How Low Conscientiousness is Holding You Back
Let’s get right to the point: conscientiousness matters, and if you’re low in it, it’s probably holding you back in ways you don’t even realize. It’s easy to brush off the idea of personality traits affecting your life outcomes, but conscientiousness is not just some abstract psychological term; it’s a defining factor of success in almost every area of life. In fact, studies have shown that conscientiousness predicts job performance, academic achievement, and even long-term life satisfaction. So, if you're low in this trait, you might be limiting your potential.
Now, this isn't meant to be a personal attack. If you identify with being low in conscientiousness, that’s a challenge, not a life sentence. In fact, the good news is that unlike some other personality traits, you can work on your conscientiousness and improve it. But before we get into solutions, let’s get real about why and how this trait, or rather, the lack of it, could be holding you back in your career, relationships, health, and general well-being.
What Is Conscientiousness?
Conscientiousness is one of the "Big Five" personality traits, along with openness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. It’s characterized by organization, discipline, reliability, and a strong sense of duty. People who score high in conscientiousness tend to be methodical, diligent, and goal-oriented. They take their commitments seriously and are usually seen as dependable.
On the other hand, people who score low in conscientiousness often struggle with procrastination, forgetfulness, inconsistency, and a lack of focus. They might come off as more laid-back or carefree, which some people mistake for a relaxed, happy-go-lucky personality. But let’s be honest: when you’re consistently missing deadlines, failing to follow through on promises, or feeling like you're always behind, this isn't "carefree" living—it’s dysfunction.
Why Is Low Conscientiousness Holding You Back?
1. Career Stagnation
Let’s start with the obvious: your career. If you’re low in conscientiousness, it’s affecting your job more than you think. When you lack conscientiousness, you’re less likely to meet deadlines, complete tasks efficiently, or take initiative. You might be skipping out on the details, thinking that your big ideas will carry you through. Newsflash: they won’t. Employers and clients value people who can execute consistently over people who are unreliable but occasionally brilliant. If you’re consistently dropping the ball, your boss or client won’t trust you with important tasks, which means fewer opportunities for growth or promotion.
Conscientiousness is also linked to time management skills. Poor time management isn’t just about missing a deadline here or there; it’s about failing to prioritize important tasks. You may find yourself getting caught up in distractions or focusing on low-value tasks while the real work piles up. This habit will make you appear disorganized and undependable, which are career killers. Sure, you might have a ton of potential, but potential without follow-through is worth nothing.
2. Personal Relationships Suffer
People don’t often think about how low conscientiousness affects their relationships, but it does—and in a big way. Relationships, whether romantic or platonic, require reliability, trust, and commitment. If you’re constantly late, fail to keep your word, or don’t put effort into planning and maintaining the relationship, it will suffer.
Low conscientiousness can make you come across as flaky, selfish, or disinterested, even if that’s not how you feel. For instance, if you forget important dates like birthdays or anniversaries, it’s not just about the date—it signals to the other person that you don’t care enough to remember. If you habitually cancel plans last minute or fail to show up when people need you, they’ll start seeing you as unreliable. Over time, this can erode the foundation of your relationships, pushing people away.
3. Financial Instability
Low conscientiousness has a direct correlation with poor financial habits. Let’s be blunt: if you lack the discipline to budget, save, and make responsible financial decisions, you’re setting yourself up for long-term financial stress. People low in conscientiousness often fall into cycles of impulsive spending, failing to track their finances, or neglecting to plan for the future. Sure, you might occasionally strike gold with a spontaneous investment or splurge, but more often than not, this approach will leave you in a financial mess.
Being financially irresponsible affects more than just your bank account—it creates unnecessary stress, hinders your ability to take risks (like starting a business or investing in yourself), and can cause strain in your personal relationships. Money problems are one of the leading causes of stress, and low conscientiousness is a major contributor to that issue.
4. Poor Health and Well-Being
There’s a strong connection between conscientiousness and physical health. People who score low on conscientiousness tend to engage in more unhealthy behaviors, like poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and even substance abuse. Why? Because conscientiousness is what helps you maintain routines, like going to the gym or eating a balanced diet. It’s also the trait that pushes you to make responsible health decisions, like scheduling regular doctor appointments or sticking to a treatment plan.
When you're low in conscientiousness, you might struggle to keep up with these routines, leading to poor health outcomes. This can manifest in various ways—weight gain, chronic illnesses, mental health issues, or just a general sense of feeling unwell. And when your health is suffering, every other aspect of your life will, too. Poor physical health saps your energy, motivation, and focus, making it even harder to improve in other areas.
5. Constant Stress and Overwhelm
Here’s the kicker: being low in conscientiousness creates a feedback loop of stress and overwhelm. When you’re not organized, when you’re not keeping up with your responsibilities, everything feels like it’s piling up. You might constantly feel behind, and because you lack the conscientiousness to tackle tasks systematically, you end up procrastinating or avoiding them altogether. This only makes the problem worse. Before you know it, you're in a perpetual state of overwhelm, unsure of how to dig yourself out of the hole you've created.
When your life feels chaotic and disorganized, it’s nearly impossible to feel calm or in control. This leads to stress, which in turn impacts your mental and physical health. Low conscientiousness is a major driver of this cycle because it prevents you from developing the systems and habits that would help you manage your responsibilities more effectively.
How to Improve Your Conscientiousness
Okay, so by now you’re probably thinking, “Great, I get it. I’m low in conscientiousness and it’s messing up my life. But how do I fix it?” The good news is that conscientiousness isn’t set in stone. While some personality traits are more deeply ingrained, conscientiousness is one that can be developed through deliberate effort and habit-building. Here’s how to start improving:
1. Start Small with Daily Routines
One of the biggest challenges for people low in conscientiousness is creating and sticking to routines. Start small. Instead of trying to overhaul your entire life overnight, focus on building one or two key habits. For example, commit to waking up at the same time every day or scheduling time to plan your day. Once you’ve mastered one routine, add another. Over time, these small habits will compound and help you become more organized and reliable.
2. Set Specific, Measurable Goals
People who are low in conscientiousness often struggle with vague or undefined goals. Instead of saying, “I want to be healthier,” set a specific goal like, “I will go to the gym three times a week.” When your goals are specific and measurable, it’s easier to hold yourself accountable. Break your larger goals into smaller, actionable steps and track your progress.
3. Use External Tools for Accountability
If you’re struggling to stay on top of things, use external tools to help you out. This could be a simple to-do list app, a planner, or even setting reminders on your phone. Some people find it helpful to have an accountability partner—a friend, family member, or colleague who checks in on your progress and keeps you honest.
4. Prioritize Your Commitments
Part of being conscientious is knowing when to say no. If you’re constantly overcommitting and then failing to follow through, you’re doing more harm than good. Learn to prioritize the tasks and commitments that are truly important and say no to the ones that aren’t. This will help you focus your energy on what really matters and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.
5. Develop a Long-Term Perspective
Low conscientiousness often goes hand in hand with living in the moment and neglecting long-term consequences. Try to develop a mindset that considers the future impact of your actions. Before making a decision, ask yourself how it will affect you in a week, a month, or even a year from now. This shift in perspective can help you make more responsible choices and stick to your goals.
6. Forgive Yourself, But Stay Disciplined
Improving conscientiousness takes time, and you’re going to slip up along the way. When you do, don’t beat yourself up or fall into the trap of thinking that it’s hopeless. Acknowledge the mistake, figure out what went wrong, and move forward. However, don’t let forgiveness become an excuse for laziness. Stay disciplined and committed to making improvements.
Openmind and the Measurement of Conscientiousness Using Implicit Methods
Our psychometric tool Openmind represents an innovative approach to measuring personality traits like conscientiousness through implicit methods. Traditionally, conscientiousness is assessed using self-report questionnaires, where individuals rate their own behaviors and tendencies. While these explicit methods have their merits, they also have limitations, particularly when it comes to bias. Openmind seeks to overcome these limitations by focusing on the unconscious cognitive processes that shape a person's personality and behavior, allowing for a more nuanced and accurate assessment.
Openmind operates by presenting users with various tasks and scenarios designed to assess not just their conscious responses, but the underlying thought patterns that drive those responses. For conscientiousness, Openmind uses tasks that indirectly measure qualities like attention to detail, impulse control, time management, and commitment to long-term goals. Instead of asking a participant, "Are you good at managing your time?" Openmind may present a task that involves organizing a series of events within a limited time frame, subtly gauging how the individual prioritizes tasks, avoids distractions, and maintains focus.
One of the key features of Openmind is its use of Implicit Response Time Tests (IRTs), which measure the strength of automatic associations between concepts. In the case of conscientiousness, Openmind might assess how quickly and unconsciously individuals associate positive or negative words with behaviors like "planning," "responsibility," or "persistence." These implicit associations offer valuable insights into a person’s underlying conscientiousness level, often revealing tendencies that individuals might not consciously recognize or admit in self-assessments.
Another innovative aspect of Openmind is its capacity to measure changes in conscientiousness over time. Unlike static self-report surveys, which capture a snapshot of personality, Openmind provides ongoing feedback and tracks patterns across multiple interactions. This allows for a dynamic understanding of how an individual’s conscientiousness may evolve in response to personal development efforts, environmental changes, or specific interventions. It can, for instance, help an individual identify periods of high conscientiousness, such as when they are motivated by a particular goal, and periods of low conscientiousness, when distractions or stress might impede their discipline.
Ultimately, Openmind’s implicit approach to measuring conscientiousness is about going beyond what people say they do and tapping into what they actually do at a subconscious level. By doing so, it offers a more comprehensive understanding of how conscientiousness manifests in everyday actions and decisions. The tool’s sophisticated analysis not only provides a more accurate assessment but also gives individuals actionable insights into how they can improve their conscientiousness, empowering them to make meaningful changes that enhance their personal and professional lives.
In an era where understanding and optimizing human potential is more important than ever, Openmind offers a fresh and effective means to measure and develop one of the most critical personality traits for success.
Conclusion: Stop Letting Low Conscientiousness Hold You Back
If you’re low in conscientiousness, it’s time to stop making excuses. This personality trait isn’t just a quirk—it’s a major factor in your success or failure in life. Low conscientiousness may have been holding you back for years, but the good news is that you have the power to change it. By recognizing how it impacts your career, relationships, finances, health, and overall well-being, you can start taking actionable steps to improve.
Building conscientiousness is about developing habits, routines, and a mindset that prioritizes discipline, responsibility, and long-term thinking. It’s not going to happen overnight, but with consistent effort, you can gradually turn things around. Stop letting disorganization, procrastination, and lack of focus limit your potential. Your future self will thank you for taking responsibility now and making the changes that lead to a more fulfilling, successful, and well-balanced life.
So, don’t wait until next week or next month. Start today, even if it’s just a small step. Organize your day, set a goal, and hold yourself accountable. The more you practice, the more you’ll notice the difference. You have the ability to break free from the cycle of low conscientiousness and start thriving. It’s time to stop holding yourself back and unlock the success that’s waiting for you.