Sunday, February 9, 2014

Task-oriented vs People-oriented

I am hands down a task-oriented person.  Put me in a room of things that need to be alphabetized and I can enjoy myself, easily, for several hours.  Give me a room full of people where I get to do nothing but socialize for a couple of hours and I will, easily, be stressed out and trying to figure out how I can turn it into a task so that it is easier for me to process.  Many times this is a huge struggle for me, as I live in a people-oriented world and work in a people-oriented field.  I like to have a clock in view at all times and struggle when I don't know the passage of time.  This is something that I am continually working on.  There are times that it is not a problem.  Friday night I went out to eat with some friends.  We were at the restaurant for 2 1/2 hours.  It wasn't until the last 20 minutes that I began to feel antsy.  We had finished eating (our task).  Usually once this happens, I'm ready to move on to the next thing.  But occasionally my brain shifts and I am able to enjoy the conversation (another task?).  Don't get me wrong, I can sit and talk for hours, but I have to know that this is what I am supposed to be doing and it has to be with a smaller group of people.  I feel like I am not explaining this well.  I'm guessing that people-oriented readers don't understand at all.  But I think that task-oriented people will probably get it.  What about you, my readers, are you task-oriented or people-oriented?

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