My Remodel: Why do I love a crew? I'm just that type

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When the crew arrived to paint my house, I steeled myself for a miserable few days. After all, I'm a writer, a contemplative, who needs solitude to do my work, and I feared the ruckus would throw me off my game. But I found myself quite happy, and my days were super-productive. Why?

Bill reminded me of the "DISC" personality tests he and I took. DISC stands for the four basic personality types: Dominant, Interactive/Influential, Steady and Conscientious. The system was developed by William Moulton Marston in 1926 and has been adapted to modern-day use.

Based on the answers I had given to various questions on a DISC assessment, I found that I rated as a very high "D." I was surprised, but those who know me know that Dominant is a good descriptor. And that means I like to get things done. So having a crew on-site, rather than one lone worker, makes that very possible. And Bill was very happy as he is a "High I," which means he loves interacting and influencing, and having a crew around is good for that.

Other personality types, such as "S" (for steady), might be happy with one person on the site, who calmly and slowly gets the job done. A "C" (for conscientious) will be more concerned that the job is done right, which is never one of my big concerns. For instance, I found some paint on the lawn where someone evidently washed out some brushes or emptied a small pail. And I didn't care. They were used to working on production homes, I figured, and we got a budget price and I just wanted the job done. (However, the boss saw the mess, as it turns out, and had it cleaned up.) So I'm definitely not a "C" and I scored very low in this category on my DISC test.

Also, I liked the work ethic of this crew. They really were fast, efficient and nonstop. I realized that while I don't much like people hanging around the house when I'm working, I love it when people work around me. I find it energizing. With Bill working on his stuff, and me blogging and writing a Pardon Our Dust feature, we were all one little working village for those few days.

In my opinion, we should all understand our personalities in order to remodel in ways that are most comfortable (or at least less uncomfortable) and effective for our type.

To find out your own DISC personality type, do a Google search on "free DISC assessment." Or, Myers-Briggs is another popular typing tool.