You often hear the phrase, “you’re such a type A,” with a chuckle. Usually, you respond with a sarcastic retort, but you hear it so often these days that all you can do is just stand still in disbelief, thinking: “What’s wrong with having a schedule and being organized?” “They’re the ones who were late, they’re the ones with a problem!” and “I see nothing wrong about having plans and making them happen.”
You pride yourself on being a hard nut to crack—and by all means, you: Get. Things. Done.
“Type A” has become such a social buzzword for anxious and driven go-getters. Often, it’s an oversimplified description, topped with bemusement and gentle chiding. However, while they find you ridiculous or “too stressed,” you’re the one who’s sitting back and relaxing while the deadline is approaching, and they’re the ones wracking their brains out trying to figure out what the hell they’re doing.
Traits that make you typically Type A
So while the “Type A” classification may be overreaching, or come off as too harsh for some, it can still be a tool to help you identify your own strengths and weaknesses. Below is a list of signs that can help you identify if you’re a Type A. [Read: 30 Alpha Male characteristics that make someone a real Alpha]
#1 Passing time? No way! You absolutely shudder at the thought of “passing time.” What’s with doing nothing, anyway, when you can work your way up your to-do list and accomplish both short-and-long-term goals? And, of course, change the world in the process. For you, wasting time is a no-no, and it physically hurts you when you are subjected to it.
#2 30 hours a day. If only, right? You’ve been there: at some point, you actually believed sleeping was a waste of time and you still wish there were more than 24 hours in a day, so you can accomplish all you want to do.
#3 40-hour work week? And what’s a 40-hour work week? A vacation???
#4 Study guides—organized. Your study guides are always immaculate. You hand-write them neatly, and then you highlight almost everything you’ve written. AND you’re proud of every single study guide you’ve made with such care.
#5 Vacation essentials. While those who are on vacation can’t go without sunscreen, you can’t go without your laptop. Those emails won’t answer themselves, you know, so you never go anywhere that doesn’t have excellent and free WiFi.
#6 Night owl and morning person. You don’t understand those people who are cranky in the morning and those who go to bed early. There’s always something to look forward to in the morning, so you get up—no, jump—out of the bed every morning, all psyched up. Furthermore, you always have something to do at night, and you just can’t stand turning in early.
#7 Productivity all the way. Candy Crush? Clash of Clans? What are those? Even your Spotify playlist is filled with songs that boost productivity. There’s nothing like the sound of calendar and to-do notifications popping up on your phone all day to relax and soothe you.
#8 Productivity is the cure for everything. When you have a fever, the flu, or that ever-present migraine, you know deep inside that there’s no point nursing those illnesses. After all, the cure for all of mankind’s ailments is productivity and staying active. Work is much more potent than Tylenol.
#9 Multi-tasking is a lifestyle. Seriously, how do people live doing one thing at a time? Life is all about doing at least three things simultaneously—or else, how will anything ever get done?
#10 Problem equation. For you, venting or “unloading” is a waste of time. Instead of talking and whining about what’s wrong, you find a way to do something about it. There’s a problem? Solve it! Don’t make the little problem a big problem.
#11 Born to rise. Problems don’t faze you. You eat them for breakfast. For you, life is about tackling one problem after another and succeeding through it all. After all, you’re a born problem-solver.
#12 They talk, you do. You are not impressed by people who say, “I’m going to start a business!” “I am going to travel the world,” “I am going to climb a mountain,” or “I’m going to start a band.” While it’s a good idea, to you it’s only a pipe dream unless they actually do it—and the talkers usually don’t.
#13 To-do list is life. There’s something soothing about writing a to-do list for just about anything. In fact, there’s no greater feeling than writing a tick mark on that square box. And you always have something to do after checking all the boxes.
#14 Laziness is a crime. Lazy people drive you up the wall. You don’t want to have anything to do with them. In fact, you’re working on a rocket ship to transfer all those lazy people to Pluto.
#15 Simple joys. There’s no such thing as simple joys for you. The true joy of life can be found from doing and accomplishing…and doing again. [Read: 10 easy ways the perpetually busy can still find love]
#16 Calendars. Yes, you actually have calendars—and alarms for everything. You have a weekly calendar for all your tasks, a monthly calendar for all your other tasks, and a yearly calendar so you can smugly see just how many things you’ve done in one year.
#17 Hate late. Yes, you absolutely hate people who are late. Not only do they not show respect for your time, they make you waste more time by waiting for them, when a lot can already be done in those 5 minutes!
#18 Game night is fight night. There’s no such thing as fun and games for you. Charades and Monopoly mean battle and you would’ve had war paint all over your face each time if you hadn’t worried the paint would mess up your perfectly-applied make up.
#19 Small talk. You hate waiting around for other people so much that you don’t like it when you have to have a conversation with that slow-talker, Sandy. You finish her sentences and just wish the conversation was over and done with as soon as you got the information you needed to get the project done.
#20 Moral leadership. Whenever you are with a group of people working on something, like a school presentation or a work project, you feel like it is your moral duty to lead these blind mice. Otherwise, nothing will ever get done and you don’t want to fail because the people around you are incompetent. Ugh.
#21 Group nightmares. Actually, working with a group frustrates you because you’re always surrounded by people who can’t tell a waltz from a tango. As always, you’re better off doing the whole thing yourself while thinking about how you hate other people.
#22 Who’s tired? Exhaustion is an alien word to you. After all, you do not stop when you’re tired. You only stop when you’re done. So when you feel your energy’s draining, you gulp another can of Red Bull to save the day. [Read: 18 naughty ways to make time for sex in a busy schedule]
#23 Nights out. Your weekend nights consist of taking clients out for dinner and convincing them with your pitch, or actually going out to observe people for your research. Whatever you do on weekends, you either stay in to work or go out to work. No buts about it.
#24 Spotlight slut. You love the spotlight—admit it. Not that you work for all the glory and appreciation. You work to get things done. The spotlight is just the cherry on top and you unashamedly, unapologetically bask in it. [Read: How to be a real bad ass in 25 awesomely bad ways]
#25 No shame. You’ve been described as an over-achiever, a perfectionist, a workaholic, a Type A. Yet you have no problem with it. In fact, you wonder why people think of perfectionism as something negative, when it is the only purpose that should drive every action.
You know it—despite the negative connotations people attach to being a “Type A,” deep inside these people wish they could be you. You have accomplished all that you’ve planned for, your life is perfect, and despite the grind of a competitive career, you still have it all together.
[Read: 7 things you really have to know before dating a Type A]The world goes round and round because of “Type A” people who get things done, no matter what. If all the signs above check out in your mental checklist, then you know just how much of a “Type A” you are—own it, loud and proud!
