Q from Chris Barber on Twitter: Can you talk about procrastinating on doing a podcast? Yes, I can! But first: A big thank you to DYork55 for the kind 5 star review on Apple Podcasts. DYork wrote: Big fan, super excited to hear that you’re back. I used to listen to pretty much every episode of the podcast dude, back when I was in the early process of launching my own podcast, The Seatown Funk. Since then, I’ve managed to avoid contracting Covid, but I was definitely stricken by podfading, from which I’m hoping I’ve now finally recovered from. Thanks DYork! Sounds like you've been procrastinating too. Let's talk about it!
This is an important question, and is worth considering, reflecting on, and writing about.
It could be a few different things.
What are you doing (or what should you be doing) that's more important than your podcast?
That's ok! You can come back to podcasting later.
I'd suggest prioritizing sleep and rest, exercise, time with family and friends, and time addressing any major issues or distractions in your life before you invest time in podcasting. Basically, get your shit together first before spending time and energy on a podcast.
Make sure you are in a good place mentally and physically. It's very hard to create and share something with the world if you're overwhelmed, stressed out, exhausted, or distracted. Not impossible, but difficult.
The main reasons I procrastinated on podcasting:
1. I prioritized the wrong things
2. I was burned out
3. I was scared that what I was making wasn't good enough
Write a to-do list with action steps. Make it as detailed as possible, but give yourself a 20 minute time limit.
Once you know what the next steps are, you need to decide when you're going to work on them.
I found it helpful to pair actions together until they become a habit. This is commonly called Habit Stacking.
For example, everyday after I wake up, I do yoga for at least 20 minutes. After yoga, I make coffee. As soon as coffee is done, I walk the dogs.
Having those three actions linked together like that has made it extremely easy to do them every day. I've only skipped this morning routine one or two days in the past 4 months (Thanksgiving and the day after) thanks to habit stacking.
Do something like this with your podcast production and make it easier on yourself to make podcasting a habit. For another example, after I've done recording and publishing this episode, I'll be going on a long bike ride. After the bike ride, I'll watch the latest episode of the Mandalorian with a friend.
Habit Stacking. It works.
There's two questions I think are the most important questions to consider when it comes to making a podcast.
What do you hope to get out of the podcast?
What do you hope the listeners will get out of it?
If you don't have a clear and concise and compelling answer to both of these questions, it's going to be very easy for you to make something else a priority.
Remember, your brain doesn't want you to do work. You're only going to invest the energy if you know the work is important and that it will result in some kind of reward.
Get clear on why you're making a podcast instead of doing something else.
It's easy to talk about or think about having a podcast. It's safer than actually making one and putting it out into the world.
Making a podcast will cost you time and money and effort. Our brains try to do as little work as possible, and podcasting is work, so your brain will try to keep you from expending the energy.
You also might struggle with the voice in your head that's doubting your ability to succeed.
”What if no one likes it?” the voice asks. ”What if no one listens? What if you're no good? What if you waste your time? What if people make fun of you? What if you make a mistake or say something that's incorrect?”
It's easy to let these fears keep you from making a podcast.
Focus on making it, doing the best you can now, and improving as you go.
I promise you that you probably have much higher expectations for your work than anyone else does.
How much time can you invest in the show on a daily or weekly basis?
If you're working a full time job and have a family to take care of, you'll need to be very focused and honest about how much time and effort you can invest in the show every week.
Maybe you can only devote 2 hours to recording and publishing the show once a week on Saturdays. What can you finish in two hours?
(Or just finish and not publish. That's ok too.)
Get clear on why you want to make a podcast. Talk to someone you trust about why you want to podcast.
Ask yourself if a podcast is really what you want or need to be spending time and energy on right now. Make sure you're taking care of yourself so you can create something to share with others.
Make a list of things you need to learn, and things you need to do.
Get clear on when you're going to make a podcast. Block off time on your calendar to work on it. You'll need to make a commitment to show up and do the work.
Get clear on how much time you can devote to making a podcast.
Don't try to make it perfect. Finished, not perfect.
It's good to set big goals, but be honest and realistic about what you can accomplish and finish right now.
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Q from Matt G (Food Under Fire podcast):
I've been having a lot of fun with my show. I have dedicated myself to getting better and better with every part of the process. Yet, I still feel like there is a lot to be improved.
For example, the thing that's driving me the craziest right now is volume. It always seems kinda off to my ears? It sounds one way on Logic, but then I upload it, and the dynamics seem off (my voice is too quiet/loud, same with music).
What part of the process would rectify that? Better mixing?
While equipment does play in a role in getting good sound quality, from what you've told me about yours (Shure SM58s mics into a Zoom H6), I think better mixing and mastering should be what you focus on learning.
If you're doing the best you can in the recording stage (good mic technique, setting input gain levels correctly, etc), then the mixing and mastering stage is where you'll fix any issues and polish up the sound.
I'd recommend investing time learning about noise removal, compression, limiting, and using a loudness meter. I have a video introduction to these topics called How to Process Podcast Vocals in Logic Pro X that should help you get started.
Fixing the "music being too loud" issue is easier than you might think. If the music sounds too loud to you, turn it down. (Watch a tutorial video about automation if you're not already familiar with it, and trust your ears.)
Try downloading an MP3 file of a podcast that you think sounds really good, and then start comparing your finished MP3 files against it. It'll take time and experimentation for sure, but you'll get better with practice and effort.
Good luck Matt, and thanks for the question!
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