Organization (of Materials)

Organization (of materials; or, materials organization) is the process of creating and maintaining orderliness of belongings and environment. It also includes the keeping track of important information.​ ^​1,2​

Organization can also be defined as “the organization of thoughts and cognitive processes,”^​3​ and is then grouped together with planning/prioritization. But, here we will be using the materials organization definition of the word.

Across the Lifespan

As organizational skills are considerably related to working memory (WM), some changes in ability across the lifespan are due to age-related WM development (see: Working Memory Across the Lifespan). However, improvements in organization are also a product of learned skills and performance motivation (see: How Organization Works). 

Childhood

As children get older, their workloads grow and they “experience increased expectations for personal responsibility from teachers and parents.”​^​3​​ This causes organizational deficits to become more obvious.

As their backpacks, desks, lockers, and rooms at home tend to be a mess, they then: have difficulty finding things when they are needed; lose track of assignments, due dates, and important papers; get poor grades; miss opportunities; and increased family conflict at home.​^​4​​ (See Importance of Organization: Education)

Adolescence

If organizational deficits are not addressed, problems continue into the teen years. While the most visually apparent problem may be their “disaster zone” of a bedroom, their biggest problem will actually be at school. Even intellectually gifted youth with organization problems will struggle with academic underachievement​.^​3​ Without good organization skills, teen students will have extra difficulty keeping track of the increased number of assignments, due dates, papers, and books from so many different classes. The limited brain power provided by WM can be further strained by a general increase in social activities and part-time work as well.

Just as with any of the other EFs, children, teens, and adults with organizational deficits can end up with self-esteem and mood issues. This is especially true if they don’t understand why they struggle, and/or if they don’t know how to improve.

This can be made worse if the family doesn’t understand either and becomes frustrated. Clueless families often add to the constant stream of negative messages that the teen may already be telling themselves and hearing at school, and may yell at or punish their teenagers who fail to do assignments on time or keep a tidy room. This takes a further toll on the emotional and mental health of a young person who may desperately want to do “better” but doesn’t know how.

Adulthood

Though adults tend to have more organizational strategies at their disposal, they may or may not actually have better functioning.

Despite having acquired some good habits, adults tend to have much less structure and oversight that they may have had as teenagers. This can lead to being even more functionally impaired overall,^​5​ via negative effects at college and work, and on finances, home life, and relationships. (See Importance of Organization)

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