Getting to Good Enough

Times are tough these days--just ask Shannon who was on the cusp of a record-breaking heat wave when we recorded this episode at the end of June 2021. In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss the need to cut ourselves some slack during difficult times, as well as some suggestions for how to do that.

Discussion topics include:

• Janine's abiding love for wool, even in summer

• The heat wave that was about to (and did) hit Portland when we recorded this episode at the end of June

• How extreme weather can impede our productivity

• Practicing self care by cutting yourself slack when conditions aren't normal

• Don't forget: What we've gone through with COVID merits treating yourself with kindness--even as things open up.

• Cutting yourself slack when you're grieving

• The ambient loss we're all feeling over the last 18 months

• Shannon's words that have turned into Janine's mantra: "I'm fine where I am."

• Permitting yourself to take naps (or perform other acts of self care)

• Cutting yourself some slack by reducing your tasks to a manageable number

• Looking for places where you can say no and being mindful of your capacity

• Our desire for you to be kinder to yourself

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links!

In 2019, in Episode 46, Shannon and Janine discussed the importance of taking time to relax and not letting perfectionism get in the way. Fast forward two years and the topic seems more relevant than ever, so we're re-running the episode.

Relaxing is so important. Even during our busiest times, taking time to relax can keep us more productive. This week, Janine and Shannon talk about the importance of relaxation, how they relax and how perfectionism can get in the way of relaxing.

Discussion topics include:

• How Shannon and Janine relax

• The challenge in prioritizing relaxation

• Reading as relaxation

• Janine’s love for Yogi Soothing Caramel Tea (and the fact that Shannon hates it)

• The two types of relaxing: mental and physical

• Shannon’s tricky workaround for her current inability to go cycling: an E-Bike!

• One of Janine and Shannon’s favorite relaxation activities: floating in a flotation tank

• How perfectionism can get in the way of relaxing

• Repeat TV watching as a safe relaxation choice

• Thinking about the kind of experience you want in your relaxation

• Yoga as a mentally and physically relaxing activity

• Shannon’s meditation/napping combination, "Napitation"

• How it’s especially important to take time to relax when you’re stressed

• The fact that taking time to relax can help you be more productive

• Keeping a relaxation list to make it even easier to relax

See the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links and a picture of Shannon's electric bike!

In Episode 161, Janine and Shannon discussed some of the principles surrounding navigating competing priorities. In this follow-up episode we talk about some specific ways to choose between competing priorities.

Discussion topics include:

• Janine's "pull my finger method" of deciding between competing options (also known as muscle testing)

• How anticipating a response to muscle testing or flipping a coin--as well as how you feel when you get the result--can be revealing

• Tapping your unconscious mind to make decisions

• Understanding your internal yes and no signals

• Janine's enthusiasm for Shannon's downloadable product, "Boring Change," which can help harness your unconscious knowledge (consciously or unconsciously)

• What our conscious vs unconscious mind can (or cannot) hold on to (spoiler alert: our unconscious mind might be more powerful than a supercomputer!)

• Writing things down in order to get clarity

Shannon's journaling cue: "What's important for me to do next?"

• Getting out of the headspace of "shoulds" and other people's expectations and into the headspace of what's important to you

• How consequences of saying no are often less dire than you expect

• Getting in touch with your why and core values to guide how you spend your time and energy

• Paying attention to those times when you're trying to talk yourself into a decision

• The good old pro and con list

• Recognizing that there isn't a perfect choice

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for lots of links!

Choosing among competing priorities can be difficult under the best of circumstances. This week Shannon and Janine discuss the challenge of figuring out which things deserve your energy, particularly when you're trying to get back on track after a crisis of some sort.

Discussion topics include:

• A hilarious meme about people getting their words mixed up

• How competing priorities are made more challenging by the summer and the opening up after the pandemic

• Dealing with the back-burner items after things ease up

• Taking care of yourself in the aftermath of challenging situations

• Floating in a flotation tank as self care

• Remembering the things you wanted to do when you didn't have time to do them

• Choosing among competing priorities

• Being conscientious about how you use your energy

• Letting go of "should" in favor of "want" or "need"

• How something that had been considered self care sometimes isn't the best thing to do for yourself

• The difficulty of choosing when everything feels like it deserves your energy

• The struggle to put your own priorities ahead of those of others

• Cutting yourself some slack when things don't go as planned

• Choosing what you want to focus on during challenging times

Watch for Competing Priorities - Part 2 next week for some guidance on how to choose among competing priorities!

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.ccom for a link to the hilarious meme!

We're celebrating our podcast's third anniversary! This week, in honor of their three years of podcasting, Janine and Shannon discuss the three pillars that underlie Getting to Good Enough.

Discussion topics include:

• The podcast's third anniversary!

• How the podcast has helped us (and, we hope, others)

• How far we've come, when it comes to letting go of perfectionism, thanks to the podcast

• The three pillars of getting to good enough:

• Pillar One: Done is better than perfect

• Pillar Two: Know your why

• Pillar Three: Good enough is good enough

• Our working definition of a perfectionist: Someone who spends more time on a task than it merits

• How perfectionism can get in the way of getting things done (both starting and finishing projects)

• The perils of wanting to "get it right"

• The value of a good-enough attitude to get you started on something and help you finish it

• How there are a many ways to get things right

• A prevailing theme of this podcast: Identifying why something is important to you to help you understand where good enough lies

• Shannon's experience in building a house: The sum of a whole lot of good-enough decisions resulted in something really special.

• The difficulty of letting go and being okay with good enough when you're living in the perfectionism zone

• Good enough: A muscle you need to stretch rather than flex

• The value of practicing embracing good enough now so that it's available to you when you're under stress

Please join us in celebrating!

It can be so frustrating when you don't have control over things in your life. This week Shannon and Janine discuss relinquishing your desire for control over things you can't control. It's a recipe for living with more satisfaction and less frustration.

Discussion topics include:

• The frustration we can feel about not having control over things

• Focusing on the things we do have control over

• The feeling of control over our money that YNAB gives us

• How feeling you're not in control can be particularly difficult for people who struggle with perfectionism

• One particular frustration: Lack of control over other people's behavior or responses

• What you actually have control over: How you react to other people's behavior or responses

• Negotiating tricky spousal issues, particularly in relationships between perfectionists and non-perfectionists

• How this is really about relinquishing your desire for control

• Shannon's experience building a house and how relinquishing her desire for control over everything allowed her to get the project done

• The utility of deciding upfront that she would not micromanage the project

• The mechanism Shannon used to make all the house-building decisions easier

• Letting go of control when you're delegating tasks

• The value of knowing why your outcome is important to help you pinpoint those things you don't need to control

• Happy third anniversary to the podcast!

• Communicating clearly to try to get the response you want

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com

Is it more important for something to be beautiful or functional? This week Janine and Shannon (recording together in person!) discuss this important question. While sometimes you can have both function and beauty, we agree that focusing on function can help you get past perfectionism so you can actually create the solution you're seeking for a problem.

Discussion topics include:

• Our giddiness over podcasting together in the same room

• The inspiration for this episode: Shannon's new laundry basket system

• Shannon's realization that her desire to replicate a beautiful handcrafted laundry basket holder meant she didn't have any system at all

• The less-fancy system that Shannon created based on her inspiration system

• How having laundry baskets that match one another is infinitely better than unmatched, old hampers

• The result: A not unattractive (though not beautiful), functional system

• Janine's functional leash-storage system (that is better than a pile)

• The value of thinking of the less-than-perfect system as an interim step

• Simplifying laundry

• Shannon's onion bowl: A wonderful blend of function and beauty

• Choosing lovely containers for items that stay out in the open

• How beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder

Visit the shown notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links and photos!

Back in 2019, Shannon and Janine had a discussion of how to stop being taken off-course by bright shiny objects. The subject is as relevant as ever, so we thought we'd run it again in case you missed it the first time!

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 BSOs

• The importance of having a system in place to take note of the BSOs so you can come back to them later

• Using Bright Shiny Object Syndrome to your advantage

• How Janine harnesses her penchant for BSOs by using Trello for task management

• Building BSOs into your plan for your day

• Identifying why you’re drawn to a particular BSO to help you modify your existing projects/systems to make them more attractive to you

• How being kind to yourself fits into the picture

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links.

Getting comfortable with stopping at good enough (rather than pursuing perfection) can be tough for some people. But it can also be really beneficial. This week Janine and Shannon talk about how and why to feel good about good enough.

Discussion topics include:

• Embracing the goodness of "good enough"

• Rejecting the negative connotations of "good enough" and "taking the easy way out"

•The journey of getting comfortable with good enough

• How Shannon was able to get more comfortable with good enough a little at a time

• Questioning the thoughts you have about perfectionism to make it easier to embrace good enough

• Paying attention to progress (and feeling good about progress), rather than trying to do something perfectly

• Being okay with what's reasonable as opposed to striving for the unreasonable expectation of perfection

• Practicing feeling good about good enough in every day life

• Shannon's practice of feeling good about good enough (and working little and often) in her garden-clean-up efforts

• Shannon's good-enough lawn mowing practice

• The beauty of being able to walk away from something knowing that it's goof enough (if not perfect)

• Saving bandwidth by embracing good enough

• Being kind to yourself about having a bad memory

Ariel Nathanson, a financial coach and owner of Finances for Feminists, is this week's special guest. Shannon and Janine talk with Ariel about women, financial awareness and getting past perfectionism when it comes to your money.

• Our excitement over our special guest, Ariel Nathanson, who is both Janine's friend and Shannon's client

• How Ariel helps women attain clarity around their finances as a financial coach with Finances for Feminists

• How women in particular tend to be reluctant to talk about money

• Ariel's mission to change the conversation around money

• The common misperception that money is bad

• How fear and vulnerability can make those conversations difficult

• How perfectionism can be tied to fear of being judged (or judging oneself harshly)

• The reluctance to face reality that can come with perfectionism

• How a financial coach can make it easier

• The power of curiosity to diminish perfectionistic tendencies

• Ariel's curiosity of what finally got Janine to try YNAB (You Need A Budget), the budgeting software that Janine and Shannon love so much

• How interacting YNAB has become a daily treat for both Shannon and Janine

• Shannon's former belief that if she had enough money she wouldn't have to think about money; the opposite has proven to be true

• The exercise around mindful spending that Ariel does with her clients, where she asks them to reflect on how they feel about each expenditure

• How paying attention to how you feel about spending money can shift your spending patterns

• The "naturally slender eating technique" in NLP that is similar to the mindful spending technique

• Values-based spending

• Getting in touch with your feelings if you have a difficult time looking at your credit card statement

• Approaching financial awareness in bite-sized steps

• The areas that Ariel focuses on with her Finance Fundamentals coaching clients

• How money can be viewed as an opportunity, not a restriction

• The importance of a good credit score and how it can affect so many opportunities

• How knowledge can provide power and freedom

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links (including a link to Ariel's website, www.financesforfeminists.com).