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Process People And Project People, Or, Saturday Morning at 7:39am

I’ve been thinking recently that there are Project people and Process people.

Project people gear up big, do a lot of talking before they start, plan carefully, manage to an end goal. Around about the 80% done mark they cry out, “What? I’m done! You all can take this the rest of the way.” They’d always rather do something new than something familiar, even the well-loved and well-known.

Process sorts don’t like to talk about what they are going to do before it starts. They enjoy conversations about how well something is going as it happens, take missteps quite seriously, stay in the moment, and get great joy from the last 20%. And in doing exactly the same thing the next day, but better.

I’m sure this over-simplifies, as will any idea that can be communicated in two short paragraphs.

But if I look back, I loved my work because it was about the new, the launch, the Make a Plan and Drive to Finish, then the Hand It Over and Start Again. My mantra, “good enough.” A project person, in other words.

And project people have to be careful when they stay at home. We have to limit our areas of focus, because everything calls for projects, and every single project demands the same amount of energy to get it going. We love to clean the house, once, in a blaze of lavender and lemon-grass scented biologically-sound liquids. Rags torn by hand from old sheets. But we really don’t want to do it again the next week.

Mardel posted something similar, here, with good points about taking a break.

I wonder if this might explain some of why I experienced child-rearing so intensely. One long, impassioned project. Except that with kids your plans have to be remade every morning and you never get close to 80%. There’s no “good enough,” or at least not until several years in.

Still, eventually one hands the plan over. And then checks with the project managers a few time a week. Thank heavens for g-chat and texting.

My best friend is a process person. We made great co-parents. I planned and talked, she drove and walked. I chose the recipes, she made sure there was enough food, even when we faced yet another dinner of breaded chicken and noodles and cut up fruit. She kept us laughing at the table until we hit 95%, on that day, in that moment.

The last 5% is always a matter of luck, and given by the universe on a whim no matter your methodology.

I’m off to a yoga class, where projects get left at the door with our shoes. Have a wonderful weekend.

31 Responses

  1. Excellent observation, Lisa. I’m a process-person, but didn’t recognize myself as such until now. Your description of project-people helps me understand the “other” side (the enthusiasm, the drive). How interesting!

  2. It often works out that the last 10% of something is where the bulk of the challenges occur. As a process person I’m happy to have the project people champion the idea, get the money, smooth feathers to keep it going, but also glad to wave them goodbye when the time to dig in and resolve the hard issues comes along.

  3. I know I’m a mixture of both — as I am as a knitter, where we distinguish between Process and Product knitters (a somewhat different binary, but with strong similarities). In fact, it’s being this mixture that leads to some of my big frustrations with myself (and with the world, some days, for that matter). . . food for thought, all on a Saturday morning. I’m off to yoga now as well. Enjoy your weekend!

  4. Wow, and well, Thanks. I’m definitely a project person, but I didn’t recognize it until your comment, an now this post. It explains a lot, including why I am eternally grateful for process people to take things off my hands.

  5. Lisa, this is a very astute comparison. I think I’m also a mixture of both. I love Project best, but have a natural aptitude for Process. Right now in my professional life I’m feeling a bit stuck: too much Process and not enough Project.

  6. PROCESS PERSON.

    “Process sorts don’t like to talk about what they do before it starts.”

    “doing exactly the same thing the next day, but better.” To forever.

    Me last night looking at some data, “Well, when you look at this, you can see we made a smart choice and it’s really starting to pay off. But I don’t want you to think that we’re getting lazy. Obviously this means we just need to work harder and do more of this, but better”
    David: “So you wouldn’t call that a success? Of course not.”

  7. Though. Not a perfectionist. I don’t think you can keep doing something with the goal of going onwards FOREVER if you are. And stay sane at least.

    1. @Meg, Always stay sane:). I guess Project people have to know not to start too much, and Process people not to go on too long…

  8. Thoroughly a project person. Visit my studio and you will see. In one corner, an almost-finished painting from a few years ago; in the closet an antique quilt top one-third hand-quilted with an elaborate feather stitch. Someday, they will be finished.

    Just not by me.

    :>)

  9. In my work and private life I think I am process…esp with my career – the last 10 to 20% is crucial.

    Because I am a lawyer I have a a tolerance for drudgery the likes of which you have never seen.

    This is why I find ironing soothing.

    Can I just say that cried a bit when I read your lovely comment on my blog. I must have had tens of thousands of comments but the one yesterday and the one about authenticity and commitment are really generous so thank you !

    Also I am to a perfectionist and subscribe to near enough is good enough just get it DONE. xxx

  10. Hmmm. I must be a jectsess person. Probably more process though. Guess it depends on the situation. I have some embarrassingly old craft projects in closets that will probably never be finished, but they seemed like a good idea at the time.

  11. I’m a mixture of both, I think. Very hard when you’re an artist, as you never know when enough is actually too much.

  12. I’m a project person who is obsessive about finishing any project started even if it is excruciatingly painful to do so. Once I’ve started I feel compelled to soldier on. One time, in ignorance, I took on reupholstering a wingback chair even though I had never reupholstered anything in my life! Towards the end, I cried a lot but somehow managed to finish and was so proud that I showed photos of it like other people show pictures of their children. It took 9 months so I guess it was like giving birth. On the other hand, I must confess to one or two projects that remain uncompleted, like the quilt that sits at the bottom of a blanket chest.

    1. @Jane, It seems that someone ought to do a roundup of the craft/design projects that languish in chests and drawers around the country:).

  13. I wrote about this years ago and my comments indicated it was a clean divide. You’re either one or the other. I am completely and totally a project person. Once I figure out how to do something, I am off to the next without a care.

  14. Process with some arenas, Project in others.

    Can stay focused. Can get caught in rabbit holes.

    Introvert. Great energy in solitude.

    Cannot abide being asked what I am doing ‘today’. It harms the process. Reduces me to what I answer. Without answering the focus is accomplished, with some of the rabbit hole topics too.

    Beloved does not understand.

    Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

  15. Wow, it’s so true. I’m a process person. I worked as an air traffic controller for 25 years and retired when I was 50. For the last 3 years I’ve been a contractor working on airspace redesign and converting ground based navigation to satellite based. I was getting annoyed that I never get to have the luxury of being a project person. It seemed like they were getting off the hook at the most crucial moment. Now, I see it is a matter of what we are drawn to and probably good at. Both types are totally necessary for success.

    I have a “high tolerance for drudgery” too.

    Really enjoy this blog!

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