A Concept from Physics Called Negentropy Could Help Your Life Run Smoother

Life is full of small decisions: Should I pick up that sock on the floor? Should I do the dishes before bed? What about fixing the leaky faucet in the bathroom? Leaving a sock on the ground is a manifestation of a concept from physics you may have heard of: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">entropy</a>. Entropy is a measure of how much energy is lost in a system. If a system loses too much energy, it will disintegrate into chaos. It takes only a little bit of energy to pick up one sock. But if you don’t take care of your yard, let pipes stay clogged and never fix electrical problems, it all adds up to a chaotic home that would take a lot of energy to fix. And that chaos will leach away your <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/1842000/company-chaos-you-dont-know-youre-creating" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">time and ability to accomplish other things</a>. The good news is that entropy has an opposite — <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negentropy" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">negentropy</a>. As a <a href="https://udayton.edu/directory/education/deans_office/carr-chellman_alison.php" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">researcher who studies social systems</a>, I have found that thinking in terms of negentropy and energy can help you fight against entropy and chaos in daily life. <img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/0*sDN5ikcyyH28zmZn" style="height:467px; width:700px" /> Small bits of entropy can pile up into big problems that take a lot of energy to fix. Carlos Ciudad Photography/Moment via Getty Images <h1>Minimize Energy Loss, Maximize Progress</h1> In both physics and social systems, energy can be defined as the capacity or ability to do work. For more than two decades, I have studied social systems in schools, community dialogues, universities, corporations and nonprofit organizations. During that time I’ve observed that energy losses are a constant — for example, meetings of four people to plan meetings for seven people, or everyone’s worst nightmare, meetings that could have been accomplished through email. These small frustrations can even build to a point where <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220048419_Dynamic_Systems_in_Human_Resource_Management_Chaos_Theory_Employee_Turnover" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">good employees start quitting</a>. <a href="https://betterhumans.pub/a-concept-from-physics-called-negentropy-could-help-your-life-run-smoother-6337fa6b12c2">Website</a>