
Maybe it would be helpful to start making lists or ease a bit on that planning thing xD
 

iwakar

crush the fences
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
4,877
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
And I lose a lot of stuff like cell phones, misplace my wallet + car keys, leave books behind etc. You guys have these same issues too?

MOTHER OF PEARL is that ever me. Makes those nearest and dearest to me exasperated beyond belief... but not near as exasperated as I get with myself.
 

littledarling

New member
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
78
MBTI Type
INFJ
I am very scatterbrained at times, but I am also a very responsible person. I always make sure to take care of the big stuff, like paying bills and getting to work exactly on time. But I do A LOT of silly scatterbrainy stuff. The other night I drove a couple of my friends and I to a restaurant, parked, then we all got out and I started walking towards the restuarant. It was my best friend (an ENFP) who was the one to point out that I had left the car running! Everyone had a good laugh about that one.
 

sophiedoph

New member
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
94
MBTI Type
INFJ
Yes! I am usually contemplating the social activity of lizards outside my office window, the petal of the orchid in my desk vase, or the social injustice of some local (or state) government's new law which screws the impoverished.

My boss is ISTJ--to the extreme. I love ISTJs in general, but I'm experiencing death by paperwork and nitpicking with her. She thinks I'm scatterbrained, abstract, and too empathetic. I think she's missing the forest for the trees, obsessive over unimportant details, and overly/pointlessly argumentative. LOL!
 

dissolved girl

New member
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Messages
19
MBTI Type
infx
Typical examples:

Went swimming wearing eye makeup.. didn't have any remover so decided to avoid getting my face wet for the hour. Succeeded only to get out and shower my face and give myself panda eyes.

Making breakfast: put kettle on for cup of tea, poured breakfast cereal into bowl, got out milk .... poured boiling water onto cereal... Tried eating it but it's really not very tasty...I don't recommend it...

I need lists, and I need to always write down and calculate how much time I need if i#m going somewhere to great detail. My lists become chaos and I lose them or write a new one forgetting about the old one or they don't make sense to me.

Being so scatty makes me pretty anxious ahh! I always think I'll forget something or other. Learning to drive is a battle. After 20 lessons you start to worry when the instructor uses the word 'clutch' and it takes you 5 seconds to remember what that actually is... which is a bit late really when you're in busy traffic....uh... no accidents..yet...
 

Motor Jax

New member
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
104
MBTI Type
INFJ
ok, ok... so i've forgotten a few things here and there...

like i'll make plans to grab some lunch on my way to work, only to get there and realize that i had left my cash back at the house that i was going to bring with me...
 

Martian Manifesto

New member
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
180
MBTI Type
INFJ
Forgetful

I don't know about other INFJs but I have very different "modes" for operating...I know that all types do this to some extent and all types have various drives they work with...however, in my experience with many INFJs, the INFJs tend to be very accentuated this way...

Being watched / "I'm on"
- this is super agent mode and I am very, very, very, very "on"...I forget nothing and I am extremely intolerant of those who do...this is my "move fast, hit hard" mode...this is very taxing and I only use it for breif periods...so I often go into this mode "before leaving"...and again "upon returning to the lair"...this has become a habit over the years...I also can go into this mode instantly when needed...but it is EXPENSIVE for me internally...

In the presence of spiffy Ns / "engaged"
- when this happens I can "surf" the energy of the people...this gives me much more energy and I can stay "out" for much longer....when this happens I gain power but I lose control correspondingly...my attention to details is limited mainly to the peeps I am focused on...and many of these details will start to become abstract the more into the person I am...usually I don't appear/feel scatter-brained...just very "into the conversation/moment"....I do tend to shave lots of corners in this mode...both physical and social...but it is usually seen as charming and a strength...however, I can't do even this for too long...longer than the sensing but not "long"

Incongruencies / "podering"
- when there are incongruencies between whatever Ni framework I left the lair with and what is happening in the field (Fe & Se)...then I ponder this with my Ti...I have learned that i SHOULD NOT do other E stuff while doing this process...and also there should be no mental "multi tasking" with E stimulus...my Ti is ability by it's nature gains strength as I stop moving, stop interacting, stop everything and just think...if I am forced to "move" at this time, I will appear EXTREMELY clumsy...if I am forced to interacte at this time, I will appear EXTREMELY scatter-brained...obviously I usually do Ti in my lair but it still comes up sometimes on the outside...I have learned also that people almost always misinterpret Ti done in plain view as something it is not (bored, angry, dismissive, arrogant, etc)

Tank is low / "escaping"
- when I've been "out" to long I will start to feel an irresitable pull back to my Ni world...when I've got my life organized well peole can't ever tell...friends who have known me for 5, 10, 15, 20 years have no idea...unless I want them to...but sometimes you get caught out...it happens....then it's almost like I'm "on drugs"...I mean totally effing spacey....I don't notice where I am walking...people's conversations flow in and out of the ones I am having in my head...at these times I become DANGEROUSLY clumsy and DANGEROUSLY scatter-brained...I am also very very cranky...crankiness helps back people off...which when an INFJ gets to this point out in the open is a necessary safety precaution for our inner selves....

Sorry if I went on too long but I wanted to articulate that I have zero continuity in this area...It's like their are several people in me...some are very coordinated, some are not...some are very focused, some are not...
 

Apollanaut

Senior Mugwump
Joined
Aug 27, 2008
Messages
550
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
That's an excellent description, Martian Manifesto. That's very much how I am.
 

mlittrell

New member
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
1,387
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
9w1
I can be, but my Te is quite developed so it gives me a bit of focus. But ya, it still happens.
 

Froody Blue Gem

Necromancing Scapelamb
Joined
Dec 19, 2018
Messages
1,141
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
954
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
i would say while i can be pretty focussed, when it comes to little details and practical matters, I can be a scatterbrain. Like when I know something but I forget the word I'm looking for. At work when I'm doing tasks, I may make silly little mistakes along the way and I don't realize until several minutes later, or someone else tells me. Or when I walk into a room and forget why I entered the room in the first place.
 
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