Organization Skills and Personality

In my earlier blog post, I have written about the different dimensions of personality based on Myers-Briggs Personality Types. One of these dimensions refer to a person's way to organize his/her environment: Judging and Perceiving.

To summarize, a Judger is highly organized and makes decisions quickly. A Perceiver is spontaneous, disorganized, and always keep options open, making him/her appear to be somewhat indecisive.

People who belong to the extreme opposites of this dimension are very likely to have some clashes, even with regards to the organization department alone. A spouse, family member,or roommate may get annoyed with the Perceiver's lack of organization. A "little" clutter in the room they share may highly annoy the Judger. On the other hand, the Perceiver may find his/her opposite to be too demanding. He/she always find himself/herself being asked too often to keep things in order. At times, the Perceiver is not even aware that his/her habits appear very messy to the Judger's eyes.

The following are some examples that convey their opposing characteristics (that is, based on the organization department). Perhaps you may also have similar experiences below:

• A Judger may have a particular way to hang the tissue roll on the rack (such as the roll's end should always face outside). To a Perceiver, it doesn't matter at all whichever way the roll would face.
• When using a toothpaste, a Perceiver would usually just pinch any random part of the tube he first touches. To the Judger, this is unforgivable. She wants the toothpaste tube to be pinched precisely at the very tail, slowly rolling the end upward as the toothpaste runs out.
• Things inside the kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, bookcase, drawers, etc. have a particular arrangement to a Judger. She would appreciate it if the Perceiver would return something back to exactly where it came from.
• The bedsheets and pillowcases should fit properly. Any creases then the Judger would arrange them first before sleeping. A Perceiver does not care. If he is tired, he would dunk straight to the bed without any second thoughts.

Newlyweds or roommates often find themselves in these situations. When disagreements on organization come their way, they find it hard to tolerate each others' way, leading to some arguments. Knowing the differences in personality help people understand each other better, and become a little more forgiving.