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Hey Remote Rebels and Digital Daydreamers,
It's 1AM Tuesday morning.
I've spent tonight working on a proposal that might actually bring some money into our household so my husband doesn't have to carry the whole load. Then a webcast I'm presenting in a few hours that currently has 535 people registered. Then a podcast. Then prep for three discovery calls with potential clients. Somewhere in there I ate dinner and rewatched Reacher for the sixth time because when life gets wild, you need Alan Ritchson to handle things.
I had the best intentions for this newsletter. Started brainstorming Sunday afternoon. Revisited it Sunday night. Wavered between profound and silly. Nothing felt right for what we're living in right now, seven weeks into 2026.
My rule for anything I write: it has to be at least partially fun (I'm addicted to whimsy, what can I say), hopefully thoughtful, and always—ALWAYS—useful. I type the word "useful" so many times I should probably make it a keyboard shortcut.
But here we are. 1AM Tuesday morning. Newsletter needs to go out.
Now honestly, Boris would be totally cool if I missed a week. He's pretty awesome that way. But we're at 79 weeks straight and I'm not about to let that streak die. It reminds me of 6th grade when I set an intention to have perfect attendance all year. Kept it too. Except for one day. Maybe half a day. I supposedly had it worked out with the administration that it wasn't my fault. Never got the credit anyway.
So this is the Good Enough newsletter. The one that keeps the streak alive. The one that gives you permission to do the same thing in your own work.
Because sometimes showing up tired is the most useful thing you can do.
What Showing Up Actually Looks Like
You know what showing up looked like for me this week?
Sending an email without rewriting it five times. Posting a two-sentence update instead of three paragraphs. Saying "I'm running slow today" on a call instead of pretending I was at 100%.
Frozen pizza and refrigerator pudding. Not the thing I planned. The thing that was easy.
Writing this newsletter at 1AM because it's my week and I said I would.
That's it. That's what showing up looks like when you're running on fumes.
Not perfect. Not brilliant. Just here.
Here's what showing up can look like for you this week:
Send version three. The email is clear enough. Stop rewriting. Hit send.
Do the smaller version. Three slides instead of the full deck. One page instead of the proposal. Bullet points instead of the report.
Say it out loud. "I'm at 60% today." "This is what I've got." Being honest doesn't make you less professional. It makes you human.
Keep your streak. Whatever your version of 79 weeks is. The thing you said you'd do. Do it. Even if it's the bare minimum. Especially if it's the bare minimum.
Good enough keeps you moving. Perfect keeps you stuck.
Why This Matters Right Now
It's seven weeks into 2026.
The ground keeps shifting. The rules keep changing. And you're supposed to show up to work on Tuesday morning like none of it is touching you.
But it is. And you're tired. And the performance of being unaffected is costing you more than just showing up tired ever would.
This isn't about lowering standards. It's about refusing to let perfect be the reason you don't move.
You don't owe anyone your capacity to absorb infinite chaos while looking calm. You just have to keep going.
And going doesn't mean sprinting. Sometimes it means showing up at 1AM and writing the newsletter anyway because you said you would.
That's enough. It's always been enough.
The Streak Keeper's Toolkit
Weird small things that keep you showing up when you have nothing left:
The Spite Calendar. Mark an X every time you show up. Watch the chain grow. Now try breaking it. You can't. The X's won't let you. They're judging you. Keep the X's happy.
The Fictional Hype Person. Pick a character who would be proud of you for showing up tired. Alan Ritchson. Ted Lasso. Your favorite deranged muppet. Channel them. They're rooting for you from inside your brain.
The Ridiculous Reward. Finished the thing? You get pudding. That's it. That's the whole reward system. Pudding for showing up. It works.
The 2AM Pact. Tell yourself you only have to do it until 2AM. Then you can quit. You never quit at 2AM. You're already this far. Might as well finish.
The Streak Announcement Voice. Narrate your own streak like a nature documentary. "Here we see the newsletter writer in her natural habitat. Week 79. She's tired. But she persists. Remarkable."
The Victory Snack. Frozen pizza counts as cooking. Stale Girl Scout cookies (the whole dang sleeve) counts as dessert. You showed up. You win.
None of this makes sense. All of it works.
AI Prompt: The 2AM Negotiator
When you're too tired to do everything and you need to make deals with yourself about what actually matters.
This prompt uses the ROCO framework: Role, Objective, Context, Output.
Role:
You are a ruthlessly practical negotiator who helps people figure out what they can skip, what they can half-ass, and what actually has to get done today.
Objective:
Help me triage my to-do list when I'm running on fumes and can't do it all.
Context:
I'm exhausted. I have too many things on my list. I need to make smart decisions about what gets the full effort, what gets the bare minimum, and what can wait without everything exploding.
Ask me:
- What's on my list today?
- What's the actual consequence if each thing doesn't get done?
- Who's waiting on what?
- What am I avoiding because it feels hard vs what's actually urgent?
Output:
Give me three categories:
1. Do It (But Make It Small)
The things that have to happen today, but here's the bare minimum version that still counts.
2. Phone It In
The things you can half-ass without anyone noticing or caring. Permission granted.
3. Let It Wait
The things that feel urgent but aren't. Put them off guilt-free. Include why it's actually fine to wait.
Then end with one sentence: "If you only do the 'Do It' list, you win today."
Hangout & Tinker with Deb
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
9:00 AM CST | 10:00 AM EST | 3:00 PM GMT | 4:00 PM CET | 8:30 PM IST
Bring your AI questions, half-finished projects, or just show up. We'll figure stuff out together. Come for 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or the whole time. Whatever works. No big whoop.
You Made It
It's 2:37AM.
I just wrote a newsletter about showing up tired by showing up tired and writing it.
Week 79. Done. Streak intact. The X's on my spite calendar can rest easy.
You have your own version of this. Your own week 79. Your own middle-of-the-night moment where you're wondering if you can just skip it this once.
You can. But you won't.
Because the streak matters. Because showing up tired is better than not showing up at all. Because the X's are watching and they have very high standards.
Go mark your X. You earned it just by reading this far.
— The (R) Generation Team 💻 🧡 🫶
PS: Showing up tired is more honest than showing up perfect. And we need more honest in the world.
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What did you think of this issue?
Deb Haas
Community catalyst for the R Generation
Crafted with 💜 in Minneapolis
Me explaining to the spite calendar why I deserve to rest now