I think the saying still works. For me, it feels like it's a case of reframing it as an in-progress task rather than one that can be completed. It is easier to shovel one foot of snow thrice, but it can be demoralising to shovel a foot of snow and feel like you've made no progress.

In the context of tidying, it's about clarifying what's normal and reasonable to achieve. Tidy all the time clearly isn't, but that doesn't mean don't tidy.