Let's talk about organization. For some of us anal retentive, hyper fastidious, perfectionist type people, the most effective way to bring down our blood pressure is to put things in order. It's a sickness, I know, and if you are afflicted, I feel your pain. If I said that I was just a little jealous of you people who can park yourselves in the middle of a mess, and feel good about it, I wouldn't be lying a little. On the other hand, I do think that as humans we have a strong need to affect the environment we live in. We are the Agents Against Entropy!
There is a little science geek living in my head who gets excited about the universe and all its wonder. Perhaps you recall as I do the law of entropy relative to the second law of thermodynamics as famously enunciated by Rudolf Clausius in 1865, who stated that “the entropy of the universe tends to a maximum.” In other words, the natural state of the universe is to increase in disorder. Entropy is the measure of disorder in a system (or living room). I don’t like entropy…. As big and bad as the whole law of thermodynamics may be, I still don’t like it. And as Americans, if we don’t like a law, our tendency is to break the law in protest!
So today, embrace your calling in the universe and go organize something! Be an anti-entropy vigilante!
Ah, but where to start? The eternal question faced by all human kind when facing what can be an ominous adventure. The answer? "It doesn't really matter. Just start somewhere."
So pick a spot and commit to the path ahead of you. Where are you standing? In the living room, kitchen, garage, laundry room? Survey your situation. Gather all the information you can. Be a calm, cool and collected private investigator. What are the things that are out of place? Which things bother you the most? What about all the remote controls that float around the room and get lost? What about the video game controllers that hang from the console, strewing their umbilical guts across the floor waiting dormant for some unsuspecting person to walk by so they can attack? What about all the cool kitchen appliances you so proudly bought at William Sonoma, but don't have cabinet or counter space for? Where do you put all those cooking utensils?
The first step: face your opponent. Learn their weaknesses. Strip them of their psychological fear tactics. They are only things after all.
Second step: commit to total domination. Don't fall victim to entropy's first lie: "a little is good enough." Pushing things around does little to foil entropy's long term effects. Commit to long term solutions that take big bites out of disorder. Think about it. It's the same as when you were a kid. When your mom begged, pleaded, and finally threatened to beat you if you didn't clean your room, and you stuffed two weeks of dirty and clean laundry under your bed..... how long did your room stay clean? As an Agent Against Entropy, you can only be happy when your efforts are successful for more than a few minutes.
This commitment will drive and motivate you long beyond that first ambitious Saturday morning. As you commit to dominate your space, you will notice a pattern. After a flurry of effort on your part, your room will fight back. Entropy is a strong and powerful force. DO NOT GIVE UP! You CAN overcome! Be aware, slowly but surely, those recently organized controllers, remotes, and utensils will creep back into their comfortable disarray. If you ignore them or excuse their "cute little habits," Entropy has won. DO NOT GIVE UP!
Your commitment as an Agent Against Entropy will now motivate you to take more aggressive measures. You might consider purchasing organizers, storage bins, buckets, and boxes. And these things will help. But be warned. Entropy will not give up. You may find soon enough, that the organizers, boxes, and bins become dump stations. Instead of one big mess, you have one big mess stored in lots of little boxes. Oh, Entropy is a clever adversary!
What to do now? You could enlist the help of other Entropy Fighters. An entire league of superheroes is more effective than just Batman alone. You may find yourself in a place where a little help is warranted. Don't feel ashamed if you need help. The smartest and most successful business people in the world were successful not because they could do everything, but because they could enlist others to fight in their cause. So Superhero, join the League of Justice, and let Aquaman help organize your bathroom!
"But what if Aquaman doesn't understand what I really want or need?" Good question, and this leads to an even better point. As an Agent against Entropy, don't shirk your responsibilities. Remember the first step? It was to study your opponent right? Guess what, Aquaman, even as talented as he is, will never spend as much time in your bathroom as you have. He will never know, and may never see the space as intimately and completely as you have. All those hours sitting on the toilet, staring at the floor. Aquaman will never be able to recreate your investigation efforts.
Ultimately, it is YOUR quest, YOUR fight, YOUR life's mission. You need to be involved. Give Aquaman the tools he needs to succeed. Guide his efforts, and give him constructive criticism. Help him be effective. You might find that his skills don't match the subtleness of your opponent. If Aquaman gets beat up, send in Supergirl! Be the master, plan your battles, and do your best to match up your superheros with the tasks at hand.
Something incredible will happen as you battle long and hard against Entropy. You will change. You will become the expert, the victor, the Conqueror. Your life will be full of peace and calm, and you'll be able to find everything at any time.
You may only have two shirts and two pairs of underwear, but you will have won! Entropy be damned!
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