Have you ever finished a big task and felt that rush of relief—like, ahhh, I’m finally caught up—and then… immediately noticed ten more things waiting for you? Same.

In this episode, we’re unpacking the productivity myth of “catching up,” why it can feel so urgent (and so exhausting), and how it connects to perfectionism and productivity.

Starting in the middle of an “atmospheric river” (aka endless rain), we talk about a surprisingly satisfying homeowner win: Shannon and Mike installed a French drain that finally solved a long-standing sidewalk flooding problem. It felt amazing to cross it off the list… until the list refilled (as it always does).

We explore where the pressure to catch up comes from and what it might look like to let go of the whole concept. We also talk about doing things for enjoyment (without deadlines or milestones), and Janine shares a simple practice that helps her feel less behind: writing down her “Big Three” tasks the night before.

What we talk about

• Why the endless to-do list can make us feel perpetually behind
• How “catching up” can be perfectionism in disguise
• Letting go of tasks (or at least letting go of the pressure around them)
• Doing things for enjoyment vs. doing them to hit milestones
• A practical tool for focus: the “Big Three”

Timestamped highlights 

01:25 — Rain garden overflow + the French drain fix

03:16 — That brief “we’re caught up!” feeling after a big win

04:02 — Do we ever actually feel caught up?

05:04 — Letting go of the whole concept of catching up

06:11 — Retirement as a glimpse of a different pace

09:42 — SMART goals vs. a “word of the year”

11:10 — Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies (and motivation)

12:26 — Unfinished knitting projects and “good enough” outcomes

15:06 — Janine’s “Big Three” practice (and why it helps)

19:16 — Shannon’s experiment: trying the Big Three (plus accountability)

Key takeaways

• “Caught up” is a moving target. The list refills fast, so chasing that finish line can keep you stressed.
• The idea of getting caught-up is a productivity myth. It promises relief, but is virtually unattainable creating extra pressure and self-criticism.
• Perfectionism and striving for high productivity are closely linked. Wanting to “finally be caught up” can be perfectionism in a different outfit.
• Small constraints can create calm. Choosing a short list (like three priorities) can reduce overwhelm and increase follow-through.

Bottom line

We don’t have to earn peace by finishing everything. If “caught up” doesn’t really exist, we can stop chasing it—and start noticing what we have done instead (and celebrating it!).

Try this for the next few days:

1. Write down your Big Three tasks for tomorrow.
2. Ask yourself: If I only do these three things, would that be good enough?
3. Notice what shifts—your focus, stress level, maybe even that feeling of being “behind”.

And we’d love to hear from you: What’s one thing you do (or could do) that helps you feel less behind—without trying to do everything?

Connect with us

• Leave us a voicemail: 413-424-GTGE (4843)
• Comment on social media: @gettingtogoodenough on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
• Email: gettingtogoodenough@gmail.com

Want more like this?

If you enjoyed this conversation about the pressure to catch up and the endless to-do list, you might also like:

• Episode 261: Morning Routines That Actually Stick (Even When They Don’t) — A practical, realistic look at routines that support you (instead of stressing you out). This is where Janine’s “Big Three” habit comes from, so it’s a great companion listen.
• Episode 92: Working Through a Backlog — A next-step episode for when the pileups are real: ideas for working through backlogs without getting stuck in the catch-up cycle.
• Episode 61: You’re Not Behind — If the “behind” feeling is familiar, this episode helps reframe it so it becomes a helpful signal (not a source of shame).

Mentioned in this episode

• YouTube - Link to watch the episode on YouTube
• Getting Started: The Four Tendencies | Gretchen Rubin

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:06

Hey, there. Welcome to getting to Good Enough. I'm Shannon Wilkinson.

Janine Adams: 00:00:10

And I'm Janine Adams. We're here for practical and fun conversations about living with more ease and way less stress.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:17

Yep. We're all about embracing progress over perfection. So grab a tasty beverage and let's get started. Hey, Janine.

Janine Adams: 00:00:27

Hey, Shannon. How are you?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:28

I'm good. How are you doing?

Janine Adams: 00:00:30

I'm good. It's nice to see you a couple of weeks in a row.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:34

I know. I'm happy. This is really settling into our routine here.

Janine Adams: 00:00:41

Yeah, me too. Me too. It's always a pleasure. It is.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:46

We are in the middle of an atmospheric river.

Janine Adams: 00:00:50

Oh. I've heard that expression, but I don't think I know what it means. Is that. What is that?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:56

Endless rain? Flooding.

Janine Adams: 00:00:58

It does sound like that, yeah.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:00:59

Oh, flooding. Yeah. Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:01:03

Huh. Yeah. Well, that's a bummer. Is your roof holding up okay?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:01:08

We have a relatively new roof, so. Yes. Otherwise, we would have water pouring into our living room around the chimney.

Janine Adams: 00:01:18

Yeah. When I lived in an old house, that kind of rain was always so scary.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:01:25

Yeah. And we have a rain garden in our front yard, so all of the runoff from the roof goes into the downspouts and then into the rain garden.

It was raining so hard that that overflowed its banks. Mike and I had installed a French drain along the sidewalk, I think, last summer. And it's working so.

Because the sidewalk used to flood and create a puddle that people had to ford, basically.

Janine Adams: 00:02:01

Right. And that's a real hazard. That's very nice that you took care of that. It's working out okay, too, with the atmospheric river.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:09

Yes.

Janine Adams: 00:02:10

Good. Better than the sidewalk river.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:12

Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:02:13

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:17

That was one of those things that had been on our list for a long time, and then we finally took care of it, and it has been so nice to have done nice. And you.

Janine Adams: 00:02:28

Just to be clear, you hired someone to do it, right?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:31

No, we did it.

Janine Adams: 00:02:32

You did it.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:33

Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:02:34

Because if I hired someone to do it, I would say I did it, but I realized it was you and Mike we were talking about. That's unbelievable. Who does that themselves? Wow. Good job.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:44

Well, it wasn't. I mean, it wasn't like we did a French drain all the way around our house. We did it. You know, it was.

Janine Adams: 00:02:51

Did it involve digging?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:53

Yes.

Janine Adams: 00:02:54

That's a big deal. Just saying.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:02:59

Well, thank you. You're welcome.

Janine Adams: 00:03:02

I don't do it.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:03:04

I might. I have, I think, photos that I took while we were in the process of doing it. Maybe we'll Share those.

Janine Adams: 00:03:11

Yeah, that's a good idea.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:03:16

But it, you know, it was one of those things that. That was on the list for so long. It was a problem for so long. And it sort of momentarily gave me this feeling of being caught up.

Like, ooh, we've done this thing. But then, you know, there's like a million other things, so it goes away.

Janine Adams: 00:03:40

Yeah, you gotta take those wins. Right. Like that. Checking that giant thing off the list feels great, but you're right. Then the next thing is right there waiting for your attention.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:03:50

Right, right. I think sort of the problem is that desire to want to feel caught up. Do you have that? I feel like, oh, I need to catch up. I need to catch up.

Janine Adams: 00:04:02

Oh, yeah. I'm just trying to think if I've ever felt caught up. Like, I don't think I ever have, but, I mean, I've had, like, if.

When I used to write books, when I finished the book, turn the book in, I'll take the afternoon off. I'll feel, you know, when a giant project gets done. But. Yeah.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:04:20

Oh, so what you took. I can never remember how many books you read. You had seven afternoons off. Ten afternoons off.

Janine Adams: 00:04:27

Eight. Yeah, maybe. And I remember, I think it was the first one I had to actually physically mail the manuscript. It was so long ago.

And so it involved printing out and collating and, you know, then. Right. Packaging and mailing. That felt like a very big deal. A little less anticlimactic than couldn't send. But, yes, feeling.

Trying to feel caught up is. It's a little bit like striving for perfect isn't. Doesn't happen.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:04:58

Yeah, I think so. Because, I mean, there's always more to do.

Janine Adams: 00:05:04

Right. But we don't have to feel just like. We don't have to feel that everything is to be perfect. We don't have to.

I mean, maybe letting go of the idea that you'll ever catch up and really focusing on things you have done seems like a nice thing to do for yourself.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:05:21

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think that's the key, is to maybe even let go of the whole concept of being caught up. Because I. Like we just said, I don't think it exists.

And embracing, you know, what you do finish, what progress you make and. And marking that and celebrating that. Yes.

Janine Adams: 00:05:50

Yeah, I think that's. I think that's really important because if we don't take the moment, at least to. When you.

When we do accomplish something, especially something big like French trains or writing a book, we miss out on that great feeling of accomplishment. That keeps us going for all the things.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:06:10

Right.

Janine Adams: 00:06:11

ed. I think it was the end of: 2022

So he doesn't really have things to get behind on, actually. Yeah. Yeah. And he also keeps very busy with the things he enjoys doing.

So I feel like what looking at it from the outside has made retirement look more attractive to me. And I feel like that's where I want to be. Like where I. I mean, he has to walk the dog and stuff, you know, feeds me and stuff. He cooks and.

But he's not behind on any of that.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:06:48

It's just an things he makes dinner and it's done. It's not like he can get behind on dinner for more than. But a very short period of time, I'm assuming.

Janine Adams: 00:07:00

Right. And he is.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:07:01

And then you get fed or you get takeout and you're fed.

Janine Adams: 00:07:05

Exactly. We're gonna eat or you know, he's learning to play the piano and he hasn't set a goal of being able to play this type of music in this time period.

Therefore he's never behind on it. He works really hard on it. Like he plays the piano hours every day to his enjoyment. And mine actually is getting good. But yeah, that's funny.

So there is, I guess a way to feel caught up and that is not have anything to do that you have to do well.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:07:35

But I. But I feel one thing that you said there about particularly Barry playing the piano that is crucial is that he's doing it for his own enjoyment.

And it's perhaps the fact that he doesn't have any specific goals or things that he's trying to achieve or milestones or whatever parameters that make it successful or not. That there's no sense of being behind even on something like that.

Janine Adams: 00:08:06

And that sounds like a great way to live to me. And it's so interesting. I've been finding this very thought provoking because I'm very much a goal oriented person. I love milestones. I love.

And maybe letting go of that would be beneficial in terms for depending on the thing. Like, I mean, I have to do certain things at certain times, but can't let go of the idea.

I need to turn in payroll on time, but it's easing up on that might be really a nice way to live.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:08:39

I know it does feel a little, I don't know, revolutionary, subversive.

Janine Adams: 00:08:45

Like we may be overstating it, but.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:08:48

Yeah, well, no, I mean because as a society we are very Goal oriented.

And if you're doing something just because you like doing it or even you just like having it done feels very different than you're doing it to achieve a particular thing at a particular time.

Janine Adams: 00:09:10

Right. Yeah. I think I'm going to be keeping this in mind when I. I'm going to finish my sentence.

I think I'm going to be keeping this in mind when I'm setting my annual goals. But I mean that because I will set my annual goals.

But I might like, I might try to create them in a way that isn't as time focused or something so that I don't usually I try to set up milestones that I try to meet, but maybe I'll let go of that.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:09:42

Well, and this sort of makes me think about the difference between, you know, sort of smart goals and say, having a word of the year.

Like a word of the year might sort of guide you and you might end up doing the same things, but it's a very different feeling than trying to achieve particular goals.

Janine Adams: 00:10:03

Yeah. Measurable goals on a certain timeframe and adds a lot of pressure. Yeah. Yeah. I love the word of the year exercise. I set my date for doing that.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:10:17

Are you laughing because you're realizing like how deadline goal oriented you are?

Janine Adams: 00:10:24

Yeah. Yeah, exactly why I'm laughing. And that's coming December 26th.

That's when I have my personal retreat day during which I will set my word of the year and set my very gentle goals.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:10:37

Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:10:37

Perhaps do a vision board.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:10:40

Nice. Yeah. I think it's interesting that how much that probably plays into this idea of needing to catch up having these goals.

There, there so often is this kind of, I don't know what the word ironic juxtaposition. This like kind of opposite thing of it's easier to achieve your goals if you kind of relax into them as opposed to strive for them.

Janine Adams: 00:11:10

This is also making me think about Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies.

And if I'm remembering correctly, because I haven't read about it in a long time, but it's about how we're motivated from internal or external motivation. Am I right about that?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:11:25

That's one of the factors of how you just figure out which of the four you are.

Janine Adams: 00:11:29

Right. And if we can let go, maybe I guess we're all wired differently but.

Or be able to differentiate which external factors or internal are really matter when we're feeling behind. That can be really helpful. Like I can't tell you how many unfinished knitting projects I have found recently in my knitting stash.

Like literally Things I don't remember me ever having started. And I mean, literally, I. Yeah. And. And it's.

And that's great because I was gonna like knit something and I didn't have to because it wasn't quite finished. And why this is relevant is if apparently in these knitting projects, I am not giving myself any kind of deadline.

I could just put, walk away from it and forget it forever until I find it again anyway. That's really not relevant. It just is what popped up.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:12:26

Although presumably do like not finishing it didn't take away from the enjoyment you gained from doing the knitting that you did to get the project to the point it was.

Janine Adams: 00:12:39

I mean. Right. Because when I move, I mean, I would have probably frogs ripped out.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:12:46

Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:12:46

The knitting I didn't enjoy doing, so I could use the yarn elsewhere. But if it's. Yeah. If it's enjoyable knitting, I can put it down.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:12:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:12:54

And it also came in handy that I didn't when I needed fingerless glove. Turns out I had one. All I had to do was bind off. Yay. Crazy. Maybe it was also really ugly.

So that may have been why I didn't finish it, because according to my notes, I was using a new to me knitting technique called Magic Loop, and the result is ugly. I mean, I did it poorly. I literally don't remember ever having done it in my life, but I wrote down that I did and it's really ugly, but it's worn.

So it's.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:13:24

And that was your primary objective and you met it.

Janine Adams: 00:13:28

Exactly. That's what I needed. It wasn't apparently successful in learning that technique, but it was.

Is successful in keeping my hand warm, which is what I need.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:13:37

That's good enough.

Janine Adams: 00:13:38

That's definitely barely good enough. Do you feel that pressure of catching up? Do you feel that in your life?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:13:48

Oh, yeah. I. I always feel like there's stuff I need to catch up on. Yeah. And I was thinking about it when you were talking at the beginning about retirement.

And I was like, well, still, I would feel like there's all the stuff I need to catch up on around the house. And I mean, living in a rental, it's probably different because you don't have all those same kinds of projects.

Although, you know, you may have things you want to organize or, you know, your closet to go through or whatever. But.

Janine Adams: 00:14:18

Yeah, that's true. There's still that stuff. But Shannon, remember, we lived in an old house and we didn't do any projects, so.

But yeah, you're better homeowners than we Were. Yeah. Barry doesn't feel those. Those pressures. Right. Like, I guess he's. He's living the dream.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:14:36

Yeah. Yeah. I'm just thinking, you know, what.

What really needs to get done and if sort of letting go of the pressure of wanting to feel like I'm caught up would allow me to get more done. Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:14:56

It's kind of a potentially fun experiment. If there's a way to take note of it, I'm going to try it on for sex.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:15:05

We'll see. Right.

Janine Adams: 00:15:06

And maybe we'll. Maybe we'll talk about it again.

I will say that one little thing that came out of a episode that we recorded has helped me feel less behind, and that is, I think it was our morning routines episode from back when we first restarted the podcast. And I said that I was going to write down three things every day that to try to get done before noon every night.

I write down three things in my bojo. I write the big three. And that has been so helpful.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:15:38

Oh, really?

Janine Adams: 00:15:39

Yeah.

It allows me to focus on three important things or perhaps urgent, and if they're there, right there, and I do it the night before they actually get done. So I feel like I'm staying on top of their important things or urgent things, which is. Gives me a lot of peace.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:15:56

Oh, that's great. Well, and I think that's a.

That's such a good example of a way to feel like you are getting things done and not be overwhelmed by this sort of endless to do list that you need to get caught up with.

Janine Adams: 00:16:15

Yeah, yeah. And I do a lot more than three things in a day, but if I only do those three things, then I'm okay.

And also if I have appointments outside the house, I set a realistic list of three that I can get stuff done before I leave. If I wake up and I know exactly what I need to do.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:16:31

You know, that's always the key for me is if I know what I am supposed to do as soon as I sit down at my desk or as soon as I wake up. Even like, you know, if I've established it the night before, I know what I need to do.

It is so much easier to get it done than if I have to sit down and then decide what to do.

Janine Adams: 00:16:55

Yeah, yeah, that's a yeah, exactly. This is the hardest part has been remembering to do it the night before. But I've got that dialed in pretty well.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:17:05

So I'm curiosity, are you doing it like at the end of your work day or are you doing it before bed?

Janine Adams: 00:17:13

Yeah, at Night, usually that's how it's shaken out. Originally, I thought I'd do it at the end of the workday, but no.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:17:22

Yeah, I. I feel like ideally I would do it at the end of the workday. I would be more likely to do it at night. And then my concern would be that I would then fret about it.

Janine Adams: 00:17:35

Fret about it? When? At night before you do it?

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:17:39

No, like, yeah, like, I would be thinking about the things that I, you know, whatever my list would be for the next day, and then I would continue thinking about them and it would make sleep more difficult.

Janine Adams: 00:17:51

Interesting. Yeah. I don't have that challenge. In fact, it's the opposite. It gives me peace because I know now it's done.

I know I'm gonna do tomorrow morning, so, like, put, you know, rest.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:18:05

So you're not going to forget about it.

Yeah, and that's always the beauty of writing things down is then you don't have to keep thinking about it because you know you're going to remember it.

Janine Adams: 00:18:15

Exactly. So. Yeah, Yeah, I don't. I mean, this stuff I'm writing down isn't exactly cure cancer or something.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:18:24

Right.

Janine Adams: 00:18:24

Yeah.

So it's something I need to worry about, typically, thankfully, I'm at the point, I think, in my career where I don't really have super stressful tasks.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:18:33

Yeah.

Janine Adams: 00:18:34

I don't lose sleep over it. Right.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:18:37

That's good. Well, and I think it too, probably makes a difference for people who are going out of the house for a job.

It probably would be better to write things down before you leave your job.

Janine Adams: 00:18:49

At the end of the day.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:18:51

And people who are either working remotely at home, work from home, or don't have a business or a job that they're doing, but are just, you know, have tasks that they're doing every day, you know, just their life.

Janine Adams: 00:19:06

Yeah, whatever works. Right. Because you know how I like to limit options and narrowing down to three things to focus on first thing and get done is fantastic.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:19:16

Yeah, that's great. I'm going to give that a try.

Janine Adams: 00:19:20

Excellent. I'll be interested to hear how it works. If you need accountability, you can text me your big three every morning if you'd like.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:19:28

Oh, I think I might take you up on that.

Janine Adams: 00:19:31

Okay.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:19:32

I always do better with accountability.

Janine Adams: 00:19:34

Accountability helps. Yeah. Of course, I never remember to ask you.

So I'm not doing my part as the accountability partner probably, but I'm happy to read it and give you a good job.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:19:46

So we would love to hear from you, our listeners. How do you deal with that feeling of wanting to get caught up.

u can leave us a voicemail at: 413424

That's: 4843

You can send us an email at gettingtogoodenoughmail.com until next time, this is Shannon Wilkinson in Portland, Oregon, and Janine Adams in St. Louis, Missouri, and we hope that Good Enough is getting easier for you. Thanks for joining us on Getting to Good Enough. We hope you heard something that makes your life just a little bit easier.

If you did, leave us a review or share this with someone who's looking for their own version of Good Enough, thanks for listening.

Janine Adams: 00:20:47

See you soon.

Shannon Wilkinson: 00:20:57

You froze, and I thought that you were just paying really close attention to what I was saying.

Janine Adams: 00:21:06

Well, I was so concerned because I knew that say my name was coming up and I didn't know if I was going to miss my cue, but it came in just right at the right moment.