I don't think all INTJs are minimalist, but from reading on intj.forum.com, I get the sense that many are or desire to be. That is because although INTJs hate the mundane, they also like structure and are very focused internally.
INTJ Minimalist Fashion Style
Many minimalist also seem to love to wear black. I think it is because they like a simple, minimalist wardrobe.
This is ironic because for as long as I can remember, save for a few years of experimentation when I first started working because I wanted to fit into corporate culture at the advice of a friend, I wore only black, red, blue and antique white/ivory. Although I did not use the title in junior high or high school, I was a covert goth, listening to the music and dressing in the colors, but not overly screaming for attention with extreme outfits. I still have the same gothic interests, such as poetry, literature, opera, gothic rock, and I de-cluttered my closet to find that my favorite items were still black, red and ivory. I do have the occasional indigo and purple, but I try not to as they don't match with the rest of my items.
Why a Simple or Minimalist Lifestyle is Appealing for INTJs
I find that when my apartment is full of too much stuff, or even when I don't have much as in my previous studio, and the apartment gets cluttered, I cannot work well until I clean it up. Even when it is clean, I take great pleasure from organizing my things periodically. However, this has resulted in many days wasted just reorganizing stuff. As a result, I made a decision in 2007 to embark on a simpler, more minimalist lifestyle. Being an INTJ, I was not following the pack, especially in New York. Everet Bogue was not even on the scene yet. lol. (He just turned out to be a marketer and a fake, something INTJs detest anyway, because after he made loads of money on his book, he abandoned minimalisim with a new site called "F**k Minimalism.)
In any case, while I have certainly reached peaks and valleys on the simple living / minimalist path, but have stayed on it for the most part, periodically de-cluttering. I have had a new fire lately as I get older, and want to accomplish my life goals. I find that too many possessions distracts me from those goals, and causes wasted time and stress. I desire a life of intellectual richness and complexity, like many INTJs do, not one of "keeping up with the Joneses" or displaying your success through possessions as most of society does. I think it is an INTJ quality to look for solutions and improvement of things, and minimalism has been my solution to creating a more fulfilling and meaningful life for myself.
If you want to learn more about minimalism or how to go about starting a minimalist lifestyle or simply de-cluttering, check out my other blog www.simplicityandsuccess.com (formerly urbanminimalist.wordpress.com)
Please share your INTJ experiences and thoughts about possessions, fashion, minimalism, etc.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Time Management: Simple Daily Routine for a Productive Day
I am interested in varied subjects, and I enjoy reading very much. As a result, I spend a great deal of time reading blogs and other materials online. While I desire to understand concepts when I do research and compartmentalize information, I also desire application of these concepts and theories and a tangible result. Otherwise, I feel that my day is wasted, and I feel down and/or stressed/anxious. With it’s wonderful wealth of information, one can spend a whole day reading online. While acquiring knowledge is doing something, it does not produce a tangible result unless applied. To prevent oneself from getting carried away when reading or researching online, it helps me a lot to try to establish a simple routine in the morning to set the day. I personally hate days that are too routine or so structured that it does not allow creativity and originality, but to be successful routines and plans are necessary. Believe me, I have learned the hard way from years of procrastinating.
I don’t like strictly schedule days that are scheduled from hour to hour, but time estimation and a loose schedule is very necessary.
Simple Daily Routine for Success
1) First, when you wake up, make your bed immediately before you leave the room. That gives you your first sense of accomplishing something to see a neat bed.
2) Put on a pot of water to boil for tea or your coffee maker for tea, then brush your teeth. I have to add this because I often would head straight to the computer, forget about breakfast and then wonder why I am tired a few hours later.
3) After you brush your teeth, as the water continues to boil or as your tea is being made, make yourself a healthy, balance breakfast. I like a whole grain English muffin / whole wheat toast, an egg and fresh fruit . When I wake up before 8 a.m., my stomach is very sensitive, so I will just have whole grain toast with cream cheese or a slice of cheese on the side and fruit, then have an egg around 10:00 a.m.
4) Start your brain up by reading a blog or article relating to your most important work for 30 minutes.
5) Then, begin your work relating to your most important life goal, and work on it for your scheduled time daily. For me, it is studying to get into grad school. For those of you who are working, wake up an hour earlier and do something in relation to your most important goal, such as reading a book, learning a software in relation to it, etc. For those who are already doing work they enjoy, congratulations. When you get to work, make sure you work on the most important projects or most important clients first.
6) After you have worked for a few hours at your most important goal, take a break to have a snack of fruit or something else healthy if it is not yet lunchtime. You may choose to just eat and clear your mind, or you can read an enjoyable blog as a reward for your hard work.
7) Next, work on a personal project, such as de-cluttering, sewing, arranging your desk, etc.
8) After this, perhaps, it may be time for lunch. For those who work outside of the home, take a walk outside to clear your mind, even if it is for 15 minutes. Your brain will feel refreshed.
For those who work at home, have lunch, then take the scenic route to do your errands and chores, such as grocery shopping, shopping for household necessities, laundry, picking up mail at the post office, etc. I personally hate crowds, we have our share of stores in NY, so the trees are a nice break. The trees or quite streets without stores also reduce the temptation to buy unnecessary things and the walk is very relaxing. (There was a time when I would visit many stores to see what is on sale, but I ended up wasting money and time, so I try to avoid going into stores unless I have something very specific that I need. If it is something that I want, I wait a week and see if I still want it.) Be sure that you are mindful of the time because after being indoors for most of the day thus far, you may loose track of time outside, especially if there are lines at the stores. I would say that you limit this outing to 1 hour if you're just doing shopping, and 3 hours if you are doing laundry. I generally do my grocery shopping on laundry days during the time which I wait for the clothing to go in the dryer. My laundromat is 3 streets away from home, and the grocery store is conveniently on the same block of the laundromat, so I take home the groceries at that time also. I am taking advantage of the convenience I pay for in a high cost of living in New York.
5) When I return from my errands, I usually make dinner, then do another small project, such as altering a garment or cleaning the kitchen.
6) Then I award myself for all the small accomplishments of the day by doing something I enjoy for the rest of the day. For me it is writing a blog post or reading a book for pleasure or a blog I follow.
The time that you choose to do your main work may be different if you have a very hard time getting up. I would say that I focus best late at night to early in the morning. However, my husband has to get to work before 8 a.m., and he has a commute that is one hour and a half to one hour and 45 minutes. So, to be considerate to him, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. with him. It does take me a little while to wake up and focus, which is why I take some time to read an article relating to my field before I get to studying. The pros is that I am still able to focus more in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. I also feel quite a sense of accomplishment when by 2 a.m., work that requires my mental concentration is done. I tend to crash mentally at 3 p.m., like many people, so that is why from 2:00 p.m. onward, I do hands-on or rote projects, errands, cooking, and hobbies for pleasure.
Please share your ideas on your routine for a productive day.
I don’t like strictly schedule days that are scheduled from hour to hour, but time estimation and a loose schedule is very necessary.
Simple Daily Routine for Success
1) First, when you wake up, make your bed immediately before you leave the room. That gives you your first sense of accomplishing something to see a neat bed.
2) Put on a pot of water to boil for tea or your coffee maker for tea, then brush your teeth. I have to add this because I often would head straight to the computer, forget about breakfast and then wonder why I am tired a few hours later.
3) After you brush your teeth, as the water continues to boil or as your tea is being made, make yourself a healthy, balance breakfast. I like a whole grain English muffin / whole wheat toast, an egg and fresh fruit . When I wake up before 8 a.m., my stomach is very sensitive, so I will just have whole grain toast with cream cheese or a slice of cheese on the side and fruit, then have an egg around 10:00 a.m.
4) Start your brain up by reading a blog or article relating to your most important work for 30 minutes.
5) Then, begin your work relating to your most important life goal, and work on it for your scheduled time daily. For me, it is studying to get into grad school. For those of you who are working, wake up an hour earlier and do something in relation to your most important goal, such as reading a book, learning a software in relation to it, etc. For those who are already doing work they enjoy, congratulations. When you get to work, make sure you work on the most important projects or most important clients first.
6) After you have worked for a few hours at your most important goal, take a break to have a snack of fruit or something else healthy if it is not yet lunchtime. You may choose to just eat and clear your mind, or you can read an enjoyable blog as a reward for your hard work.
7) Next, work on a personal project, such as de-cluttering, sewing, arranging your desk, etc.
8) After this, perhaps, it may be time for lunch. For those who work outside of the home, take a walk outside to clear your mind, even if it is for 15 minutes. Your brain will feel refreshed.
For those who work at home, have lunch, then take the scenic route to do your errands and chores, such as grocery shopping, shopping for household necessities, laundry, picking up mail at the post office, etc. I personally hate crowds, we have our share of stores in NY, so the trees are a nice break. The trees or quite streets without stores also reduce the temptation to buy unnecessary things and the walk is very relaxing. (There was a time when I would visit many stores to see what is on sale, but I ended up wasting money and time, so I try to avoid going into stores unless I have something very specific that I need. If it is something that I want, I wait a week and see if I still want it.) Be sure that you are mindful of the time because after being indoors for most of the day thus far, you may loose track of time outside, especially if there are lines at the stores. I would say that you limit this outing to 1 hour if you're just doing shopping, and 3 hours if you are doing laundry. I generally do my grocery shopping on laundry days during the time which I wait for the clothing to go in the dryer. My laundromat is 3 streets away from home, and the grocery store is conveniently on the same block of the laundromat, so I take home the groceries at that time also. I am taking advantage of the convenience I pay for in a high cost of living in New York.
5) When I return from my errands, I usually make dinner, then do another small project, such as altering a garment or cleaning the kitchen.
6) Then I award myself for all the small accomplishments of the day by doing something I enjoy for the rest of the day. For me it is writing a blog post or reading a book for pleasure or a blog I follow.
The time that you choose to do your main work may be different if you have a very hard time getting up. I would say that I focus best late at night to early in the morning. However, my husband has to get to work before 8 a.m., and he has a commute that is one hour and a half to one hour and 45 minutes. So, to be considerate to him, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. with him. It does take me a little while to wake up and focus, which is why I take some time to read an article relating to my field before I get to studying. The pros is that I am still able to focus more in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. I also feel quite a sense of accomplishment when by 2 a.m., work that requires my mental concentration is done. I tend to crash mentally at 3 p.m., like many people, so that is why from 2:00 p.m. onward, I do hands-on or rote projects, errands, cooking, and hobbies for pleasure.
Please share your ideas on your routine for a productive day.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Balance of Structure and Individuality
Loosing Structure
For the last few years, I believed that I disliked structure very much. However, I also noticed that without structure, such as a schedule or to do list or a plan for my days, months and years, I have drifted from job to job and not moved closer to my personal and life goals. I didn’t quite understand my aversion to structure in those last few years as when I was a paralegal, I took a great sense of pride in accomplishing things in a measured time. Even before that, from my youth to my early 20s, I was always an achiever, who planned my goals, and took steps to achieve them.
Thinking about thesee things in the last week as I feel more driven to accomplish my goal of getting into a top grad school, I realized that I need stucture to be successful. I am an INTJ, not an INTP. I also realized that the reason I have had an aversion to structure in the past few years is because I began to associate structure with people trying to control me. This is due to my previous relationship, where the person was as such, and caused me great anxiety due to his infidelities. Additionaly, it is due to my having a two jobs where I was micromanaged, and structured in by my bosses in almost everything I did. I also began to associate structure with people I saw who are successful and very structured, but who are also verymainstream in their views and behaviors, while I am somewhat unconventional.
Structure does not mean conformity
I began to associate structure with the lack of freedom to be myself, and an invisible hand of society to conform me to the thoughts and behaviors of most people. Subconsciously, I rebelled, not in the way I rebelled as a teen, where I went goth, with black clothing, high platform boots, streaks in my hair or safety pins and staples in my clothing. How I rebelled was in abandoning the desire and need for structure in my life, and instead doing what spurred me in the moment, not planning my days in detail, and trying to be more hippiesh, and procrastinating. However, I still could not help planning myself in some ways, such as planning where I will meet my friends, checking out the directions first, deciding what I would do if I arrived early, etc. Yet to not stick to the structure and rigidity of being punctual, which I associated with my structered jobs, I would decide to do the dishes or clean the apartment before I leave, and therefore, end up leaving later than I estimated and knew I should. I rebelled by impulsively shopping, yet ironically, I would plan that I would impulsively shop, such as which store, which isle I would start with, etc. While at the store, I still sorted through my options before I make my decision. The inpulse was in purchasing things that I didn’t need more of. My need for structure then led me to continously organize, categorize and de-clutter my items.
Success requires vision and a plan
Looking back over the last few years, I realize that I have always been successful when I have a vision, a plan, and take small action steps daily to achieve that plan. My rebellion against the structure I need has led me to seek structure in other ways, such as my environment, yet since my internal views were not congruent, even that has not stayed structured as I would like, leading to a lot of stress and wasted time organizing. I have come to understand myself that I like structure and getting things done. I don’t feel accomplished just thinking about things, and drifting aimslessly in knowledge. I like my thoughts and ideas to translate into something tangiable, into something that can be achieved, and I need closure and accomplishment. What I don’t need is structure and control under someone else’s terms. I am after all, an INTJ. I am highly independent, resourceful and I need a balance of a path/structure to follow in a job, but also enough freedom to exercise my ideas, and demonstrate and build my skills.
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