Getting to Good Enough

For many of us, the pandemic has made a tendency to procrastinate painfully obvious. We're not as busy, yet we're still procrastinating. But there's hope! This week Janine and Shannon talk about the four main productivity blocks and how they can be easy to get past.

Discussion topics include:

• The summer heat!

• How these days we can’t blame being busy for not getting stuff done

• The four main productivity blocks: confidence, reward, focus and enjoyment

• How people tend to fall into one of those categories

• Curious what yours is? Check out the quiz on Shannon’s website to find out

• The workbook and follow-up emails available to the quiz-takers

• The project that Janine is procrastinating on (writing a genealogy guide) and how she plans to test out Shannon’s tips

• Janine’s hope that by the time this episode is published she will have finished the guide

• A surprise live coaching session to help Janine get past her enjoyment productivity block

• Some ideas for making the process of writing her guides more enjoyable

• Shannon’s sincere offer for people to email her with feedback on getting past their productivity blocks (take her quiz first!)

• How checking something off your list can be such a huge reward that is very helpful for those whose productivity block is reward

• The value of a timer for folks whose productivity block is focus

• Remembering that there’s not something inherently wrong with you if you’re procrastinating; we’re naturally drawn to do the things that feel most doable

Update from Janine: We ended up publishing this episode a week earlier than expected and I am not finished with the Orderly Roots guide I'm working on. But the good news is that I'm making daily progress!

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

Whether we like it or not, Zoom has become a part of the lives of many (if not most) of us, thanks to COVID-19. In this episode, Shannon and Janine letting go of perfectionism around Zoom to make it less stressful. 

Discussion topics include:

• The challenging transition from phone coaching to Zoom coaching for Shannon

• Shannon’s iPad + computer set up that allows her to take notes on her laptop while providing a flattering camera angle

• Blue-light filtering glasses to help lessen the negative effects of screen time

• The benefit of Zooming from an iPad rather than a computer

• Letting go of stress around your background when Zooming

• The photo-booth strip of Janine and Shannon that keen-eyed people who Zoom with Janine can see

• Adjusting what you’re paying attention to based on your audience

• Zoom goofs seen on the internet

Be sure and check out the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for photos and links!

It's July already (finally?) and Janine and Shannon revisited the goals they set way back at the end of 2019. This week we discuss the value of taking some time to visit, and perhaps refresh, our goals in this year that took such an unexpected turn.

Discussion topics include:

• The paradox of 2020: It seems impossible that it’s the middle of the year already, yet the first half of the year feels like it lasted for years.

• Checking out goals set at the end of 2019 (for first time since 2019)

• Janine’s surprise that the majority of her goals are being accomplished without her intentional action

• The value of putting goals into cogent enough form that they can be written down

• Taking the time to revisit and/or refresh your goals to help you achieve them

• How some of our goals have to be retired (or reframed) because of the pandemic

• How Shannon’s word for the year, Cultivate, was unexpectedly manifested in the form of cultivating a garden!

• My Virtual Journey, the app Shannon used to adapt her travel goal in the current reality

• It’s not too late to set goals now if you didn’t set any at the beginning of the year

• Setting specific goals and tasks vs setting goals for how you want to feel

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

If you're uncomfortable with doing something imperfectly it's hard to learn new skills. In this episode, Shannon and Janine discuss opening yourself up to "perfect floundering" so that you can go ahead and do things that you don't already know how to do.

Discussion topics include:

• The discomfort of floundering, especially for perfectionists

• The amazing prospect of striving to flounder perfectly

• How embracing perfect floundering can allow you to do stuff even if you don’t know what you’re doing

• How not being willing to flounder can hold you back

• Having more fun by letting your brain flounder more

• The fact that if you’re always comfortable with your skill level, you’re not learning

• How this can apply to not just learning something new, but also to modifying how you’re already doing things

• Inviting feedback on being anti-racist and being willing to do it imperfectly

• How making floundering a goal shifts your relationship with what you’re trying to do (it's no longer about you)

• Getting clear about what you’re trying to achieve before embarking on perfect floundering so you know what you’re working toward

• Why it’s valuable to label something a “practice"

• The challenge of changing ingrained habits and behaviors

• An important reminder: Always cut yourself slack

What if you were able to shed your perfectionistic tendencies so that you could create something BIG in the service of doing GOOD? That's what our amazing guest, Vanessa Foerster, did less than a month ago when she created the Diversify Triathlon Movement. Janine and Shannon were thrilled to talk with her about the movement and how she had to let go of perfectionism in order to create it.

Discussion topics include:

• Introducing our guest Vanessa Foerster, a life coach for driven triathletes who helps triathletes qualify for the Iron Man World Championships (aka Kona). She is currently helping beginner BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) athletes make their way into the triathlon world, through the Diversify Triathlon Movement

• How creating the Diversify Triathlon Movement was the perfect practice for Vanessa to throw perfectionism out the window

• Vanessa’s history with perfectionism and how it would paralyze her

• How Vanessa was able to move forward when with her idea of trying to diversify triathlons so more BIPOC athletes could get involved.

• Deciding to become a leader in this movement when no other leader emerged.

• The two deals Vanessa made with herself: (1) Be willing to mess it up and (2) Keep it simple

• The Diversify Triathlon Movement: BIPOC athletes who have an interest in triathlons are paired with triathlon coaches who are providing three months of triathlon coaching to knock down the barriers to getting started in the sport.

• The art of the triathlon (and the trial and error involved)

• How perfectionism can get in the way of a successful triathlon

• The support that the movement has received from companies within every realm of the sport

• The value of letting go of specific outcomes

• How Vanessa’s guiding principles helped her put some constraints on the program when it became popular very quickly

• Trusting your feelings to help make decisions—and sticking to your guns

• The serendipitous confluence of Vanessa and GTGE’s message: (1) Getting clear on your why and (2) Let it be easy

• How “good enough” has infiltrated other aspects of Vanessa’s life and work

• Vanessa’s hopes for the Diversify Triathlon Movement

Learn more about the Diversify Triathlon Movement at www.diversifytriathlonmovement.com.

For more links and photos, visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com.

If you feel overwhelmed by everything that's going on around you, it can be hard to do anything. In this episode, Shannon and Janine discuss how choosing just one thing to do can allow you to move forward.

Discussion topics include:

• Taking delight in little things in nature

• Choosing just one thing to do—and doing it—when you’re feeling overwhelmed

• How the current climate can be paralyzing 

• Applying the just one thing principle to self care

• How Janine’s yoga practice now feels cemented into her daily routine (and is great self care)

• Choosing just one thing to help you become an anti-racist

• That just one thing doesn’t have to be a gateway to doing more things. You can do just one thing.

• How Janine’s one thing (writing postcards to voters) has turned into 3,000 things.

• Shannon’s major desk clean: it started with just one thing

• How sometimes clearing a physical space can help clear our mental space too

• How small things are still important even when big things are going on

• An important zen proverb: “Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.” 

• The ineffectiveness of so-called multitasking

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

Voting is always important. But this year, at least in the U.S., being able to vote feels more important than ever. And because of the COVID crisis, voting might present a challenge this year. In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss the value of planning ahead to vote and getting past any perfectionistic tendencies that might be getting in the way of that.

Discussion topics include:

• Our two-year podcasting anniversary!

• Our gratitude that we can address some more serious issues on the podcast

• The importance of voting right now

• Making yourself aware of what your voting options and requirements are this year so you’re not taken by surprise

• How easy it is to put something off when you’re not sure you’re going to do it right

• Oregon’s history of voting exclusively by mail for 20 years

• How we can spend more time dreading something than actually doing it

• An NLP coaching technique Shannon uses: Shrinking down a dreaded task in your imagination to make it easier to do

• How Shannon completed her mom’s taxes in 90 minutes after dreading doing them for six months

• Our plea to take action: Voting is too important to put off!

Visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links to voting resources.

Protests over police brutality being met by police brutality. A global pandemic. Coming to terms with the fact that not being racist is not enough--we need to be anti-racist. All of these things can lead to a lot of discomfort. In this episode, Shannon and Janine discuss balancing the discomfort with the need to take action and the need to take care of ourselves.

Discussion topics include:

• The difficulty of knowing how to respond to the greater events of the world

• How our perceptions of racist behavior are shifting

• That it’s not enough to not be racist; we need to be anti-racist

• The discomfort of talking about this stuff

• Figuring out how we can make a difference

• Our desire to encourage people to look at things from a different perspective

• Using kindness when speaking up

• The language Shannon used on social media when she spoke up about a (perhaps inadvertently) racist comment

• How hard it is to know what the right thing to do is

• Self care during this difficult time

• Keeping up with events without letting it take over your day

• Productive discomfort vs debilitating pain

• Finding the balance of taking care of emotions while still taking action

• Getting conscious of where your discomfort is and pushing against those boundaries a bit

• Extending grace to others

We are taking this week to amplify black voices and share resources to learn more about becoming an ally and anti-racist. We are learning how to do this. We’ll make mistakes, listen, learn and keep trying to do better. Join us. To our black and brown listeners, we’re sorry it took us so long to get here. To our white listeners, here are our resources to help you be an ally and learn about anti-racism.

• If you are unsure what the difference is between not being racist and being anti-racist, please start by watching this video: https://youtu.be/kzLT54QjclA

• www.theshowmustbepaused.com

• Comprehensive Google doc with scaffolded anti-racist resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PrAq4iBNb4nVIcTsLcNlW8zjaQXBLkWayL8EaPlh0bc/

• When you’re ready to do something, here is a comprehensive and regularly updated resource of 75 things white people can do for racial justice: https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

• The Obama Foundation has a page Anquish and Action with resources for learning, actions to take, voices to listen to: https://www.obama.org/anguish-and-action

• Are you a leader in an organization? Consider attending this free webinar: https://www.equityatwork.us/whiteness-at-work

Just think how much easier life would be if you could enjoy imperfection rather than fretting about it. Shannon and Janine's discussion on enjoying imperfection this episode was sparked by some wonderful observations from Deborah Underwood, a children's book author.

Discussion topics include:

• The lovely words in a Facebook post from a successful children’s book author that sparked this post

• Enjoying rather than criticizing imperfection

• How what’s perceived as imperfection is what gives things character

• How less-perfect things can be more charming

• One reason Janine loves hand lettering: it’s supposed to look imperfect

• The beauty of Janine’s very natural and undisciplined (though professionally designed) rain garden

• Formal vs less formal gardens

• Cobbling together imperfect solutions at home rather than going out and buying closer-to-perfect stuff

• How our imperfect homemade masks will be an artifact of this time

• Visible mending and how it highlights imperfection

• Wabi-sabi, the Japanese world view centered on the acceptance of imperfection

• The relief of enjoying the natural imperfection of things

• How letting go of perfectionism allowed Shannon to plan the imperfect vegetable garden that she is now enjoying

• Shannon's shift from wanting perfectionism to enjoying good enough and how great that shift feels

• Getting to Good Enough hitting the charts in several countries (Austria, South Africa and the Czech Republic)!

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