You spend your weekend cleaning, setting up the perfect to-do system, or building the perfect relationship, but it doesn’t take long before everything falls apart again. Things end up scattered, plans are thwarted, and the structure crumbles before our eyes.
You may think the problem is a lack of discipline or laziness, but in fact, a fundamental law of physics is working against you. This is not your personal failure, but entropy.
The universe is heading towards disorder
There is a concept in physics that explains why chaos is the natural state of any system. The second law of thermodynamics states that in a closed system, entropy (a measure of disorder) always increases with time.
Order is an incredibly unlikely state. There is only one way to stack a deck of cards in order of numbers and suits, but there are billions of ways to shuffle them chaotically. Nature always chooses the most likely scenario, which means it chooses mess.
-
Buildings are deteriorating and collapsing.
-
Metal rusts.
-
Information is forgotten.
To maintain the structure, it is necessary to constantly infuse external energy. As soon as you stop making efforts, the system immediately begins to slide back to its basic, chaotic state.
The illusion of stability
The main mistake people make when trying to bring order to life or business is the belief that order can be established once and for all. We perceive cleaning or organizing processes as a project with a final point: “I will do this, and the problem will disappear.”
However, the reality is that stability does not exist. Order is not a result that can be fixed, but a dynamic process. It’s like swimming against the current: if you stop rowing, you will immediately be carried back. Any complex structure requires a “service tax”.
The more complex the system you create, the more energy it requires to maintain. If you have too many things, too confusing a bureaucracy at work, or too complicated rules at home, collapse will come faster, because you simply do not have enough resources to compensate for the natural increase in entropy.
Microchaos accumulation effect
The destruction of order rarely occurs instantly. It is usually an accumulative process that begins with unnoticed little things. One unwashed cup in the sink, one missed letter, one petty compromise.
The brain tends to ignore minor deviations, considering them unimportant. But entropy works on the principle of a chain reaction. A little disorder signals to the system that control has been relaxed, and degradation accelerates. In management theory, this is known as the “broken windows” effect: if a minor problem is not corrected immediately, it will inevitably lead to a major failure.
To counter this, it is necessary to change the focus from grandiose “spring cleaning” to microefforts. Regular maintenance always requires less energy than restoring a system after a complete collapse.
Understanding this law removes the feeling of guilt. Chaos returns not because you are a bad organizer, but because this is how the Universe works. The only way to maintain order is to accept the fact that the fight against disorder will never end and make efforts to contain it a mere routine.
About the Author
