Struggling with self-care because it never feels "perfect enough"? This episode from our Getting to Good Enough archives offers practical self-care strategies for perfectionists and busy people. Originally published January 3, 2019, this honest conversation between life coach Shannon Wilkinson and professional organizer Janine Adams explores realistic ways to prioritize your well-being without the pressure of doing it perfectly.

This episode is part of our "Best of Getting to Good Enough" series, featuring favorite conversations from our archives as we prepare to relaunch the podcast September 4, 2025. Whether you're a longtime listener revisiting this episode or discovering us for the first time, this conversation captures what Getting to Good Enough is all about: practical discussions on letting go of perfectionism to make room for what really matters in daily life.

(Originally aired January 3, 2019) Now that the holidays are over, it's the perfect time to focus on realistic self-care for perfectionists. This week Janine and Shannon discuss the importance of self-care without guilt and what sustainable wellness looks like for busy people.

• Why self-care looks different for everyone (and that's okay)

• Shannon and Janine's favorite realistic self-care activities

• The joy of floating in a flotation tank for stress relief

• How to create time for self-care without perfectionist pressure

• Shannon's breakthrough idea for making exercise feel like self-care instead of punishment

• Removing barriers to consistent self-care routines

• How to ensure your treats (like shopping) are actually good self-care

• Simple self-care ideas: quiet reading and nice walks (Shannon's favorites)

• Social self-care: crafting with friends (Janine's go-to)

• How Janine and her brother practiced joyful self-care by gorging on pot stickers in Walla Walla

• Why belly laughs are essential self-care

For Introverts: Quiet reading, peaceful walks, flotation tank therapy

For Social People: Crafting with friends, shared meals, belly laughs with loved ones

For Exercise Skeptics: Reframing movement as self-care rather than obligation

For Busy Schedules: Simple treats that truly nurture (not just distract)

• Another favorite of both Shannon and Janine: More Cowbell
• Shannon’s F-bomb-laden-but-hilarious cat video weird-looking stray cat – NSFW!
• Another favorite from Janine: cats playing patty cake
• Janine’s go-to belly laugh video: BBC interview is interrupted
• A wonderful round up in the New York Times about what self care means for different people
• A New York Times article about journaling as self care

Ready for more practical tips on letting go of perfectionism? Subscribe to Getting to Good Enough as we relaunch September 4, 2025, with fresh episodes on embracing "good enough" in daily life, realistic wellness strategies, and permission to be perfectly imperfect.

This episode is part of our "Best of Getting to Good Enough" series, featuring favorite conversations from our archives as we prepare to relaunch the podcast September 4, 2025. Whether you're a longtime listener revisiting this episode or discovering us for the first time, this conversation captures what Getting to Good Enough is all about: practical discussions on letting go of perfectionism to make room for what really matters in daily life.

This episode was originally published January 30, 2020. We had such a great discussion about how less stuff can actually add up to more freedom and happiness. It sounds counterintuitive, but when you're not managing, organizing, and stressing about all the things you own, you have so much more mental and physical space for what actually matters. Enjoy!

Shannon and Janine are living the "less is more" mantra this year as Shannon makes it a focus of her 2020 goals and Janine focuses on helping her organizing clients let go of excess. In this episode, they discuss how less stuff can add up to more freedom and happiness.

Discussion topics include:

• One of Shannon’s focuses for 2020: Letting go of excess

• How Shannon feels encumbered by her stuff

• A cogent quote from one of Janine’s clients: “I feel handcuffed to my house because of this stuff”

• How stuff tends to proliferate when you don’t focus on it

• The natural tendency to fill up empty space

• How having extra space after you finish decluttering is a good thing

• Shannon’s plan to re-embrace a version of Project 333 for her wardrobe

• The joy (and beauty) of a not-full closet

• How excess can get in the way of people’s freedom and happiness

• Janine's truism: The more you keep of a collection, the less special any of it is

• Clearing out the excess so you can enjoy and access what you decide to keep

• Storing items according to frequency of use

• Shannon’s shopping-list strategies that stop her from overbuying

• Less is more in practice: How Janine and Shannon decluttered their topics list for this podcast

• The keys to less is more: Paying attention to what feels good about it and knowing why you want it

We're BACK! After thinking we were done forever, Getting to Good Enough returns September 4, 2025 with new episodes every week.

What Makes Us Different:

Unlike other perfectionism content that focuses on "overcoming" perfectionism, we celebrate "good enough" as the goal. You get real conversations between someone who's naturally good at "good enough" (Janine) and a recovering perfectionist still learning (Shannon) – so whether you relate to the struggle or need to learn the mindset, we've got you covered.

What You'll Get:

• Weekly episodes packed with perfectionism-busting tips from 20+ years of professional experience

• Real stories from our organizing and coaching practices (not just theory!)

• Permission to be human instead of perfect

• The same warmth, wisdom, and laughter you've loved for 5+ years

• 20-25 minute conversations that feel like chatting with supportive friends

Meet Your Hosts:

Janine Adams - Certified Professional Organizer who's naturally good at "good enough"

Shannon Wilkinson - Life Coach and recovering perfectionist still learning to embrace "good enough"

From everyday wins and hilarious fails to those moments when "good enough" saves the day, we're covering it all. This podcast is your safe space for perfectionism help, personal development, and life coaching with real heart. If you struggle with perfectionism paralysis, negative self-talk, or just need your permission slip to do more of what you love – we're here for you.

Subscribe now so you don't miss our return on September 4th!

Visit gettingtogoodenough.com for all episodes and updates.

Janine and Shannon have made the difficult decision to stop recording the podcast. In this episode, we discuss how we came to that decision and how life-changing the podcast has been for us.

We are so grateful to our listeners for their attention and support over the five years of this podcast. We hope that you've benefited from listening. Our plan is to keep past episodes of the podcast available indefinitely, so you can listen to any of the other 253(!) episodes whenever you want.

Getting a great night's sleep can be elusive, especially as we get older. Shannon and Janine have tried a lot of things to improve the quality of their sleep and we're excited to discuss them in this episode. We provide lots of great links with this one!

Discussion topics include:

• The good old days when we could get a good night's sleep and not even notice

• The app Shannon uses to check her sleep: AutoSleep

• The sleep app Janine uses: Sleep Cycle

• Shannon's sleep-talking habit (she runs meetings in her sleep!)

• The double-edged sword of electronically monitoring your sleep

• Adjusting your sleep goals so you can achieve them more often

• Shannon's current sleep solution: Drinking four ounces of tart cherry juice

• Janine's current sleep solution: Dream Powder

• The challenge of varying temperature preferences when you're sharing a bed

• Shannon's eucalyptus weighted blanket

• Listening to sleep stories to get to sleep

• Shannon's sleep mask with embedded bluetooth speakers!

• Practicing good sleep hygiene

Be sure to visit the show notes at www.gettingtogoodenough.com for links to everything we talked about.

Why is it so hard to acknowledge our small victories? In this episode, Janine and Shannon discuss taking the win and how it's good for our productivity (and our health!).

Discussion topics include:

• How it can be hard to accept that what you've done is valuable and counts even if it's not perfect

• The (erroneous) idea that if you feel good about what you've done you might slack off

• Would you play a game on your phone if all it did was buzz you when you got something wrong?

• How the things that are most addictive are the things that are rewarding you constantly for doing something

• If we talk to our friends the way we tend to talk to ourselves, we wouldn't have a lot of friends

• Remember: Everything counts (even the easy stuff)! You can still take the win.

• A good companion to your to-do list: A "Done" list

• Paying attention to the areas where you could be kinder to yourself and feel good about what you've done

• How taking the win can help you get more done

• Accepting compliments (and taking them in)

• The person who gave us the idea for this topic: Shannon's husband, Mike!

Shannon's back from Italy and we're running some episodes we recorded before she left. This week, Shannon and Janine are talking about the beauty of taking a simple approach to starting something and how that can be challenging for perfectionists.

Discussion topics include:

• Our virtual retreat to plan our YNAB coaching practices (simpler than trying to figure out how to work together in person)

• How starting simple can help you actually get started on a project

• Leaving open the possibility for change when you're starting something

• Applying this concept to decluttering your closet

• How Janine made starting her car-buying process very simple by buying what Shannon had

• The beauty of narrowing down your options (and how Shannon accomplished that when she built her most recent house)

• How starting simple can make a project feel less overwhelming

• Remember: it's not necessary to plan every single step of a project before you start it (something that perfectionists tend to want to do)

• How you can get more information with each step of a project (after you get started)

• Starting simple by guessing

• Figuring out what barriers need to be taken away to allow you to get started

• Getting past the "What If?"

• Recognizing that what feels simple to one person may not feel simple to someone else

It's our 250th episode! This week we're re-running an episode from May 2021, almost exactly two years ago. Next week, keep an eye out for a new episode.

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