Are you super organized or do you suffer from OCD?

When you see a really organized person, you automatically think, “How tense are they?” as judgment.

Many people mistake the ability to be “really organized” with a disease called obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that affects about 1 in 50 people.

There is a big difference between “highly organized” people and those with OCD. Those who are highly organized do so because they see increased productivity, efficiency, and it provides them with a more aesthetically pleasing place to work or live.

Compare this to people who legitimately have OCD. They are forced to line things up in a certain way, to label things, to turn the knobs a certain number of times, or to wash their hands repeatedly.

One acts in a way that makes life easier (the highly organized one) while the other’s habits make life increasingly difficult and full of anxiety.

Let’s start with a quick kitchen analogy.

Some people organize their pantry and line up all of their canned goods to find what they need quickly and efficiently replenish their kitchen stock. Those with OCD force themselves and others to align the labels perfectly or alphabetize the cans. And when those actions are not performed perfectly, great anxiety and stress is generated. Again, the action is not performed for the sake of efficiency, but rather because the person literally cannot avoid completing these actions perfectly or repetitively, or both.

My sister makes fun of me because I put labels on some things in my kitchen. Specifically, I have containers that have bread flour for the breadmaker and regular flour for baking. Flours have different textures and are used for different purposes, but they look exactly the same. It makes sense to me to label these things so I don’t have to guess. I only take bread flour or regular flour. This is a fast, efficient, and error-free system that I have developed to help me not screw up my breads and baked goods.

Now, think about your next organizing project at work or at home. What do you want to achieve?

Do you want literally super neat things like a pin, all in order and alphabetically? Or do you really just want to be able to find things quickly and easily?

Again, let’s emphasize that being organized doesn’t have to mean you have OCD. Think of organizing as a habit that helps you be more efficient and effective. Compare that to OCD, where habit becomes a requirement that actually slows down a person or process.