[MBTI General] ESTJs and ISTJs being busy

[SilkRoad]

I have problems concentrating on many things at the same time or divide my attention in many places. More than once I've acted as if I'm so busy that I can't do anything else but the task at hand. Even when I'm not doing that task. Worst case scenario is when I want to avoid that task, but still remain "being busy".

For example, few months back I was to write my candidate's thesis. I really hate writing scientific text (don't ask why I chose to go to university) and it took me months to write this very short work. The whole time I was "writing", I tried to avoid in any other lengthy project or time consuming thing. That resulted me just being stressed for a long time and wasting my time doing nothing. I'm noticing this feature is wrecking havoc with my social interactions. I appear to be very busy to my friends all the time, meanwhile I do nothing but waste time.

An example how I'm unable to divide my attention would be when I'm talking to two or more people at the same time in chat/messenger (one-to-one connections, not multichatting). I feel very stressed about having to share my attention with many people at the same time. This makes me look very uninvolved with all the participants. This makes me look distant to people.

On the more positive side, I'm very good at concentrating in one task at a time, even for a long time. Just few weeks back I took part in Global Game Jam (48h game creation event) in which I practically coded through the whole weekend, sleeping only total of 5 hours. I loved it how much I could commit to the team effort.

So, I'm really just a guy who can handle only one thing at a time. If I can't handle it (and can't put it aside), it will be bad for me. But if I can, it will be great.

Interesting... I can see xSTJs (maybe ISTJs particularly?) being good at concentrating intently on one task at a time, but do you think not being good at multitasking is an xSTJ thing, or a "you" thing? I would have thought extroverts might be more inclined to multitask generally, but I'm not too sure. I would definitely say that from personal experience, the ESTJs I've known really come across as multi-taskers - almost addicted to it - and the ISTJs much less so. The two [almost] definite ESTJs I'm thinking of are both business owners/self-employed, which would probably add to that impression. My ISTJ brother is self-employed too but although I think he has to multi-task, I don't think he loves juggling a bunch of balls at once.

By the way, I relate to sometimes "looking busy" when I'm actually wasting time and procrastinating... I do that way too much, actually... Sometimes at work, for instance, I'll get a bunch of other stuff done or at least in progress which are actually much less crucial, but more interesting or easier than the BIG THING I need to get done. I'll avoid that because there's something about getting committed to it that scares me, but leaving it for too long just ends up scaring me more, of course...

I suggest you watch this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113277/ I highly recommend the 2 disc special edition. If you don't rewatch it with Michael Mann's commentary you'll only get the tip of the iceberg.

Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) is the most thoroughly/accurately ESTJ character I can think of. He's a workaholic under a ton of stress and his life is a wreck as a result. My life is not at all like his, but as an ESTJ I could easily relate to him, and almost everything he did and said rang true to me.

Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is an INTJ 8w9 sp/sx.

I'm somewhat of a nerd when it comes to guns/ammo/ballistics/tactics and I could go on and on about why Heat is one of the best and most accurate movies you'll ever see in regards to that stuff, but that aspect probably doesn't interest you very much.

To be honest, it totally doesn't sound like my kind of film, but I'm intrigued for the insights it might offer. Thanks for the recommend.

 

[SilkRoad]

Regarding the multitasking question and whether ESTJs are better at it, I just remembered a recent conversation with one of the ESTJs. He was simultaneously having a face-to-face convo with me, fielding some business related stuff on his Blackberry, and looking up some info for another of his friends who was there. He said wryly "I'm actually a concierge. I find information for people. I'm going to move to the US and work in a New York hotel as a concierge. Apparently that's what I was made for." I said (perhaps just a shade too eagerly) "You'd get to wear a uniform!". LOL.

 

[Owfin]

Multitasking is no fun. I want to get whatever I'm doing as good as I can make it. My perfectionistic tendencies clash with multitasking.

 

[SilkRoad]

Multitasking is no fun. I want to get whatever I'm doing as good as I can make it. My perfectionistic tendencies clash with multitasking.

I bet it is more of an ESTJ thing. You sound like my brother. I think a lot of people multitask but many don't do it that well...

I think my bro has kind of a unique way of multi-tasking, though, although it's not really the standard description of the word. He kills two or sometimes more birds with one stone. He is a travel writing and sports journalist. His speciality is hockey and he has worked out kind of a unique niche. Those are kind of separate areas - at least, where a lot of countries are concerned - but he combines them; sometimes by traveling to countries where hockey is a big thing, sometimes by traveling to places where it isn't, but finding some weird little random hockey connection which is actually quite interesting. Then he can write articles based on the trip which are purely about travel; or mainly about hockey; or about both travel/hockey.