The Agenda Betrays Your Work Style

An agenda is an essential object in our lives. By studying someone's agenda you can find out a lot about the owner, about his nature and temperament, about what motivates him.

In everything we do, from the way we dress to the way we arrange our room, home, or office at work, we express something of our way of being. It is natural to be like that, because we are the same people at home, at school, and at work, we think and feel in our own style when we are alone, and when we are with others.

Therefore, even if we do not have the opportunity to know someone directly, interact with that person, observing them in different situations, we can know them indirectly. Thus, we can say a lot of things just by observing, for example, different objects of a person or his workspace.

Studying a person's agenda, we can find out a lot about the owner: what program he has, how busy or light his daily program is, what his main activities are, how socially active or how lonely he is.

But, in addition to this information, we can find out something about the personality of the owner, about how he is as a person, about his nature and temperament, about what motivates him. We can figure out some positive or negative aspects of the person or how we can communicate more effectively, what approach we can try to relate as naturally as possible to that person.

The same type of agenda can look completely different in the possession of completely different people. There are also people who use only one diary, others who have two, three, or even more. Some people prefer electronic diaries or organizers, such as those on a computer. Others can only organize if they write, with their own hand, on paper what they have to do.

But there are also people (many!) Those who do not use diaries, being enough some notes or lists, which they make when they need, and then throw them away.

But what about someone studying their agenda?

What types of agendas and, implicitly, what types of people can we identify? We can think first of the possible extremes. In an extreme, we can identify the one who has a very precise, very orderly agenda, easy to follow (hyper-precise), and at the opposite pole is the messy, chaotic one, with an agenda difficult to decipher and follow (anarchic).

Another guy would be the one who can't do anything without his diary, the one who writes everything down and fills his diary with notes, to make sure he doesn't forget anything (the anxious one); and on the other hand, it would be the relaxed guy, who rarely uses the diary when he really needs it, who is very concise in the notes and possibly fills the diary with personal thoughts or ideas, or small drawings, or pictures (artist).

Types of diaries and types of personalities

1. The hyper-precise

How do you recognize him?

He has a thick, bushy diary, roomy enough to write down exactly what he has to do (possibly, and between what hours). Even the appearance of the diary will be very neat - write neatly, without mistakes, always in the same way.

He may have two or three diaries, in an attempt to separate the personal plan from the professional one, and if he has only one, it is very likely that all activities will be strictly planned (for example 7 o'clock - getting up; 7-7.20 - shower; 7.20-7.45 - breakfast).

This strictness can be observed in other aspects of his life, starting from how he looks and how he dresses (he is very attentive to details and has a certain style, which he respects) and ending with the order and strictness that reigns on his desk. , in his room, in the bathroom (everything has its place, well established), etc.

Strengths

He's a man you can count on; will be punctual and will follow the rules; will always provide you with accurate data. His organized style helps him to be effective in activities that involve this kind of skill; you can count on his seriousness. He is the kind of person who sets his goals very clearly in order to achieve his goals. He is attentive to detail, meticulous.

Weaknesses

This personal style may suffer from some rigidity, inflexibility. As long as it follows its established plan and steps, it is very effective, but it can encounter difficulties in dealing with unexpected, surprising situations or crisis situations.

He is also the kind of person who works very well following certain established procedures. But it is also true that they may have difficulty adapting to activities or situations that require inventiveness, initiative, flexibility, creativity.

What's in-depth?

Control and power

In the psychological depths of such a person lies, in fact, the desire for control. He wants stability and accuracy just to get the feeling that nothing is out of his control and that everything is predictable. Associated with the desire for control is also the desire for power, often such people having a high level of aspirations and aiming, professionally, for managerial positions.

2. The anxious

How do you recognize him?

He feels the need to write down everything. His diary is full of details: notes, notes, notes, etc. He may have several agendas and organizers, possibly in electronic format, which he consults constantly.

He probably feels the need to separate his personal agenda from his professional one, feeling overwhelmed by the information that would be gathered if he had only one agenda. Ask lots of questions, ask for details and check your information.

Strengths

Provides very accurate information; he is an analytical spirit, he emphasizes details, seriousness, competence, perfectionism - he wants to do things "by the book". He can be a good performer if he has a very good coordinator, who encourages him and capitalizes on his skills and perfectionism.

Weaknesses

He needs support and guidance, so he may have difficulty being a coordinator or manager. It stresses others through the accuracy of the information they ask for. Ask for confirmation after confirmation. Therefore, it gets stuck in information, notes and notes, obtaining the opposite effect. He may have difficulty working on time, as he does not organize his time efficiently.

What's in-depth?

The need for acceptance and emotional support

These people do not trust their strength and ability to cope with high demands. They are motivated by the desire to be successful, being guided by the fear of not making mistakes - the desire often associated with being admired, esteemed. Deep down, I feel the need to be accepted, because they have great emotional sensitivity and a great need for emotional support.

3. The artist

How do you recognize him?

For the artist, writing in his personal diary is another opportunity to enjoy peace and fall asleep. Therefore, in your diary you can find drawings or figures of all kinds, or notes with his thoughts and feelings, you can find personal pictures or images that he liked, or that attracted his attention through something. It has an unloaded agenda of information without much use.

He prefers synthetic diaries, those that do not necessarily specify the hours every day or that have the whole week on two pages. It is difficult for him to organize himself with electronic diaries, which he avoids or uses occasionally. Most likely, his notes will overlap with both his personal and professional plans; he prefers to have a single agenda, which gives him an overview, being a synthetic spirit.

Strengths

This type is the creative, innovative genre, it works very well with concepts and abstractions, being efficient in intellectual activities, which require the plan of ideas. It is, as a rule, a pleasant and restful presence for those around and it relates very well to them, having a lot to offer from an affective-emotional point of view. He usually has a synthetic style of seeing the world, being the one that offers an overview and that gives meaning to things.

Weaknesses

He does not work very effectively with concrete aspects, sometimes completely lacking pragmatism. Often, it cannot be punctual, it cannot be subject to strict procedures, nor can it follow a fixed schedule (here it resembles the anarchist).

Important details and details may be overlooked. He may seem eccentric or a little strange to those around him, precisely because he has a very personal style in everything he does. If he exaggerates by daydreaming, he can reach a false satisfaction of various needs, and therefore he is no longer very motivated to carry out his current activities, on a daily basis, to pursue his objectives.

What's in-depth?

Enjoying the experience; escape from reality

These people can be very sensory, in the sense that they enjoy the lived experiences, they enjoy the visual, auditory, olfactory sensations, etc. Also, artists can be rather introverted people, who take refuge in themselves, in the inner plane, in reverie and imagination. Deeper down, it may be the inability to manage, to "digest" reality, in its complexity, and therefore this style appears as a form of defense.

4. The anarchist

How do you recognize him?

He's the kind of idiot who never manages to keep order on his desk, he can't find anything at home, and he always has spells in his bag all the time. Of course, the agenda will look the same for you, if it has one. It can have even more - usually one starts, gets lost, starts another, then finds the first one.

Studying his diary you can choose with a headache because it oscillates between beautifully written pages and scribbled pages, it may have missing sheets, torn pieces of paper; Among the pages, you can find views, receipts, invoices, etc.

Strengths

It can surprise you with special flexibility and a good ability to adapt to atypical situations. Not having the habit of storing his information on paper, he operates with them internally, practicing these mental abilities. Therefore, it can surprise with quick reactions and speed of decisions.

Weaknesses

It is difficult to adapt to procedures, structures, fixed activities. The disorder he shows can upset those around him and can lead to conflicts. He may be a good performer, but he finds it difficult to plan, organize, to coordinate. Flexible activities, based on spontaneity and flexibility, suit him.

What's in-depth? The desire for freedom, the revolt against authority

This guy is motivated by a desire for freedom, to escape constraints, and to be bound. It is an independent, autonomous spirit; Deep down, he feels revolt over authority, over rules and regulations.

Balance and harmony = efficiency

Balance is the path to efficiency. Each style can manifest itself more or less; hence, a series of peculiarities that distinguish people from each other. Behavioral exaggeration can lead to the accentuation of the negative aspects, of the shortcomings shown by the people who "fit" in one style or another.

So, regardless of the type we fall into, it is important to find our balance, capitalize on our own resources, and emphasize our specific strengths.

Combining styles. Another aspect that deserves to be emphasized is the fact that the style we fall into may not be pure and some differences may appear between people and their agendas from this point of view as well.

For example, anxiety can also have some tendency to be precise, these two styles can combine very well and lead to extraordinary results when harmonized. Other types that are often combined are the anarchist and the artist and can be confused at first glance.