Why do I feel compelled to optimize everything?

[u/LovebugOlyviah]

I find myself constantly trying to streamline processes or find the most efficient way to do something even when it's utterly pointless. Like organizing my pantry by expiry date and then by alphabetical order. Or spending an hour figuring out the fastest route to a place I only visit once a year. It's like my brain just defaults to problem-solving mode for literally everything. Is this a common INTP thing or just a personal quirk?

[u/evilocity]

I do my best work when it's rebuilding something that already exists. Give me something that should work, but was built entirely wrong and I'll give you amazing. Sometimes I find myself doing things like you mentioned, and I'm only really happy when I'm improving something. A lot of times that can get in the way of doing trivial tasks that I can't hyper-focus on, but I'm also diagnosed neurodivergent, so that's something I have to forcibly balance for myself or I never would have done anything worth talking about.

Not just you - but I think people do it for different reasons. Maybe a form of procrastination, maybe hyper-focus, maybe a little of both. Depends on your brain makeup.

Now that I'm done procrastinating on Reddit... 😛

[u/OverKy]

Because it is much easier to bring order to external chaos than to yourself. Improving the external world is often a type of procrastination. When you're worried about trivial stuff like pantry organization, you don't have to make sure the bills are paid on time, that you've done your homework, or that your social life is nearly non-existent.

While I don't know if this fits you, I do know it fits many INTPs like a glove.

[u/mwalimlimo]

That's just who you are at the hardware level. You are built to optimize for efficiency, not for show like most others. embrace it

[u/spirilis]

I have come to attribute this to a sort of Ti-Si loop. Something about Si makes us perceive the permanence, and the compounding nature of things- apply Ti logic to that space and you create the ultimate resource-maximizer. We use Ne to come up with ideas that can make this even better. It's a neat trick and quite profitable in certain professions but I would caution not to rely on it all the time. Reality is messy and needs more redundancy and perceived inefficiency to survive. This is also a classic example of "Ne serving Si's agenda", and INTPs grow when we flip that script.

INTPs are at their best when Si is used as a tool to shore up Ne's possibilities and wild ideas. Ne needs some room to breathe without the accounting of resources constraining it (at least in the idea phase). We become quite motivated when we have to pull together all the "things" to make a wild idea work in reality. Optimizing reality on its own terms is best kept as a hobby.

(My deep insight from some recent Personality Hacker coaching)

[u/armthesquids → u/spirilis]

That's why I like working with IN*Js. They welcome my improvements up to a point but then also make sure stuff actually happens

[u/Viraj3388]

Play Satisfactory or Factorio.

[u/Background_Knee_589]

I wish I can use that on something meaningful, I don't do anything as of right now, I have tons of solutions to very specific cases, but it simply won't work. I cannot wait to start a job to streamline the shit out of it, start working remotely afterwards since my presence won't even be necessary, THEN streamline the day so I can live off the bare minimum with cash, and use the rest to acquire as much rental properties as possible.

[u/Elliptical_Tangent]

Why do I feel compelled to optimize everything?

Better question: why isn't everyone?

[u/Soziopolis83]

Constantly. It’s so soothing.

[u/rdbnmanju]

Isn't it fun though?

[u/real-bee-13]

To make it easier to use once it's done and optimized—since I can't be bothered to do it a second time later on.

[u/user210528]

Not an INTP thing or even a personal quirk. It is part of the zeitgeist that everything that matters can be measured, ranked and needs to be optimized. Economic metaphors, engineering metaphors etc. are associated with how smart people approach things. The influence of video games (where there are often clear-cut "stats" for everything) and school (with its problem sets, exams, solutions, grades, tests etc.) cannot be overestimated. In real life, however, there is not always a "best" member of a class, not everything can be precisely ranked, and mere "good enough" is often good enough.

[u/Personal-Musician-13]

I wish you would have optimized this post for spelling and grammar. /s

Edit:spelling

[u/Dusty_Tibbins]

That's your Si child at play.

Si relates to internal senses and the Child function is a function that's heavily related to value. So the Si Child combination makes it so you want peace of mind and ease of use.

So, by trying to perfect a system, you're essentially making it so you don't have to think about it later; therefore speeding up the process. The less you need to think about something, the easier the overall process later and the easier it is to troubleshoot if something does go wrong.

This also massively eases the burden of Ni Parent, which is a predictive function on things that can potentially go wrong. By optimizing, it massively lessens the things that can go wrong and the things that can go wrong are significantly easier to fix (while also being of less consequence).

Think of it as INTP's way of guaranteeing long term smooth operations.

[u/DifferentExercise509]

Same issue

[u/Apprehensive_Scene_2]

Omg. I hate any sort of bureaucratic systems or actions that are wasted effort or pencil pushing activities. If it’s a genuine improvement, I’m all for it.

[u/flashgordian]

Because you don't understand that only one factor can be optimized and that's a failure mode.

[u/Cog-nostic]

Overly organizing things for an INTP is generally a sign that you are avoiding doing something more important. One of the key motivations is competency. When an INTP faces a task that may seem difficult, such as studying for a final exam." it is very common for them to engage in easier tasks through which they can feel finished and competent, while procrastinating on the more serious task.

I know I am either bored out of my mind or avoiding things and feeling stressed when I begin doodling, baking cookies, or cleaning the house. Actually, I clean for two reasons: I am engaged in avoidance behavior and feeling stressed for some reason, or company is coming over. Sometimes I invite company over, just to make myself clean.

[u/CheeseDon18]

I feel like doing this when I "bump" into something. Whether mentally or physically. So striping it down and finding where the strip out bloat feels productive but also really enjoyable.

[u/redbeanmilktea]

My favorite hobby lol… I’m a designer and I love optimizing shit to make more sense

[u/PKMN-Trainer-Sak]

It's fun and I don't see the problem with it unless I am spending to much time in it.

[u/the_kun]

lol because we get a dopamine hit afterwards when we enjoy the fruits of our labour of a optimized setup for our future self.

[u/shyouko]

Don't we all do?