You know, I'm actually wired that way from decades and decades of reading books. Even when I do writing on my own, I consider where the plot will go, how it is going to develop, where it will end and more before I even start. Non Non Biyori was a huge departure from that for me. It really has no plot...there are things that continue from one episode to the next (like the whole plush doll thing - more a questionable personality trait of one of the girls), but no overarching storyline. What kept me watching it was the insight into rural Japan. I wouldn't say it is my favorite SoL, but it was probably my first plotless anime (I think my only plotless anime lol). I definitely prefer a good plot too. It was interesting but not my favorite and it was the setting that made it interesting to me.
I completely agree with both of these statements. That's actually where I think the allure of SoLs lie. It is the time that they genuinely can spend focused on the characters and their motivations (other than the generic types and deres we've all become painfully familiar with that take up most anime). The characters aren't running from place to place and the slower pace seems to bring out more of the characters nuances so they don't end up as a "type-cast" for the story. I often wish more anime had characters as carefully and thoughtfully crafted as SoLs tend to have.