Its a tough question to answer.

First of all, I think there are different ways to be organized.

I can say that in my actions, I'm not terribly organized. I don't keep my living and work areas all that clean, I don't make "to do" lists, anything like that.

My thought patterns are extremely organized, however. When process information, I do so in a multi-dimensional grid structure, and every thought fits in at least one box per dimension, and can be moved to different boxes over time or if I gain new information. This might not make sense to anyone but me, but I don't really know any other way to do it.

Likewise, I'd say I know people who are extremely organized socially. People who can plot out conversations while they are having them, and subtly manipulate or get unspoken information from them in the process. I can do this to some extent, but I find it exhausting, and just go through my social life mostly chaotically, like most people.

Also, some people might be more organized in certain environments than in others, or be at different levels of organization in different points in their life.

I think so much of it is priority. As with everything, there is a give-and-take with organization. It can help things stay more sanitary, make items easier to find, and (to most people) looks better. But it also takes time and energy that may be hard to commit to when you are very tired or have something more important to do. And some of us actually think a little mess looks more inviting and comfortable.

And people on both sides might argue that their approach to organization increases productivity, but I think this varies heavily from one person to the next.

But if there even IS a driving force, then like I said, it would be priorities. Is it more important to be organized now or do something else you need or want to do now? How worried are you about germs? How much does it bother you when you can't find something right away?

I think how you answer those questions would probably determine how organized you tend to be.