Judging personality types have so many strengths, but one of our greatest is the ability to thrive in a structured routine. Judgers are amazing helpers when you need someone to line up all of the details. We’re great at laying down a game plan for a vacation, organizing someone’s space, and serving as personal financial advisors. So what happens when a detail-oriented, structured being like yourself finds there is no structure? While Judging personalities are all unique, most will suffer mounting anxiety when there is no structure in their life whatsoever.
As it happens, life isn’t always structured. So, it’s essential to learn the signs that you’re affected to cope with the lack of organization as best you can. Here are six things that happen when a Judger doesn’t have structure.
1. You make impulsive decisions
Some may assume Judgers are too set in their ways to be impulsive, but there’s an exception. If you’re a Judger who feels uncomfortable, out of control and unstructured, you might make the most spontaneous people seem like novices. Since Judgers are planners by nature, the shift to spontaneity is quite unusual, but it’s a coping mechanism.
When you’re experiencing weeks of disorganization, you might begin to feel a strong pull to do something impulsive. You may not even realize it’s happening, but once you’ve noticed your pattern, it’s clear that it’s an anxiety response to feeling out of control. You’re likely trying to fill the void by doing something within an unpredictable situation. Spontaneity, in this case, can be positive or negative, depending on your actions.
An easy way to fix this pattern of behavior is to recognize what you can’t change and create a self-appointed schedule to replace some of the projects you’ve lost. For example, try setting goals aligned with your interests, career field, or life plan. Even if you’re engaging in your hobbies and scheduling time for that, it might end up being more productive than taking a spontaneous trip to Iceland without anyone to accompany you.
2. You expand your social calendar
Whether you’re an Introvert or an Extravert, you may find yourself packing your social calendar as full as possible when you feel unstructured. By making plans at a set time, you’re forcing yourself into a self-imposed structure—even if it’s to grab a coffee and have a chat. As a coping mechanism, this is not uncommon or even unhealthy.
Take care, however, that you are being soothed by your time with friends rather than simply procrastinating. For example, if you’ve lost your job or main focus in life, you might find yourself constantly seeking out friends and having a hard time being alone. If you feel the need to be around people 24-7, you may be creating false structure and avoiding your circumstances.
Often, meeting up with friends or family members can help you evaluate your life and accept what needs to change. But if you’re distracting yourself by filling your calendar without purpose, you might want to take a personal inventory and consider making some changes.
3. You seek out jobs you don’t even want
If your life feels unstructured, you may find yourself searching for things that’ll bring some semblance of a schedule to your days. Sometimes, that means you’re applying to side jobs (or main jobs if your current position is why you’re feeling lost) just to feel proactive, even if you’d rather not accept the work.
Even if you’re already employed, you might find fault in your career—even if it has nothing to do with your scheduling woes. When your schedule is wide-open, you may find you’re willing to take almost any side hustle, even at the most basic pay or growth opportunities. But the drive behind this wears off since it’s more of a balm for your fear of unproductivity. Instead, you might want to concentrate less on opportunities and more on your personal goals. What sort of jobs would bring you happiness, as well as growth opportunities?
Sometimes, your job is the reason why you feel unorganized. If you work for yourself in freelancing or some other business, the best thing is to create a schedule as much as possible. Make hard, set deadlines. It may be best to leave jobs that make you feel like you’re floundering in other instances.
4. You procrastinate
When Judgers don’t have the solid structure of deadlines and due dates, they procrastinate with the best of them—even worse than Perceiving types. Although you have the mental fortitude to carry through with the project, your motivation wanes when there is no deadline.
When your life feels unstructured, you may already be in procrastination mode because it begins to feel like there’s nothing you need to do. So, when there’s no set deadline for a project, you end up waiting until the last minute to get it done.
If you’re looking for an excellent way to change this habit, try setting a personal deadline. Mark the time out on your calendar for when you think it should be due, and see if this helps you feel more engaged.
5. You seek stress-relieving habits or environments
Although Perceiving personality types are happier when they have more freedom in their schedule, Judgers are stressed out when they don’t have any structure. Because of this, you may act out in a variety of ways, but one of these is to seek out stress-relieving hobbies, activities, or environments.
You might do this by going to a spa, seeking out friends you find calming and grounding, practicing meditation, exercising, or other healthy stress-relieving activities. Although this doesn’t solve the problem of scheduling, beneficial stress relief can help Judgers maintain a clear head and come up with a solution to any imbalances in their life.
However, if you take your pursuit of serenity to an unhealthy level, such as engaging in risky behaviors or procrastinating beyond what’s healthy, you might be delving into too much escapism.
6. You decide to reorganize your living spaces
When you’re a Judger who doesn’t have structure or organization in your work life, social life, or any other facet, you may begin a purging mission—reorganizing your home for a more balanced environment. Although onlookers may not understand what’s happening to you, the reason might be clear—you may not have control over outside forces, but you can control your personal spaces.
Any person who lives with a Judging type has probably seen Judgers become an anxious whirlwind when things in their closets, rooms, or otherwise are mirroring their unstructured lives. While others just see someone throwing avalanches of clothing onto the floor and stacks of giveaway boxes piling up in the hall, it’s cathartic for Judgers. Because you want to change everything, the simple act of going Marie Kondo on your bedroom can make all the difference by bringing you a grounded sense of tranquility.
Takeaway
While types across the 16 personality type system experience life through different lenses, Judging types desire a healthy amount of structure in their day-to-day. Sometimes, however, life doesn’t always go according to plan, and Judgers have to learn to take the unexpected lack of structure in their stride.
There are many ways Judgers react to a haphazard schedule, but some of the most common you might experience include seeking out harmonious spaces, reorganizing, or engaging in some uncharacteristically spontaneous behavior. If you’re a Judger without structure in your life, it’s best to remember it’s a period of growth that may help you discover things you didn’t know about yourself and find out what is and isn’t important in your schedule and personal goals.
