A while ago I took a test to see which GTD personality I am because it looked fun. I usually don’t like personality tests because they are either wrong or repeat the answers in the results, but this one was short enough and looked like it would provide a funny result. And so it told me that I am a Visionary / Crazy Maker, which sounds totally like me – I always have a ton of ideas and make crazy lists of what I want to do, make, learn, etc.
The further description is a bit less accurate:
Visionary (Crazy Maker)
Strengths
– Ideas and inspiration
– Goal-setting
– Creativity
– Focus
Challenges
– Things falling through the cracks
– Feeling overwhelmed/stressed when trying to deliver
– Inadequate consideration of constraints
– Contributing to others feeling overwhelmed
First of all, because I make so many lists (including those in my head), things rarely fall through the cracks. The only reason things don’t get done (at least at home) is because they are at a lower priority than others. At work, I don’t really have the luxury of not doing something or letting it fall through the cracks. In fact, I am somewhat known for being extremely organized and maintaining what needs maintenance.
Secondly, I am not sure I make others feel overwhelmed – it’s probably the other way around. I become overwhelmed when I realize I am doing more than others with the same available time.
The other two are probably true. I become quite stressed and overwhelmed when I see my to-do list – whether at home or work, it’s usually unrealistic. I am also a perfectionist, so churning out sub-par work is disconcerning to me, which creates additional stress when on a deadline. I have learned to walk a fine line between quality and timeliness though, learning to recognize which can be compromised a little to prioritize the other. And that flows into the constraints consideration bit – sometimes I get too excited about something and don’t take all the details into account. This is a real problem with knitting right now. I have a massive collection of beautiful yarn, which I bought at some point with a vague idea of what it would be used for (resulting in the quantities I have of it) and I have a list of things I want to make, which does not really correspond to the types and colors of yarn I have. For example, I was trying to knit legwarmers out of really cool silky yarn, only to realize that the silkiness of it does not allow it to stay on the leg. I have wooly type yarn that will stay on better, but not in the color I want. I suppose I could buy the right kind of yarn and knit what I want, but that does nothing for the skeins upon skeins I already have.
I think the most applicable strength from that list (although all apply) is goal-setting, which is extremely evident in my personal endeavors. Unfortunately, I also set too many large goals that I keep struggling to meet. Fortunately, I just keep trying (sometimes becoming overwhelmed and stressed, but eventually picking myself up again) and keep getting inspired. In fact, reading the results of this little test inspired me again to make another list – I will decide later if that’s a good or a bad thing.
Crazy Maker: They have too many ideas in proportion to the amount they can get done, they take on too many commitments.