Type A people are motivated to achieve and make a great help for our society. Like any group of people, they have their winning qualities and their blindspots. Let’s dive in to explore the qualities that define these people. If you have Type A pride, then read on!
1. You Love To Win At Work And Everything Else
More than any other quality, Type A people love to win.
You work hard to get a big bonus. You have no problem putting in extra hours to help your boss meet a deadline. If your company offers awards for top performance, you are working hard to make sure that you win. Outside of the office, you are drawn to playing sports where you can keep score and record victories. If an activity comes with a medal, a score or an award, you will find Type A people achieving success.
2. You Are Frustrated By Delays and Process
Sitting in traffic and waiting on hold drives you crazy as a Type A person.
Type A people have a long list of activities to work through and delays keep them from making progress. Fortunately, some Type A professionals have discovered ways to make use of delays – such as working on email or an important document while on hold. Being told to fill out forms and go through complicated procedures tends to make you frustrated or even angry.
Just remember that exploding and screaming at someone will probably make it more difficult to win!
3. You Are Highly Organized
Type A people are known for their outstanding organizational skills.
High achieving people tend to rely on productivity practices to stay organized. Type A people bring drive and intensity to every part of their work and life. For example, I knew a Type A person who prepared a detailed, color coded Excel spreadsheet to plan a golf trip to Scotland for his friends. He knew that travel can be complicated, so he left nothing to chance. Few things in life frustrate a Type A person more than working with a disorganized person who constantly forgets their tasks.
4. You Probably Have Some Nervous Habits
Type A people are full of energy and passion. Sometimes, that energy can only be expressed in nervous habits and tics.
Unlike some of the other fine qualities that define Type A people, this quality can become a distracting weakness. For example, you may have a habit of tapping your foot on the floor during a stressful meeting. At home, you may check that the lights are off in every room several times before you go to bed. If the nervous habits help you focus and don’t cause harm, you may as well run with them. On a less positive note, you may have stress habits such as grinding your teeth when you sleep (it’s bad for your health – you need to get a mouth guard for that problem).
5. You Find It Difficult To Relax
Type A people are so focused on achievement and winning that they find it difficult to relax, even after a long day of productive work.
For example, let’s say that you are a Type A with a demanding corporate job. You probably put in a 40-50 hour work week and then keep going on the weekend – building a start up company, studying for a MBA or volunteering. On their own, there is nothing wrong with any of these activities. At a certain point (or when you are over 30), you may find the demanding pace is cutting into your mental health.
What’s the solution? Apply your Type A abilities to relaxation and leisure: Plan a summer trip to the beach. Organize a dinner party for your friends. Pick an idea from your bucket list and do it this weekend. Go on a bucket list trip somewhere (read 50 Extraordinary Places To Put On Your Bucket List to get some ideas).
6. You Are Punctual
Type A people trust the clock and aim to be on time.
Attention to time and punctuality is one of the great ways that Type A people show respect for other people. For example, some Type A people I know in business aim to arrive 5-10 minutes early to meetings. That practice creates a good first impression and it allows them to greet other people as they walk into the room. In social life, Type A people never lose their reservations due to being late – it is one of their best qualities that people admire about them. Whether you identify as Type A or not, paying close attention to time is a great way to show respect to others.
7. Your Task Manager Is Your Best Friend
Type A people love to-do lists and use powerful task management tools. They know the value in writing down tasks and crossing each item off their list as they work through the day.
Working from a to-do list is one of the best ways to stay organized. In fact, Type A people like task lists because they get a sense of satisfaction from each task they complete. There are also many ways to achieve success with a task manager. For example, Michael Hyatt, a best selling author and former publishing executive, uses Nozbe for task management. In contrast, entrepreneur Tim Ferriss prefers to use index cards. The exact tool used is less important than being consistent in using it. Instead, it is important to learn a productivity framework that you can apply (e.g. Leading Yourself With Getting Things Done)
8. You Constantly Work On Your Goals
Type A people focus on goals and usually achieve what they work on.
In the working world, Type A sales professionals are known to complete challenging sales goals. They invest in sales training, work long hours and seek every advantage in reaching their goals. In order to reach their goals faster, Type A people read about goal achievement and read productivity books. In many cases, high achieving people also set significant goals that go beyond their careers. Did you know that the average triathlete’s household income is $126,000 according to Fortune magazine? It is more than possible to work on challenging fitness goals and earn a high income at the same time.
9. You Commit To Play Full Out
Type A people are filled with passion – it is one of their finest qualities.
They know that half measured efforts rarely lead to success or satisfaction. At the office, they are happy to edit a PowerPoint file one more time to make sure it is free of errors. Type A people also tend to play hard and enjoy exploring challenging activities such as sky diving, climbing mountains or traveling around the world. Bringing energy and enthusiasm to life makes a big difference to your results.
10. You Think Everything Is Urgent
Type A people are so driven to complete all of their tasks that they view every task as urgent.
Unfortunately, this belief means that some Type A people focus on urgent matters (e.g. responding to every email as it arrives) rather than important matters (i.e. taking care of their health). There are a few ways to work around this weakness. First, you can label certain tasks as “high priority” in your task manager. Second, you can ask another person to help you with priorities (e.g. ask your spouse to remind you to exercise or engage in other healthy habits).
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