Do you ever settle for “good enough”? On the surface, it sounds bad. It sounds like you aren’t giving your all. Particularly in education when we have mantras like “Whatever it takes”, “All means all” and “no child left behind”. These are daunting phrases meant to evoke seriousness and urgency. As educators, we have a sacred duty to serve children and we take the responsibility very seriously. Our work isn’t trivial. Still, the truth is, the truth that we don’t talk about often enough in education and other vocations is that to be successful and thrive, we have to accept that for some things and some tasks good enough is good enough.
As an educator, you never are done. If you devote 80 hours a week to your job, you can still find things to work on, improve on, or tweak. We all have limits and depending on your personality or time of life, those limits differ for different folks. My 14 years as a classroom teacher taught me that there would never be enough time to do everything the way I wanted. I made choices. It meant that some days, heaven forbid, my students did a worksheet. Sometimes in PE, I just let them play. Sometimes I spent hours planning a PBL experience knowing that it would allow me time in the future given there might be less planning once the project got started.
I currently have 3 beautiful grandchildren who live near me and I want to spend time with them and they want me to spend time with them too. I have the luxury of some flexibility in my day. If they ask me to go for a walk, I’ll work to make that happen. I also will take time for myself as well. They won’t be at this amazing age for long. I’m not wasting this time. It means I have to be very intentional about my work. Prioritizing things makes me more productive for my job. I’m more focused and energized and produce high-quality work. And yet there are times when I make choices to say “good enough”.
Generative AI has helped me with this. Design work can get to “good enough” more quickly, allowing me to spend time making it way better than good enough in the same amount of time. Other times, it’s getting me to a place of good enough faster and I can spend time doing other things. Sometimes those “other things” are not work-related.
My job is still an endless list of tasks and time that could be spent making everything better just like my days as a classroom teacher. As much as I like my job, it does not define me. I know what matters to me. I’m proud of my work and am grateful for my years of service and opportunity. But with so many things competing for my time and attention, I have to make choices on how I spend my time and place my attention. Over 13 years ago I wrote about this idea and it remains for me an important concept and belief. I write this knowing many struggle with the very idea of calling something “good enough”. I don’t suggest it’s easy to say it, particularly if you’re worried about what others might think. If you’re happy to work endless hours or feel you have no choice, I would ask you to consider your end goal and recognize your limitations. We all have limited time and energy and should have clear priorities.
