Genetic

by Lulu

Created on: August 14, 2011   Last Updated: August 19, 2011

Some children have to constantly be told to clean their rooms, pick up their clothes, make their beds, comb their hair, tuck in their shirts, or shine their shoes. Other children, even from a very young age, seem to have an innate ability to keep their rooms tidy and to be neatly groomed; such children don't need to be reminded to clean up after themselves as they are genetically pre-disposed to being organized. 

You would surely need to concede that a child of four years old is neither motivated toward, nor capable of learning organizational skills, yet this writer has seen two children who, by the age of four, were able to maintain their personal spaces with a level of organization that was not shared by their parents. The rest of the houses in which these unrelated children lived were certainly clean, and somewhat neat, but their rooms were uncannily tidy. You could ask them where a certain toy was, and they would go to their room and get that particular toy within a few minutes, because they always put their toys away when they were finished playing with them, and always in the same place.

If organizational skills are not genetic, how do we explain that some small children have this skill, particularly when their parents are not organized people?

Another example that convinces this writer that organizational skills are genetic rather than self-motivated, is a childhood best friend. This particular friend epitomized neatness and organization, her room was always clean and everything was placed precisely. Her school case was packed neatly and she could lay her hands on any book within seconds without having to rummage for it. She knew exactly what homework had to be done by which date, what school activities were planned and when they would take place. The rest of the family lacked this genetic trait and as such, the rest of the house was often somewhat untidy. The other three children who shared the house usually left their toys and clothes in whatever available spot they could find; she was the only one who ensured that her things were properly stored in their correct places. 

Certainly organizational skills are something that properly self-motivated people can learn, but for such people it is a choice and though they may become good at applying this skill, it is not something that drives them. There are those people who simply cannot function without organization. At a lesser level than those people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, some people have an inherent and undeniable need for control and order. Organizational skills come naturally to such people, it is not something that they need motivation to learn, nor is it something over which they have a choice.

Having been described by someone as 'The most organized person I know', this writer, who has learned organizational skills through self-motivation, understands that for those of us who are not genetically pre-disposed, maintaining organizational skills is hard and is something we have to make a conscious effort towards each day.

For those people who are genetically inclined towards being organized, this is a skill that comes naturally and is far easier for them to maintain and improve upon.

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