An INTJ reader from Canada writes,

Advice on how to deal with dips in business?

[I had four potential clients] who were interested and who were supposed to get back to me for work. Nada.

I don’t mind focusing on other stuff (music, writing, gym) but at the same time I need to keep pushing forward and I’m not sure how. [Freelance] listings are a bit dry this week too.

My Reply

Sure, I’ve experience those dips in business before myself. They may come again in the future, too—it’s unwise to think your business will never experience any kind of downturn, in my experience.

One of the traditional INTJ blind spots is “weakness.” It can really bug INTJs to talk about it. This is often the reason why, when other people talk about their weaknesses or fears, an INTJ can start to feel agitated, and jump in with (even unneeded) suggestions. Hearing about or talking about weakness can make us uncomfortable even at a subconscious level. But we can get better at tolerating this information, and we can use that growth to help ourselves become stronger. Understanding this about myself helped me make some dramatic and effective changes in my life. The topic of weakness is not one that should be avoided. At one level, weakness is fixable, but at another level it is existential, or ever-present.

Also, I think anybody with a business, or who runs a business, learns to see that these dips and other hazards exist and can be worrying no matter how big you are, no matter how much money you make, and so on. And even to an experienced person, the next dip can always seem like the final dip, the real torpedo that sinks the ship, or whatever. It can really be scary.

In the abstract, one answer I’d give to “what to do” is: You gotta find your own dip routine, is what I’d offer. Refine it over time.

And for those of you who want more information:

If it worries you that much, I’d attack it on paper first. Try to take it head-on. Here are some suggested steps.

1. Acknowledge that it exists, and get into why it sucks and how it sucks (you might feel like you just did that in your message to me, and that’s great).
2. Plan for ways to take care of yourself. You know how everybody who goes to the hospital gets put in a bed, right? A famous comedian made fun of that. But really it reduces nervous system strain. So I think you have to find those activities that help you take care of yourself and reduce unneeded strain.
3. Next, watch your cyclic mood. Your body has that natural cyclic tendency, and it affects your psychology. So you kind of wait until you are in, say, “list making mood” and it’s easier to just find yourself listing things you do.
4. Then you list and plan for things you WANNA do, like even 3x more than the HAVETA do stuff. So you know you’re not killing yourself, you’re being gentle. You’re doing things that match your values, mixed with some things that may seem annoying or doubtful.
5. Then, think about people who can help you shoulder this burden. Like, would you feel comfortable telling a working professional you’d like their advice on what to do as a copywriter when work is low? If you can do this in person, it can open up a channel for you. Back when I was starting my first business, I had a colleague like that. I could just call them up and say, “I’m in between projects, and wondered how you’re doing, and if you’d like to brainstorm anything we can work on together?” (I didn’t say that all at once, but you get the idea)
6. Then at this point you’ve built up momentum. I shouldn’t even have to say “do” here because you won’t even have to force it. You’ve got a list, you can start anywhere, and you’ve talked to people. The doing should do itself, and that should feel pretty great.

Finally, INTJs tend to get bonus “luck points” the more they research things. So please continue to research this topic, especially if you see it possibly happening again in the future.

Filed in: Productivity /119/ | Careers /40/

I’ve seen this too much lately and it’s hard to watch. The Ni + Te INTJ moves in, unintentionally creates drama and other havoc without even knowing what is going on. They think they are just helping people, being informational or some other nonsense. Meanwhile people who have every excuse to feel insulted based on their own subjective perceptions are, behold: Insulted. Quietly they repress it in an act of temporary good character.

Next, forces beyond the INTJ’s control react to that state of affairs and the INTJ is made to feel serious pain. If they are lucky, they listen to or consult someone who has access to other preferred and relevant functions and they make little changes. They become more flexible, versatile, adaptable.

If the INTJ is not lucky, they are crushed by the response and turn to some harmful activity—you know the drill—extremities of the sensory. And they tell themselves they saw this coming, or it’s a conspiracy, or whatever.

If you delay this development process, it can crush your life.

Q: “But shouldn’t those other people just say something, if their feelings are hurt? Be direct!”

A: Do not poke the sleeping dragon.

It’s not just INTJs, either. I’ve seen this with all types. Just yesterday I saw an ESFP practically self-destruct because Se + Fi reasons. All ego. And it’s just a good way to turn life into a war.

Filed in: People /74/ | Careers /40/ | Relationships /78/ | Control /110/

Gan.

A Japanese word. Pronounced like “gone” if you’re American. Meaning: Cancer. In this case, hifugan. Skin cancer. A thing which apparently just won’t leave Australia alone according to a chart I just read.

And as in, I have it. Had it. Maybe have it still. I’m not sure.

God, what an explosion of mental activity occurred as I was told a biopsy would be needed, perhaps even a lymph node biopsy. I went in for a skin check and let the doctor know about the recent activity on my arm, a mole-like spot that seemed to be growing. The looks of concern were accordingly concerning and I could tell something needed to happen.

And my lymph nodes? What even are those? I’m no doctor. They just sound gross. Don’t take my gross stuff out. Keep it in there doing who knows what. I have blog posts to write.

I had flashbacks to the ’90s. Watching cancer drama shows on TV when nothing else was on. Those films never ended well, did they? Jesus. Maybe I could go out like that Tokyo bureaucrat from one of my favorite films. Build a little park before I’m dead and buried. Jesus.

“I’m sorry, I need to lay down,” I told the doctor. The assistant fetched me a small bottle of apple juice. I felt like I was going to pass right out. I have a long history of getting woozy in doctor’s offices, including one dramatic incident in which I ripped my ear open on some medical equipment on my way down to the embrace the floor from that high table, after having passed out. A neurologically induced drop in blood pressure is well within my repertoire.

To skip ahead a bit, I went in for surgery. I now have a long, gnarly, depressing scar on my forearm, and a mandate to report back for further examination. It’s been a busy few weeks. Mostly in terms of mental activity.

So before I depart this mortal sphere guys (kidding!), I thought I should at least share my recent study notes.

Astrology

• I started researching this because I was noticing patterns: On this kind of day / week / month / year, this kind of activity “works” or “occurs.” And these kind of relations don’t work. Or do. Weird! On this other day / week / month / year, it doesn’t! Jungian psychology gives a few little ideas on how or why this might ooccur. But who else studies this? Well, I think astrologers do, for one…
• To clarify, I don’t “believe” or “disbelieve” astrology; what I do is 1) experience it and 2) entertain it. Kick it around. And hopefully bring some organization to the experience, like with bullet points or something.
• I do believe that it’s important to close with Jung’s “object.” To really make contact with a thing before you talk about it, criticize it, whatever. Previously I trusted my intuition way too much in this regard, and it kind of turned me into a grump! So getting hands-on with some new topic before criticizing it is now my friend.
• When I hear black & white remarks about a thing, this I distrust. You know who really knows the thing? It’s rarely the person who says, “THAT THING IS AMAZING,” or “THAT THING IS AWFUL.” It’s usually the person who says, “well, it’s not perfect, but it’s not terrible either. You see, what you need to understand is…” you see? The nuanced viewpoint. In my experience, every tool, every mental framework, has its leverage point or set of leverage points. Finding those leverage points is important. Finding them is a matter of nuance.
• There are many different systems of astrology. I had no idea there were this many. I feel like more people who criticize astrology should know about this? From Human Design to Vedic Astrology to Sun Sign, to Medical Astrology, to Electional, to…well actually you know what? Have an incomplete list because those are usually at least a little bit instructional.
• There is a lot of tarot work mixed in with astrology, if you watch videos on Youtube. In fact, a lot of what I watched on Youtube is SO WEIRD and yet SO INTERESTING.

Speaking of which. Here are some Youtube videos and channels I explored a bit, and found at least a little bit interesting or helpful in understanding things (no affiliations, etc.):

• Beginning Astrology: Before You Even Learn the Zodiac was really helpful as a general overview, introducing the concept of different systems. The lecturer seems to know his topic well and I found that is voice was really easy on the ears.
• Sasha Bonasin has a pretty infectious energy to his approach. I generally want my INTJs to be aware of this kind of energy, and adapt it or attract it or do what they can to experience it on the regular, if they find it lifts them up a bit. (It’s easy to be skeptical, and I find that this energy is really good at repelling the inner skeptic, giving it a much-needed break to come back less grumpy and perhaps more accurate or appropriate).
• Stargirl the Practical Witch was kind of a cool channel to experience. I liked her general laid-back affect and found it easy to tune in without feeling blown away, so to speak.
• Debra Silverman has a pleasant, upbeat affect which I appreciated.
• The exquisitely-named Empress Moon Tarot 777 was psychologically good for me, outside of whatever was happening with the cards. I found that watching the videos was calming in that effeminate way. She reminds me of some ISFP friends.

This is a pretty early list; I’m sure there are way more out there that I haven’t yet experienced. Let me know if you think there’s something I should see.

Another important takeaway from astrology

You know what’s also really nice about astrology? It has a deep undercurrent of “take care of yourself” messaging and a pretty rich library of ways to express the nuances involved in this. For this reason alone I would suggest that a dip into the topic might be really good for an INTJ. We INTJs are not really known for taking gentle care of ourselves, and yet it’s something that’s certainly worth mastering if we want to feel like we are on top of life.

You could say that astrology attempts to break through and speak to your feminine side. INTJs can be over-masculine, kind of like this chart illustrates. This is worth knowing about.

Let’s take the extreme case, in which predictively speaking, you find that astrology does nothing for you. Moving away from that predictive aspect, which by the way seems to be decried by many astrologers themselves (I had no idea!), the various books and videos you’ll encounter will, outside of any predictive-type content, also do the following:

• Encourage you to be gentle with yourself when things are not going well
• Encourage you to practice setting boundaries with other people. This alone is huge for just about anybody
• Help you to critically examine (at least at a basic level) the things that are going on in your life.
• Encourage you to continue to critically examine what’s going on in your life, through various means—the senses, the intuition, etc.

I could go on. Most of this is really effeminate stuff. But these are big pros in favor of at least looking into astrology as an explorer.

I’m biased because I’m a life coach, but a lot of INTJs with whom I’m familiar seem only too eager to work themselves to the bone, studying, planning, or working for increased prosperity and security in contingency. And most of them don’t really know how to sense that about themselves, that bone-workedness factor, which is even more sad.

On the flip side of that tendency toward workaholism, there is often a tortured inner effeminate aspect that will absolutely unleash real and life-shattering chaos if it is not treated with due care ASAP. I have spent a lot of time helping my clients find that new equilibrium at an individual level. And no, it doesn’t make you more girly, it doesn’t turn you into a crystal healer—it makes you into a more peaceful and powerful person.

Well, that’s probably enough on this topic for now. But so far: I’m pretty impressed, and will continue to dip into the topic as time permits.

Other Studies of Late

• Solar: Being a ham radio operator has put me into contact with a lot of people who live off the grid. Otherwise normal people—a DJ, a business owner, a retired cop—who happen to know the basics of working with electricity. It’s kind of shocking how easy this is, in fact. I’m going to be doing more experiments with solar power. In the meantime, check out this fun channel which has been pretty inspirational, even if I would personally prefer to take a less chaotic approach to my experiments. :-)
• Old Programming for New Apps: I built a personal productivity app using Free Pascal and the Lazarus IDE. It was surprisingly simple and what little I remembered from learning Pascal in high school was easy enough to brush up on using a free PDF e-book. Within minutes I had a usable app up and going. Within another two hours I had built the app I imagined, and while it will probably never be quite good enough, I look forward to adding some more features. By the way, if you check the Internet Archive and find that all the good old Pascal books are checked out, I think this is why. You can even build mobile apps and web apps with this software and it’s 100% free and easy to figure out with a little study.
• Simulation in Practice: I’m working on upgrading my Fighting Green Dudes rules over time. But for now, I find them pretty fun to play. One of my next improvements is to take the rules to space for ship-to-ship combat and possibly colonization. I’d definitely like to make some moves into peaceful colonization-type simulation experiments, and the road map seems pretty straightforward.

OK guys—have a great day and let me know what you’re up to in this short & sweet INTJ life. I’ve received some kind emails recently and really appreciate them all.

Filed in: Openness /49/ | Control /110/ | Energy /120/ | Sensation /40/ | Therapeutic Practice /144/ | Feeling /64/ | Intuition /62/ | Interests /111/

Here’s reliable method for creating drama: Just be direct with people. Say stuff directly. Examples:

• “You gave me the wrong hamburger.”
• “This situation needs to change.”
• “The sky is very blue today.”

This kind of wording will force many if not most other people into a Feeling position either inwardly or outwardly. Even inwardly, if nothing is said in reply, it’s not necessarily a great thing; you can end up facing a form of suppression of feeling, and the compounded results (Feeling + Feeling + Feeling, adjusted for inflation and interest and whim) are usually not pretty.

Consider some possible feeler-like responses to the above examples:

• “Mistakes HAPPEN, I’m sorry about your BURGER.” (uppercase for mad-words)
• “Well duh, a-hole.”
• “What does that even have to do with me.”

Now consider some alternate, Thinker-like responses which might be received:

• “We get about one out of every ten orders mixed up somehow. Overall that’s a 90% success rate.”
• “This situation may need to change, but we currently lack the resources.”
• “Yes, and the trees are very green.”

You see how those read? Even if you get a Thinker response, there’s a chance you have just played a chess game in which YOU will now become a Feeler, and maybe an enraged one at that.

“You’re not seriously mad that I poked your hornet’s nest, are you?”

I hope you can see how being direct around the usual company is like “go ahead and attack me back, right now” invitation-language in a lot of cases.

And yet, I sometimes hear from TJ personality types: “Why can’t people just be direct? Just be direct, tell me what’s going on, and we’ll figure it out.”

The correct answer to “why,” as long as Feelings are involved, is probably something like “CHAOS WILL ENSUE. DO NOT SHAKE THE BOX.”

How being LESS direct can make you MORE productive

I witness this all the time between friends and family members. They don’t know what’s happening. And even if they’re TJ types, some of the best advice they could possibly receive would be:

Stop being so direct.

And I probably won’t tell them that; it would be too direct. They have a Feeler side too, even if they don’t want to talk about it.

Part of the art of mastering direct and impactful problem-solving (one of the activities we INTJs really love) is learning to incorporate indirect commentary and sentiment. Learning to feel people out. Hearing a sentiment, not being sure about what it means, and giving a few gentle opportunities / hints to keep talking about it. Giving others permission to be indirect and still talk about the problem. Talking about a problem indirectly, as a way of painlessly drawing others into your position and getting their helpful feedback.

The funny thing is, INTJs love getting really good hints while they do their research. A really insightful search engine result here, a tidbit of expert advice there. Such hints help us be even more efficient. We don’t really think of them as “hints” so much as partial-answers, but they’re definitely also hints.

So: Which would you prefer: A potentially-useful hint given in indirect language, or no hint at all?

Well, the great news is that you’re surrounded by people who will give you hints like that long before they will ever say something really direct.

In other words, as a successful, socially-adjusted adult, your finest moments of productivity and productive problem solving will probably involve a lot of indirect, Feeler-type work. That’s society. That’s life!

Do you have a Feeler side? How about that opposite-type ESFP? Have you ever felt hurt when someone was direct with you? Did you feel like you were able to talk about it, did you move along without saying anything, or did you explode like a downtrodden condiment packet? I’ve definitely been there myself…

In Practice

• Practice listening to indirect language in order to become more aware of its use. Developing the ability to recognize it when you hear it / read it can help you identify important opportunities or potentially-helpful information. Look for it in emails, listen for it in movies. For example, how delicate is the lover’s language within the relationship? What do they seem to want?
• Do you live or work with someone who frequently takes a Feeler role? (People of any personality type can take on any psychological role) Listen to how they talk about other people who are direct with them.
• Listen for indirect language in relationships. What would be the super-direct version of what was just said? Did the indirect language help to reduce tension or other inflammation? Could it be that the person using indirect language is hurt that their partner is too direct with them?
• When you hear a really good indirect phrase, write it down. Such phrases can help you get your ideas across even to groups of hostile people.

Filed in: Feeling /64/ | People /74/ | Productivity /119/ | Control /110/ | Relationships /78/

So last night I read this in the introduction to Astrology by Sandy Anastasi (emphasis mine):

“Today, unsurprisingly, most people associate astrology with the ability to tell the future, although in this sense, here in the Western world, it is no longer as accurate as it was during the Middle Ages. Experienced astrologers can still make the same kind of potentially accurate predictions, but individual consciousness has changed. Modern man is exerting more freedom of choice than ever before in the history of our planet. As a result, more often than not we are able to alter the circumstances of our lives, thereby averting potential disasters in them. For this reason, modern-day astrologers find themselves more and more often in the role of counselors as opposed to fortune tellers.”

I found it pretty fun to consider this model, in which modern man wakes up and decides, “That thing that’s coming to destroy me? I’m changing that.” Pretty weird and fantastic, in the sense that I’ve never heard anyone relate such an event (or evolutionary process along those lines) before.

Even though I definitely believe that circumstances matter, and sometimes despite best efforts your day might be more of a “Netflix day” than a “check off every to-do list item day,” I do wonder if there’s an astrologer’s timeline all drawn up somewhere, with a note like “1500 AD: Mankind Grows a Pair.”

OK But Still, What About Prediction?

Yesterday I was doing a search over at Archive.org which is a pretty amazing resource. One of the thumbnails that came up was this kind of interesting looking guy, I had to guess ENTP based on the video thumbnail, so that meant I had to actually watch the video.

And so I’m watching my horoscope for today (Update: The video seems to have disappeared?! Strange) and thinking, “I wonder if there will be anything accurate? That’d be such a trip.”

Sure enough, there was something interesting. He tells me tomorrow (I was watching this the night before) would be a good day to sell an old car or something!

And we had already decided to sell our car a few months ago. So I got kind of excited. And? TODAY it sold! To a really great guy! We didn’t do anything at all, the guy just met us and we transferred the title, and it was practically effortless.

Sometimes, man. IDK.

Are you into astrology? It’s a new sort of thing for me, and I’m mainly just entertaining it, as opposed to believe / don’t believe. Mostly what I hear from internet INTJs is “it ain’t scientific, oh and BTW MBTI is also a horoscope,” (I’ve discussed the science-related fears here on the blog before) but some other INTJs tell me they like kicking it around.

BTW I’m back from vacation, had a nice time getting out of the house and office. Also visited my ESFP mom. Confirmed that even at age 83 she still sleeps like 3 hours a night and believes she can pretty much take anybody.

Filed in: Control /110/

INTJs have access to a special sort of energy that I’ll call, “seeing what the hell is going on.” Maybe: SWTHIGO. (OK, I wrote that prospectively, just to see how it would look, and I think I like it!)

As we travel through life, we all need to feel that our energy is being put to constructive use. As you interact with others, your sense of your own values being cherished, reinforced, and nurtured is going to depend a lot on whether & how that energy is being used.

So, some questions:

• Who around you needs your ability to see “what the hell is going on”?
  • Who were those people in your past, present, and future?
• What did/do/will they need to see?
• Why do they need to see it?
• How do you end up finding yourself around those people?
• How will you take care of yourself after the other party is “full” and you have lost their attention?

Now, a big one, an exercise for your intuition, if you’ve worked through the questions above:

• Who do you see yourself helping to “see,” next? Under what conditions? What do they need from you?

This is all very prospective—let’s keep an open mind.

(I do worry a bit that by using the term “what the hell is going on” above, I may reinforce a tendency to be brutally direct. This is not my intention. People need gentle, positive feedback. Especially if you are not the one who will be doing the work to put the advice into action, it’s important to strike a balance between direct and indirect, between “heaven” and “hell” so to speak)

Filed in: Intuition /62/ | People /74/ | Energy /120/ | Therapeutic Practice /144/ | Relationships /78/

So I woke up today and weighed myself. Again.

After three agonizing days wondering how I could possibly still weigh 203 lbs., my stars somehow aligned. Today the scale finally showed my magic milestone goal number of 201. Just to be sure, I stepped off, and on again, and same result. It’s happened before, this kind of illogical plateau thing, and it’s frustrating every time it happens.

But hey, goal reached! I celebrated by laughing at life and just picking at food today. Practically tickling, teasing my food. Ahahaha. I barely even need you! OK, I do need you. Just less than I thought I did.

That’s 11 lbs. lost so far.

I’m feeling like I’m finally getting in the groove with my weight loss here. The periodic mood swings from can to can’t and from awesome to oops are closing in tighter. This is what happens before I lose lots of weight; I remember this from years past.

Regardless though, my next goal is a conservative 199. I’m setting this one out about three weeks to July 20, because I’ll be vacationing. But sometimes the threat of vacation, or being on vacation and thinking “nah, I’ll probably just eat a lot and gain it back,” weirdly helps me lose weight, so I guess we’ll see how it goes.

Cardio

I’ve been doing a ton of hiking. I’m averaging about 6 miles of hiking every day. This feels great and seems to support my diet goals well.

Other Exercise Plans

Exercise-wise, I’m also going to set a man-boob improvement goal of 40 push-ups a day this coming week (I can tell my bicep tendon which was injured in the past is still sensitive, so I’m not hitting the chest very hard lately), and a waist-helper goal of 25 leg lifts and 2×40-second planks. I got really good results from doing very slow negative-push-ups in the past, so I’ll try those again this time.

I’m also evaluating gym options with my wife, just to throw something new into the mix. I used to work out in gyms a lot but got out of the habit when I got into bodyweight exercise.

More of what’s helping

Blogging about this, even though I’m a rather severe introvert by nature, is really helpful. I can still feel the benign pressure to meet these goals and share my results. It’s good stuff.

Also, the short-run goals do seem to help: 2-3 pounds at a time, and over time it works out great.

Phew! Relieved to be able to post this today. More soon.

Filed in: Dieting /18/ | Goals /52/ | Fitness /31/

Well, my planets finally aligned and a Facebook Page for my coaching business is operational. ;-)

Here’s the link: Marc Carson Coaching on Facebook

If you’re on Facebook and can spare the humilation of yet more of your stalker friends speculating as to what business you have with a life coach, please like the page. We really appreciate your support.

The chances of being spammed by this page are pretty low I’d say, judging by the not-exactly-torrential activity on my Marc Carson Web Design page which has been up for years and years.

Thanks to my blog audience for your continued support and as always, I hope you’ll get in touch if you’re interested in:

• A coaching email exchange for a quick dose of accountability and tips specifically calibrated to your life or career situation
• A coaching MP3 sent to your inbox
• A video-chat coaching session
• A phone-based coaching session

A quick note also that my book for INTJs is still available, with hundreds of exercises and a discount code you can use on your purchase.

Have a great weekend! —Marc

Filed in: Publications /44/ | Coaching /27/

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I really enjoy & encourage the practice of keeping notes and building one’s own subjective frameworks related to areas of concern or interest.

Pretty much anything that I learn about, and that I may revisit in the future, or which may affect me in the future, I’m keeping a file on. So far this has been incredibly helpful in terms of efficiency, memory, and overall effectiveness across a wide number of tasks and problem areas.

So today I thought I’d run a little command (find . -type f -mtime -10) and see how many personal framework text files I’ve modified in the last 10 days. Here’s that list:

• Framework for understanding Socionics models: Updated with new resources; reorganized the framework
• Framework for Stoller model on estimating IQ via handwriting analysis: Created new framework, a compilation of my notes and experiences with this model in the past. Added notes from my recent experience with a volunteer who wanted to try it.
• Framework for keeping server backups: Updated with new practices and methods that will be easy to reference next time I’m setting up a server. Added a log to record experiences / problems / etc. for future reference.
• General Server Administration Framework and Notes: Updated with new practices and methods learned recently. Added a log to record experiences / problems / lessons learned.
• Home Office Framework: Added lessons learned about maintaining Clarence Oddbody, my cat palm ;-)
• Type Examples Framework: New framework with dozens of personalities typed via their Youtube channels.
• Coaching Session Framework: Updated with new post-session procedures.
• Oh-F-List: New Framework
• Frameworks for relationships with my children: Minor updates to these with new activities to try and other suggestions.
• New Productivity and Note-taking Method Framework: Established new method for note-taking. Some similarities to mind mapping, with some big departures.
• Forgetting a New Model Framework: Ideas and procedures to assist with times when notes or information on a new model has gone missing. It happens.
• Hidden Treasure Framework: Creating and distributing hidden treasure. New framework.
• Resting Framework: New framework; notes on various stages of rest. (As opposed to getting good sleep, in the Sleep Framework)
• SD and TF Card Notes: Added various procedures on formatting and maintaining these sometimes-finicky cards.
• Mysterious Black MP3 Player with Opaque Instructions Framework: Added observations on the use of a mysterious black pocket MP3 player which I purchased online for a suspiciously low amount of cash. (Turns out to be a great FM radio and reasonably good MP3 player…with crossfade?!)
• Amazfit Bip Notes: Notes on using this Father’s Day gift. Liking it so far…
• Movie Enjoyment Framework: Notes on various ways in which to enjoy movies
• GMRS Radio Framework: New framework; added information on GMRS regulations, costs, etc.
• Ham Radio Logbook: Refined organization of my digital ham radio logbook
• Handheld Ham Radio Notes: Added at-a-glance notes and tips covering various handheld radios, in one file for convenience. Deeper notes are available separately
• Swan Astro 102 BX Transceiver Notes: Updated with results from using Swan ST-3 antenna tuner with random wire antenna
• RadioShack Pro 23 Scanner Framework: Added new instructions for additional scanner features.
• Clothing and Hat Care Framework: Added new results from hand-washing hats, making T-shirts with a paint marker, etc.
• Walking Framework: Added new suggested experiments to try in order to increase overall satisfaction with comfort level while walking and hiking.
• Diet Framework: Added new thoughts on exercising while on a heavy cut.
• Movies I Like: New file created to review favorite films.

Phew! It’s a lot. I am gradually, slowly, publishing these online when I can, and when it makes sense to do so.

In the meantime: If you see something here that you like, start a file on it! Take the Ted Nelson lesson to heart. Dive in and take notes on what you learn. You can use my Unified Experiencing Template for this or any other note-taking system that you like.

Filed in: Energy /120/ | Therapeutic Practice /144/ | Productivity /119/ | Goals /52/ | Control /110/ | Openness /49/ | Interests /111/

Here’s a productivity experiment to try: Lift up your phone and talk to yourself as if you’re taking a phone call. Talk about things you need to do. You’ll probably become a Temporary Te-dom (personality type) or at least a more extraverted person, and productivity should become a little easier.

I’ve written a little bit about this before, but this time I thought it deserved its own article.

If you need to do this while around other people, use third-person voice: “She told me she was having a hard time getting started today, so why don’t you have her fill out her journaling template when she gets back home, and see if that gives her some momentum?” See? That’s you talking about you.

This is an extraverted method, so it can be kind of hard to use when you’re locked up in The Silence due to information overload or other circumstances which cause a thick introversion to encroach like a fog. For this reason I like to pair it with a simple walk or a drive in the car. Some excuse to engage the senses in an extraverted manner. Seclusion is not always the INTJ’s friend, not by a long shot.

Thank goodness the appearance of talking to oneself is becoming so common these days. :-)

By the way, one thing I never expected as a coach is that a lot of people readily admit they get GREAT results from talking to themselves, but are afraid to continue the practice. They worry that A) it will make them crazy, or that B) it means they are crazy.

If you think you are experiencing concerning psychological problems, IMO it’s best to seek professional help, rather than discontinuing a helpful practice AND doing nothing to address the psychological issue that made you uncomfortable in the first place!

Filed in: Control /110/ | Productivity /119/ | Thinking /70/ | Te /36/ | Therapeutic Practice /144/