Getting to Good Enough

This week we're debuting the A/V Club, in which Janine and Shannon will periodically talk about things we enjoy watching and/or listening to. This first A/V Club is a discussion of the podcasts we listen to. But first we kick it off with an unrelated anecdote about accidentally eating dog food. Discussion topics include these podcasts: • Stand Out (from the National Association of Productivity and...

Do you have fun at work? We sure hope you do. If work can sometimes be a drag, this episode is for you. This week, Shannon and Janine talking tips and strategies for making work fun. Because, in Oscar Wilde's words, "Life is far too important to take seriously." Discussion topics include: • How are perception of our work has everything to do with how much fun our work is • How perfectionism can pl...

If you feel you operating at 100 percent capacity, you're not doing yourself any favors. This week Janine and Shannon discuss personal capacity and how making sure you're giving yourself plenty of room capacity-wise can help you be happier and less stressed. Discussion topics include: • How personal capacity is like the memory capacity of your computer or phone - when you fill it up, everything sl...

We're thrilled to welcome Laura Roeder, founder of MeetEdgar, the social-media marketing application that changed the way many people post to social media. Shannon and Janine talk with Laura (a naturally good-enough person) about how she deals with perfectionism on the part of her team members and customers, how to know when something is good enough to launch into the world (before it's perfect) a...

Feeling satisfied--even when something isn't perfect--allows you to embrace a good-enough mentality. This week, Janine and Shannon discuss the importance of finding (and recognizing) satisfaction. Feeling satisfied doesn't lead to complacency--in fact, it's life enhancing. Discussion topics include: •Janine’s shocking (to Shannon) inability to tell a joke • How feeling satisfied is an importa...

Perfectionism can get in the way of starting or enjoying hobbies. This week Shannon and Janine talk about  their hobbies (and attempted hobbies) and share strategies for getting past perfectionism so you can enjoy your hobbies. Discussion topics include: • How every hobby Shannon’s had has been marred by perfectionism • How perfectionism can get in the way of starting and enjoying a new...

Janine and Shannon are experts in letting go. Janine helps people with tangible stuff and Shannon helps them with intangible stuff. So we have a lot to say in this episode about the benefits and process of letting go! Discussion topics include: • How January is a great time for letting go • That Janine rarely, if ever, regrets having let go of something (and neither do her clients) • How the vario...

Most people we meet have more clothes than they wear. When closets are crammed with unworn and unloved clothes, getting dressed is difficult. In this episode, Shannon and Janine talk about curating your closet so it's a pleasure to use and contains only clothes you love. This is a long episode--we just had so much to say! Discussion topics include: • How most people we meet have some sort of strug...

Now that the holidays are over, it's a good idea to focus on taking care of yourself. This week Janine and Shannon discuss the importance of self care and what self care means for us. Discussion topics include: • The fact that self care means something different to everyone • Shannon and Janine’s favorite self-care activities • The joy of floating in a flotation tank • The importance of creating t...

We're taking the holiday week off! Instead of a new episode, we're presenting our very first episode, Done Is Better Than Perfect. Enjoy! Our first episode! Shannon and Janine talk about a basic tenet of embracing good enough: the idea that done is better than perfect. We talk about how getting started and finishing something--even if the result is less than perfect--is so much better than waiting...

It's the end of the year and time to talk about goals and resolutions! In this Good Enough in Practice episode, Janine and Shannon talk about setting realistic, good enough goals. Way back in 2009, we created a teleclass and workbook about resolutions and we're revisiting it in this episode. (The messages of the teleclass will feel very familiar. They've stood the test of time!) Discussion topics...

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...