It's Just My Personality - Part 8: Being a Judging Type

How has parenting changed in the past 20 years?

If you said, "Well, you can list the changes in a spreadsheet and then rank them by what you believe is the most significant to understand exactly how parenting has changed," you are likely a Judging type.

This next type is all about what our preferred lifestyle is.

As a Judging type, your preferred lifestyle is:

•      Organized

•      Planned

•      Oriented toward goals & results

•      “The joy of closure”

This means that you thrive best when you have a plan, can spend time working through a project or event so as to gain a clear sense of all that will be involved before getting started, and really like reaching the end of something. Judging types are notorious for having checklists, spreadsheets, to do lists and working through them systematically.

You may find that you are more organized in one area of life more so than another or you may bring a sense of order and organization to every aspect of your life. Either way, when it comes to lifestyle, Judging types are keen to set up systems, put things in their “proper” place, and are elated by every task completed during the day.

At work and play, the Judging type is:

•      Self-regimented

•      Purposeful

•      Exacting

•      Focuses on completing the task

•      Makes decisions quickly

•      Uses lists

•      Wants only essentials to begin projects

The Judging type is the person in the home or meeting that keeps things moving forward. Able to develop a plan with step-by-step action items, Judging types are often relied upon to keep projects and plans from become bogged down by indecision or running off track in a disorderly way.

One trap here is that Judging types can take on too much responsibility for planning. Other family members or co-workers will become overly reliant upon Judging types to first of all develop a plan and then oversee its implementation. This often results in Judging types resenting others for their lack luster ways and taking on too much. So, it’s important for Judging types to learn to let go, in a way, and make room for others to take on some of the responsibility for either getting a project done, planning a vacation, or taking care of the home.

This usually requires Judging types avoid a second trap – thinking their way is the “right way.” Since Judging types or so purposeful, exact, and self-regimented, they can often feel that the approach they’ve devised is sure proof and the best of all possible choices. So, in order to create room for others to play, Judging types will have to let go of this sense of “rightness.”

Finally, when it comes to pace & closure, Judging types:

•      Hate loose ends

•      Like closure

•      Want to be clear about who is in control

•      Want to state their commitments

•      Want a clear schedule

Judging types can come across as regimented or unspontaneous. It’s often nice when Judging types and Perceiving types (which we’ll be talking about next week) get together since it can lead to a nice balance between spontaneity and organization. Still, Judging types often need to learn how to let down their hair and just go with the flow. A change in plans is not the end of the world, even if it can feel that way!

Next week, we’ll be talking about the Perceiving (P) personality type, the counterpart to the Judging type and the final of our personality types!