Getting to Good Enough

Like the dog in the movie Up who shouts "Squirrel!", we can so easily get distracted by new and exciting things. This week Janine and Shannon discuss Bright Shiny Object Syndrome and some strategies for resisting it as well as for harnessing it for good. Discussion topics include: •How easy it is to be pulled away by bright shiny objects (BSOs) • Shannon’s 90-day plans that help her resist the BSO...

The holiday season can be really hard on perfectionists, who often want to do it all and do it right. This week Shannon and Janine talk about making it easier for perfectionists to let the holidays be easy. Discussion topics include: • How “shoulds” can get in the way of enjoying the holidays • Janine’s truly simple holidays • Choosing the elements of the holidays that are doable • The time-saving...

It can be thrilling to finish something. But if a project is large, the thrill can feel like it may never come--especially if you're chasing perfection. In this episode, Janine and Shannon talk strategies for incorporating the thrill of done into any project so that you can stay happy and motivated while you try to get your stuff done. Discussion topics include: • What’s thrilling about finishing...

Many people (especially perfectionists) feel like they're being more productive when they attempt to do multiple tasks at once. This week, Shannon and Janine discuss why the opposite is true. Discussion topics include: • The alluring temptation of multitasking • That most multitasking is not actually multitasking; it's rapidly switching between single tasks • Concurrent multitasking: activities th...

In this second "Q&A on the 5s" episode, Janine and Shannon answer some phoned-in questions from listeners. Discussion topics include: • How sometimes ease doesn’t come easily • The perennial problem of perfectionism: It can feel uncomfortable to stop at less than 100 percent • The discomfort of striving and failing to achieve perfection vs the discomfort of letting things not be perfect • How...

Perfectionists tend to want to have all their ducks in a row before getting started on a new project. That tendency can be paralyzing. And it's so unnecessary. In this episode, Shannon and Janine talk about how just starting where you are can benefit you in so many ways. Discussion topics include: • Why things don’t have to be perfect in order for you to get started • That just by starting and mov...

Last week Janine and Shannon talked about creating helpful habits. This week, we look at the other side of the coin--letting go of bad habits. Shannon shares her view that all habits (even bad ones) are the result of good intentions and talks about how we can use that information to kick bad habits. Discussion topics include: • The inherent value of bad habits • Peeling back the many layers of a b...

When it comes to living an easy life, helpful habits are everything. In this episode, Shannon and Janine discuss why good habits are important and how to create them. Discussion topics include: • How automating the mundane tasks frees your brain for more important things • The challenge of creating and maintaining new habits • Janine’s misguided compulsion to start creating new habits on the first...

The bedrock of all the advice we offer on this podcast is, "Know what's important to you." In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss how to get in touch with your values so that you can more easily embrace good enough. Discussion topics include: • The importance of knowing your core values • Evaluating what’s important to you • The secret sauce of the process: Repeating the question “What else?”...

Shannon and Janine are among the millions of people who enjoy doing genealogy research. In fact, as a genealogy blogger, Janine devotes a significant amount of time to it. In this, our second Good Enough In Practice episode, we discuss Shannon's challenges with her genealogy research (which involve an enviable literal treasure trove of original documents given to her by her mother) and discuss som...

This week, Shannon and Janine interview the amazing writer Alexandra Franzen, author of the upcoming novel So This Is the End: A Love Story. We've both had the opportunity to work with Alex and know her to be a talented, thinking individual, so we were thrilled when she accepted our invitation to be on the podcast. Alex offers all sorts of insights on things like perfectionism, good enough, confid...

Setting priorities makes sure that we get important things done and don't spend our time putting out fires or doing things that don't contribute to our goals. In this episode, Shannon and Janine talk about various methods for prioritizing and how, once again, it all boils down to knowing what's important to you. Discussion topics include: • Various matrixes to help you prioritize • Making time for...

Asking for help can be so, well, helpful. Yet many people (Janine and Shannon included) have difficulty asking for help. In this episode we explore how life can be better when you seek help. This episode includes a special (surprise!) guest appearance by Mike, Shannon's husband, who is an asking-for-help ninja. He shares some of his insights on the whys and hows of seeking help. Discussion topics...

We make thousands of decisions a day. Some are easy. Some are hard. And some are harder than they need to be. In this episode, Shannon and Janine talk about making decisions a little easier. Discussion topics include: • The difficult decisions brought on by modern television viewing • How having many options makes it more difficult to make decisions • Using your limited to decision-making capacity...

It's your turn! In this episode Janine and Shannon answer questions from listeners. Discussion topics include: Empowering: • Becoming empowered by the people who teach you • Finding someone to work with who supports you and helps you feel good about your efforts • Doing the best you can (without being perfect) so that you can be a model for someone else Planning: •Staying on top of all the areas o...

Evening routines set you up for success the next day. Shannon has a well-practiced evening routine she thinks of as "putting the house to bed." In this episode, Shannon and Janine discuss the value of evening routines and how they can make your life easier. Discussion topics include: • Shannon's ease-filled evening routine • How putting her house to bed gives • Shannon peace of mind • Janine’s end...

Being overcommitted often means being stressed. In this episode, Janine and Shannon suggest the hazards of overcommitting and ways to keep yourself from overcommitting. (Including ways to just say no.) They also discuss the value of building a buffer into your life. Discussion topics include: • How Janine lived an overcommitted life for a few stressful years • Tips for responding to invitations to...

Virtually everyone procrastinates at one time or another. In fact, both Shannon and Janine used to be terrible procrastinators. In this episode we take a look at the various reasons people procrastinate and offer up some strategies for overcoming procrastination. Discussion topics include: • How procrastination differs from waiting or postponing • The four productivity blocks (i.e. reasons you pro...

The routine things we do every morning can help shape our day. Janine is the queen of morning routines while Shannon strives for a better one. In this episode Shanon and Janine discuss the hows and whys of building a strong morning routine. Discussion topics include: • Janine’s very established morning routine • How Shannon's kitten, Cleo, is helping her create a new morning routine • Linking new...

Janine and Shannon have decided that each episode that ends in a zero will be a Good Enough In Practice {GEIP} episode, where we talk about something that demonstrates how embracing good enough is helping (or could help) one of us. This week, Janine talks about the knitted Brain Hat she started making for a friend to wear in the March for Science in April 2017. Perfectionism took over and she stop...

Shannon and Janine discuss luck -- the good kind -- and how a "good enough" attitude can help make you more aware and able to take  advantage of opportunities that show themselves. We also talk about ways you can improve your luck. Discussion topics include: • The Incredibles • Janine's mother's funeral (both of which are relevant to the topic!) • The importance of being willing to fail • How...

We all do things differently--and that's okay. In this episode Shannon and Janine talk about how it doesn't matter how you do things, as long as your way is working. Discussion topics include: • Why comparing yourself to others isn't helpful • How it's your own standards (not your mother's or the media's) that matter • Dispelling some myths about professional organizers and life coaches • "Faking...

It's hard to know how to stop at good enough if you haven't identified what good enough means to you. Shannon and Janine discuss why it's important to understand your own standards of good enough--and how those standards are very personal. Discussion topics include: • How standards can vary depending on the importance of what you’re working on • How living with teenagers has caused Shannon to embr...

Shannon and Janine get excited talking about task management and the various methods we've used over the years to stay happy and productive while trying to get stuff done. Discussion topics include: • Mark Forster's task management systems • Todoist, which we're both customizing to our needs • The importance of writing down tasks • Using Post-it® Notes to keep track of tasks • The value of shaking...

Janine and Shannon truly embraced the concept of "good enough" when creating this podcast. In this episode we talk about how we went from idea to launch in less than two months (with five episodes recorded!). It's been a great lesson for us on the value of letting go of perfectionism. We let it be easy when it came to: • Choosing the podcasting app we use to produce the podcast • Selecting to...