As much as I crave order, there IS an overboard line you can cross. Here are 5 ways being “too organized” can work AGAINST you:
1. Setting up TOO many categories: When setting up your filing system (in your file cabinet OR computer), the goal is to be able to: FIND what you need QUICKLY …. AND put papers (or documents, etc) EASILY.
Many of us – with good intentions, of course – set up categories with SUB-categories with SUB-SUB-categories… you get the picture. By the time you’ve found what it was you were looking for, you forget why you needed it in the first place.
TIP: Use stickies or pencil & paper to map out a smart filing system. Think to yourself: What’s the 1st word that comes to mind when thinking of a file name / category? Once you have a plan that makes best sense, rearrange your stuff accordingly.
2. KEEPING TOO MUCH: While we’re on the subject of “filing,” how much of what we have in our cabinets / boxes / computer do we actually NEED? A majority – probably never.
TIPS: Before you file, ask yourself: Do I really need to keep? Can I get this info somewhere else if needed? ALSO, purge your {computer AND paper} files – either as you are using that particular one OR block out at least once a year to weed out all the excess.
These labels might work fabulously well for some - but not us!
3. GETTING OCD: I can do this on occasion! For example, I thought it’d be super smart to label my boys’ coat hangers with days of week, specific activities, etc. Well finding the “right” coat hanger for the “right” day / time of day / activity quickly drove us all crazy.
TIP: Once you get the results your looking for, leave it alone. Don’t make it overly complicated. Basic sections in the closet for us work just fine.
4. TACKLING TOO MUCH: I used to think I can get this whole house / closet full of photos / (fill in your own blank) organized in a whole day. {Which may have been the case BEFORE kids.} I’m a hard worker and optimistic {two good things} but am working on the “let’s be realistic” part.
TIP: Don’t lose that “I can do it” spirit, but DO break bigger projects down into doable start & finish in 1 hr or 1 morning increments.
5. CRAMMING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE into your day {which leads to week which leads to month….} This is one area of my life I’ve made big changes. While I still enjoy being productive, I no longer try to squeeze all I can into the day. As a time management coach, I’m become quite knowledgeable on how to work smarter, be more efficient but I also have become much more aware of WHY I’m doing what I’m doing.
TIP: Get in the habit of asking yourself: Okay, why am I doing all of this? Is this really the way I want my life to be? Because, as one of my favorite {Annie Dillard} quotes says, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Do YOU go into organizing overload at times? Tell me about it in comments below!
Please don’t call it “OCD” when being neat or overly organized. That is very different than obsessive compulsive disorder. Using the wrong term trivializes the experience of people who actually suffer from OCD. OCD can be severe and life-consuming, and is not just being meticulous.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and pointing this out, Rachel. I meant it in its mildest form, like making sure everything is straightened perfectly in the pantry / closet / etc. or checking to see if you’ve turned off curling iron multiple times. I’ve experienced a bit of this and it’s no fun. Can’t imagine how it must be for those dealing with it in a serious way.
That wouldn’t be OCD. That would be OCPD which has to do with trying to be too organized at all times. OCD has nothing to do with being organized.
Good article! I was looking for a way to explain being “too organized” and wondered if I was the only one feeling this way. I work in IT and I find employees that have created folders/sub-folders/sub-folders and it just gets to the point it is way too much. I see Outlook mailboxes that have a folder for everyone that sends them a message which really seems pointless with the search capabilities we have today. People often don’t know how to organize. I see a folder for Word, where all of their Word documents go, and a folder for Excel. I ask – “how are you going to remember whether that document you are looking for a year from now was created in Word or Excel. It makes much more sense to make a folder based on an ongoing project and put all of the documents pertaining to the project in the same folder. It also helps to add the year to the folder. How quickly the years go by. Do we really need to keep files for a project we worked on a couple of decades ago? Digital format is way to easy to keep. Is it necessary to keep the email from an employee that just emailed you to say “hello, how are you?” Before email, we answered the phone, talked to the person and hung up. We didn’t feel as though we needed to retain every phone call. We opened our snail mail, tossed the junk, paid the bills, and threw away the previous bill when the next bill came in. Emails are phone calls and letters. We don’t need all of them. Sorry you get blasted for using OCD as a term….maybe the term you were looking for starts with the word anal.