office space

It's the summer of 2009, and Imagine Artists is officially working together in the same office.

Hooray!

...but, it's been interesting.

There are several little idiosyncrasies popping up.

It's one thing to be friends with someone..
It's another to be business partners.
And then it's entirely another to be friends & business partners who work in the same office space.

Let me go over a few quirks about Kristi & I that we have been "learning" over the past few weeks about one another... just another set of bullet points to add to our "differences" list!

I will note, though, that while we have a lot of differences, I truly believe it is what makes us such a dynamic team!

Watching the Clock
Kristi is a very prompt individual, if not insanely early. I remember when we'd run around together back in our early college days and we were both still living at home. We'd set a time to be somewhere, and about 25 minutes before that time she'd walk into my house.

Of course, I'd be upstairs in my bathroom, just thinking about getting ready. So she'd sit and wait on me while I changed my clothes, fixed my hair, brushed my teeth.

Anyway, it's an attribute that is positive-- we should all aspire to be on-time individuals. There is a reason we have clocks and schedules and calendars, so we should learn to adhere to these policies for the most efficient turnout.

However, my brain must have trouble processing that simple request. It is very hard for me to view "time" in the correct concept. In my mind, the party hasn't started until I'm there. Often, I feel like I have more time than I really do. I think, "Oh, that'll take me 5 minutes." An hour later, I'm finding out that I was wrong. Also, sometimes I am in such deep concentration over something that I don't even realize that time is escaping. It's crazy, really. But definitely an area that needs fine-tuning in my life! Let's just say that it's a good thing one of us is so prompt, or else we'd be in deep trouble!


Work Space
Kristi cannot even begin to think about working until her desk space looks flawless. No clutter. It would be the end of life for her to have to edit pictures or design a logo with a pen out of place or a cup off to the right. It would best be taken care of.

For me, I'm the biggest clutter bug on the planet. As I type, I have 2 pens, masking tape, a coffee cup, 2 stacks of checks, a customer folder, my calendar, a bunch of sheets of paper, my phone, and several folders all within reach. What if I need something? No really, though, I have to make a mess IN ORDER to start working. The clutter means I'm actually getting something done.

So, it's interesting when, Kristi looks over at my desk on a daily basis and says, "How can you work like that? Don't you have to clean that up?"

And I look over at her desk and say, "What are you doing? Where's all your stuff?"

Communication
Kristi's dream would be to video Skype chat with me while sitting just 4 feet away in the same room. My dream would be to turn my head 90 degrees and say, "Hey, Kristi, what do ya need?"


For real, though, ever since we both got our imacs, Kristi's been trying to call me and video Skype me. Perhaps I would do a good thing to just remove Skype from my Applications. I'm kidding... it's all in good fun. And trust me, we do plenty of verbal (and sometimes even nonverbal) communication while together, miraculously without the help of Skype.

Style
We both have very different styles. It's nice that we've been able to collaborate and create a "look" unique to Imagine Artists, but as independent artists we are two totally different creators! It's crazy. We often sit and view images together before posting final sets online, and it never fails: time after time, I'll love an image that she'll hate, or she'll absolutely adore a picture that does nothing for me. There are plenty of times we compromise or actually agree, but in general, we are so different!


Rate
Kristi is very quick and efficient. She sees something needs to get done, she pulls it up, and she does it.

I tend to take my time. I think about something, I analyze it, I make lists about it, and then when I finally do it (if I do), I do it very thoroughly.

Both methods have their pros and cons, but it's been really evident as we both work on projects together!

Doer vs. Dreamer
Kristi is a doer. She sees something that needs to get done and she does it... right then.

I'm a dreamer. I think about something that needs to get done, and then I develop an idea about it. Then I write it down. Then I print it off and add more to it. Then I check over it with Kristi. Then I bounce my idea off of several other people. Then I might do it. Or I might not, because something else might come up.

This is manifested itself in our "daily" tasks. I make lists about everything under the sun-- all our projects and all our ideas. Then I decide the proper order to do everything and I go through and start working... often bounching from project to project or changing things along the way. I am a "big picture" person who wants to see the whole gamut.

Kristi is more of a "here and now" type of girl. She knows what she needs to work on... today. She sits down at her desk and she gets it done. A to-do list like mine would put her over the edge. In fact, it does. Often I bring it out and she about falls off her chair.

I might note, since "personality typing" is so near and dear to my heart, that this describes a good difference between being intuitive and sensing. I am an intuitive who wants the whole picture. I NEED to know what's going on in all aspects... and I have to see it. Kristi is more of a here & now, present day, let's-focus-on-facts-that-matter type of worker. That's a Sensing characteristic.

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It's been fun working together, and I'm sure as time goes on we will discover more and more differences and quirks in our "working" styles. As I stated above, a lot of these differences I attribute to our personality types. It makes so much sense that as an intuitive feeler perceiver, I'm often distracted, late, all over the board, dreaming, and looking at everyhing but today. And with Kristi being a Sensor, her mind is set on "today," all the relevant facts of the "now," and would rather take action than sit around and dream.

Fun times!

Love you all!

T