Overcoming Entropy

Entropy is defined as chaos, disorder, randomness, or uncertainty.?It is a scientific term central to the second law of thermal dynamics and is used to explain the degradation and disorder of unattended matter over time.?One simple way of thinking about entropy is like building a house and then walking away and leaving it empty. Over time, even without using the house, it will erode and then eventually severely decline without maintenance. Entropy describes this slow progression to disorder, randomness, uncertainty, and chaos.?

Entropy surrounds us in our lives.?It is ever present and can slowly create disorder and chaos.?How do we overcome Entropy??How do we create order and push back against uncertainty? Below are four ways to overcome the Entropy that exists in our lives.?

Intentional Routine – Create Order

Routine exists in our lives. As humans we create routines to make life easier. Whether the routine is something that we intentionally put in place, or if it was built unconsciously, we all have routines. Intentional Routines are the foundation of overcoming entropy.?Going back to the house example--in order to ensure the house does not erode, routine maintenance is required.?Routine maintenance of a house keeps the house standing and in order.?This needs to be very intentional.?To do routine maintenance you have to know what things you need to maintain and then perform them on a regular basis.?Do we do this in our lives??Do we have routines that are intentional that allow us to fight against chaos and disorder and move in the direction we want to move??Or are our routines built out of chaos?

One of the most important routines to focus on is a morning routine.?How do you start your day??Do you try and get the most hours of sleep possible by hitting the snooze button 4 times, or do you get out of bed when you planned to start the day off right??Some of the best habits to include during your morning routine include exercise, prayer or meditation, reading or some form of learning, and planning. Being intentional about your routines allow you to create order where you have the power to create order.??

Plan – Formulate Order

Planning is the next key to overcoming chaos in our lives. Planning your day, week, month, and year allow you to put the challenges you face in perspective and give the time necessary to overcome them.?The first key is having a good routine of planning your day.?How do you do this??When do you do this? What tools do you use??There are many ways to plan a day but finding your way is key. Two keys to daily planning are (1) having a calendar and (2) having a list of priorities. These can be digital or on paper.?I personally use a digital calendar and a paper notebook for my daily tasks.?Reviewing these frequently throughout the day allows you to see what you need to do and where you need to be.

Weekly planning is the next step.?Having a dedicated time every week to sit down with your calendar and notebook and plan your week is crucial for order.?I call this time my “sacred time” because I am deciding how I want to spend that next week of my life.?By controlling this planning time, you are able to define what you want to accomplish, determine which things are most important, and also which things you can drop.?I do this regular weekly planning on Sunday mornings.?The day of the week or time is not important but make sure you have a weekly planning session.?

Monthly planning is taking a little step back to make sure you are getting to the things you need to get to. When planning monthly, look at the big rocks, the important things that mean something to you that you need to prioritize in the month to make sure they actually happen.?This could be meaningful time with a spouse or child, or a large project that needs to be finished.?When you look ahead at the month, you are able give these important events a secure place. Calendaring will assure these happen. ?As you add your weekly and daily planning to these “rocks,” you will already have times set aside.?

Annual planning is where you set the direction and trajectory of your life.?Doing this once a year allows you to reconnect with your purpose and goals. Annual planning helps establish your direction and avoid decline.?This should only be done once a year but should be reflected on regularly.?A good annual planning routine consists of evaluating your balance in life. Determine what areas you want to make progress in and then set goals that reflect this. Share this information with the people around you and allow them to help you move in the direction you want to move.?

Execute – Force Order

Executing is the key to overcoming entropy.?Up to this point being intentional about your routines and creating plans has accomplished nothing.?You have created a picture of the order you would like to create but until you execute these plans, they have no meaning.?Steve Jobs speaking on execution said, “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier.?Execution is worth millions.”?Execution of the ideas and order you have thought out produces the end of chaos. Out of chaos comes order and the end of entropy in your life.

The three thieves of execution are fear, motivation, and a lack of focus.?

Fear holds us back from doing. This fear can be the fear of failure or the fear of letting someone down.?We fear failure so instead of doing what we have set out to do--we give up. This ensures our failure.?We must see failure as learning.?When we fail, we get the opportunity to learn from it and become better regardless of the outcome.?We must move past our fears and act.?The fear of letting someone down is another large fear we deal with.?We need to realize we cannot control other people and their reactions.?Sometimes it is a friend that wants you to stay up late with them when you know you need to get up early to work out or finish a project.?You don’t want to let that person down so instead of doing what you know you should, you fail to execute.?To get through this you need to push pass fear and realize true friends have your best interest. By choosing to control your life and by not allowing the made-up reactions you think the people will have to your decisions, you will be able to execute more fully and move past fear.

Motivation is the second thief of execution.?Motivation must come from within.?No one can give you motivation. You must find your own.?People can help you find motivation but if you are waiting on a leader or someone to motivate you, you are letting entropy take your life.?Motivation starts with execution.?To get motivated you must start moving forward to end inertia and find your stimulus.?Often, runners will say the first half mile is the hardest because it is after that you find your rhythm.?When you start to execute it might be difficult at first but when you start to see the positive results that come from it, you will then start to feel motivated to continue.?How do you get motivated to even start??The key is to understand why you need to do it in the first place. Understanding your why is where you create the initial impetus to get the flywheel started.?

Lack of Focus is the third thief of execution.?Distraction kills execution. Too often we divide up our time trying to accomplish too many things and instead get nothing done.?One key to execution is coming up with the top three things to accomplish that day.?These are things that you will do whatever it takes to get them done.?Once you have identified three tasks and know inwardly that today is the day to either get them done or make significant progress, only then can you move forward.?We often try to accomplish a long list we have created when in reality, we can only handle one thing at a time. Instead say, “In the next 10 hours, these are the top 3 things I have to get done.” ?This allows you to focus and achieve the possible.?Over time those 3 things add up and create execution.?

Learn – Understand Uncertainty

Learning and more fully understanding the world allows you to overcome the uncertainty that is inherent in life. As we learn and stretch our understanding, we begin to find new ways to make life more manageable by taking control of different areas.?One example of this would be learning how to control your finances to prepare for retirement.?If you do not know how to do this and never study and learn how to do so, the time will come that life will be more uncertain and disordered than ever. By pushing yourself to learn about important topics that affect your life, you will be able to successfully deal with randomness and create more control out of the uncertainty that life throws at you.?Overcoming Entropy

Entropy fills our life.?It is not going away. It will always be present.?To overcome this chaos, decline, and disorder each one of us needs to implement an intentional routine, and methodical planning.?Once that has been completed, execution will reduce the randomness and disorder of life.?Lastly as you move through life, learning helps you bring more certainty and order to an unpredictable world.?Do not let Entropy dominate your life.?Push back with these intentional practices.??