😮‍💨 Good Enough 101

In partnership with

Hey there! Welcome back to The Flow by Flocus. If you’re new around here, welcome! 👋  You can catch up on our previous editions right here.

This week: Just let it be good enough — what that means, why it matters, and how to do it. Let’s jump in!

🥎 When Life Throws You Curveballs…

Before we dive in, let’s set up the example we’ll use throughout this newsletter:

Say you and your roommate are repainting your kitchen before hosting guests.

You have a lot to do, and limited time to do it.

But then your roommate gets some bad news and can no longer help you.

The same day, your pet gets injured, so you have to pause for a vet visit.

It’s just one of those “weird” days where nothing is going your way and the whole universe seems to be against you.

So what do you do?

😌…Just Let it Be Good Enough

Have you ever done something halfway, or left a task only partially finished before saying:

“That’ll have to be good enough.”

Chances are you said this out of exasperation, and you didn’t really mean it.

You might’ve felt annoyed at yourself because you couldn’t finish the task to your satisfaction.

But “good enough” really is good enough, most of the time.

To prove it, let’s go back to our painting example from earlier:

• 🪟 It’s okay if you get paint on the window, you can clean it off later.

• 🕸️ It’s okay to spend less time and attention on areas your guests will never see (like behind the bookshelf).

• 😮‍💨 It’s okay to take more breaks because you don’t have the extra help you thought you would.

You won’t always have the time, resources, or knowledge to do things as thoroughly or completely as you’d like.

And even if you did, life probably wouldn’t be much fun.

But how do you learn to say “that’s good enough” and truly believe it? Let’s take a look.

Real quick: Looking to feed your curiosity and expand your knowledge? Don't miss out on 1440, the daily news source read by over 4 million curious readers.

Here’s a quick message from them 👇️

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

Checking out 1440 not only expands your knowledge, but also supports our tiny team at The Flow, allowing us to continue delivering value to your inbox.

Now, here’s how to let it be good enough!

😌 How to Let It Be Good Enough

☝️ Prioritize what matters most right now

If you’ve got limited time to make something “good enough”, ask yourself:

Does this absolutely need to get done in the near future, or can it wait?

Be ruthless when prioritizing so you can focus on what truly matters. If you’re not sure how, our next tip is for you!

🔮 Trust Future You to handle small fixes later

We usually sort tasks into 2 buckets: not started and done.

Not only is this approach a recipe for stress, but it’s also not how real life works.

We pause, postpone, and cancel stuff all the time. And we put things on our mental “backburner” to conserve energy.

So offload anything that isn’t urgent right now (but still needs to get done at some point) into one of these “awaiting” buckets to clear up some mental space.

And trust that Future You can handle it later!

🕵 Remember, people aren’t as critical as you think

Whatever you’re doing, you’re so close to it that you see all of its flaws and inner workings.

Going back to our painting example — if you’re standing on a stepladder with your nose an inch from the wall, of course you’ll see all those paint chips and scuffs.

Other people will never have that same access or context you do. And they’re probably so focused on other things that they won’t even notice the flaws, anyway.

💝 Mind your manners

If you’re trying to make something “good enough”, you’re probably also stressed or irritable.

While those emotions are valid, take care to manage them effectively. This is super important not only for your momentum and peace of mind, but also your relationships.

If our painter shouted at their roommate, or ignored their pet’s injury to keep going, those relationships would suffer.

Compare your desired outcome to the potential consequences of what you sacrifice or neglect to make it happen.

On one hand, you’ll have a beautifully painted kitchen. On the other, you might have an argument with your roommate and higher vet bills.

This is a somewhat extreme example, but it also illustrates how we often let minor things disrupt the more important stuff for the sake of “productivity”.

🪅 Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

• How to Prioritize When Everything is Important (Video) — In this 14-minute video essay, Amy Landino literally illustrates how to prioritize effectively (from her super aesthetic office — we’re obsessed!)

• How to Decide What’s Important to You (Article) — If the idea of “ruthless prioritization” scares you, check out this article to create your own personal guide on what matters most

• energetic pop instrumentals for productivity (Playlist) — This 4-hour playlist will have you humming along to bright instrumental covers of your favorite pop bops

✨ Flocus: Your Personal Productivity Dashboard

Flocus is built for real life, where you don’t always have the time, energy, or brain space to do everything perfectly.

Set realistic goals, celebrate progress, and move through your day with flexibility — all in one beautifully designed dashboard.

Go to Flocus

We talk a lot about the importance of agility and flexibility for a productive life — letting things be good enough is part of that.

(Also, could you tell this newsletter was inspired by a real-life painting project one of our teammates tackled over the weekend? It turned out great, as long as you don’t look behind the bookshelf 😅)

Until next Sunday,

Flocus Team