Comments on: Are You a Balanced or Extreme Type of Person? http://www.jeremyadamdavis.com/productivity/are-you-a-balanced-or-extreme-type-of-person/ From Developer to Designer Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:13:57 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Jeremy http://www.jeremyadamdavis.com/productivity/are-you-a-balanced-or-extreme-type-of-person/#comment-954 Jeremy Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:26:11 +0000 http://www.jeremyadamdavis.com/?p=196#comment-954 @Jimmy - Excellent comment. You're right I probably didn't give the balanced person a fair shake. Especially if you'd like to make a Tortoise and Hare metaphor out of the balanced and extreme personalities. Slow and steady wins the race. I can also relate to having my passion for something clouding my problem solving ability. I get so caught up in my work and trying to solve a problem that I don't take the time to step and rationally think about the problem. I can spend 2 hours trying to solve something to give up, go to bed, and then solve the problem in 10 minutes the next morning. I think your last line is the best advice around about this subject. Knowing when you control the pace of your day/project and when to just go all out. Well said. @Jimmy – Excellent comment. You’re right I probably didn’t give the balanced person a fair shake.

Especially if you’d like to make a Tortoise and Hare metaphor out of the balanced and extreme personalities. Slow and steady wins the race.

I can also relate to having my passion for something clouding my problem solving ability. I get so caught up in my work and trying to solve a problem that I don’t take the time to step and rationally think about the problem.

I can spend 2 hours trying to solve something to give up, go to bed, and then solve the problem in 10 minutes the next morning.

I think your last line is the best advice around about this subject. Knowing when you control the pace of your day/project and when to just go all out. Well said.

]]> By: Jimmy P http://www.jeremyadamdavis.com/productivity/are-you-a-balanced-or-extreme-type-of-person/#comment-953 Jimmy P Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:04:15 +0000 http://www.jeremyadamdavis.com/?p=196#comment-953 I can certainly relate to your "extreme person" mentality, as I'm more or less the same way. However, I think you may have unfairly spun a negative connotation on the balanced person. I'm not sure we can say that the balanced person works without passion, nor that they make no real progress. I've always looked at the balanced person as having some built-in checks about when to stop that I lack, or the ability to prioritize things better, or remove one's self from a situation to deal with another. I'm sure you've had things you've needed to do or focus on, but since your passion for something else is so great you shrug them off for your current priority. I do it all the time, and I wish I didn't. I hate that I can't focus on something that's important because I can't get my mind to stop working on my latest pet project. Anyway, I don't mean to take away from a very good and very relateable post. Lots of good things have been produced (and maybe can only be produced) with the passion that you're describing. Keep in mind though, that incremental progress can still yield good results too. We all know that sometimes removing yourself from something for a bit can yield better results when you jump back in. How many times has your passion kept you grinding away at something, when really you should have stepped back, looked at the big picture, and taken a different approach because you were too close to see correctly? Maybe the real trick is balancing when to be balanced and when to be extreme? I can certainly relate to your “extreme person” mentality, as I’m more or less the same way.

However, I think you may have unfairly spun a negative connotation on the balanced person.

I’m not sure we can say that the balanced person works without passion, nor that they make no real progress. I’ve always looked at the balanced person as having some built-in checks about when to stop that I lack, or the ability to prioritize things better, or remove one’s self from a situation to deal with another.

I’m sure you’ve had things you’ve needed to do or focus on, but since your passion for something else is so great you shrug them off for your current priority. I do it all the time, and I wish I didn’t. I hate that I can’t focus on something that’s important because I can’t get my mind to stop working on my latest pet project.

Anyway, I don’t mean to take away from a very good and very relateable post. Lots of good things have been produced (and maybe can only be produced) with the passion that you’re describing. Keep in mind though, that incremental progress can still yield good results too. We all know that sometimes removing yourself from something for a bit can yield better results when you jump back in. How many times has your passion kept you grinding away at something, when really you should have stepped back, looked at the big picture, and taken a different approach because you were too close to see correctly?

Maybe the real trick is balancing when to be balanced and when to be extreme?

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