Do You Have Five Number One Priorities?

I was listening to the Podcasters Roundtable that they recorded live on the NMX floor (I was so bummed that I couldn't attend). They were doing a show with the topic of “podcasting issues” In other words, what were the hurdles you are having. One kept coming up over and over, and that was the issue of not having enough time.

How To Avoid The Time Trap – Pick Your Schedule LAST

I am working with a company right now where I will be recording their podcast. I like the topic, and I like the people. It should be fun. We were starting to talk about how many episodes a week, and how long the episodes should be. The podcast will be based on information that the company provides. Its will be arranged in a fashion that they are not used to doing. In the end, the company is not sure how long or hard it will be to give me the information. I also don't know how long it will take to record and edit that information.

The answer? Do a test show. Then do another and another.

I suggested we wait to pick a schedule LAST, so we can make an informed decision. Ray Ortega produces the Podcasters Roundtable twice a week. Why? Because he has a smile daughter, a wife, and a job. He know how long it takes to create a show, and picked a schedule he can consistently hit. When you publish on a consistent schedule, your audience makes them part of their routine. If you can't publish on a consistent schedule, ALWAYS provide consistent value (and your audience will forgive you).

Every time I track how long it takes to create a podcast (audio) I arrive at a four to one ratio. A one minute podcast takes four minutes. A fifteen minute podcast takes an hour.

Time Management 101

You can control time, you can only control you. If you want to control time, you will need to learn the word NO. You will need to have a clear objective of what and where you want to end up in life. You can't control time, you can only control you. Yes, life will bring surprises. How you react to those surprises can dictate what future surprises come you way.

Time Management Insights

You may have heard the tale from Steven Covey about the teacher with the Jar. The teacher had boulders, rocks, pebbles and sand. The teacher put a few boulders into the giant jar, and the class agreed it was full. Then the teacher put rocks around the boulders. The class agreed they couldn't put anything else into the jar. Then the teacher put in pebbles that fell around the boulders and rocks. Finally the teacher put in sand. The bottom line is you need to put the boulders in first. If you put the sand in first, nothing else would fit.

A New Dimension in Time Management

We often operate on the importance of a task, and the timeline. In his book Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time

Rory Vaden adds one other dimension to time management and that is the dimension of significance.

• Importance is how much this matters.
• Urgency is how soon this matters.
• Significance is how long this is going to matter.

So now its not only what is important now, but what will you do that will make more time tomorrow. That may have a deeper impact on your over-all goal.

Create An Environment of Success

I recently binge watched a show called “Sons of Anarchy.” This is another television show that has you cheering the good guys who happen to be pretty bad. I did the math and more or less a season (consisting of 13 shows) take about 10 hours to consume. I've watched all 7 seasons that is 70 hours of sitting and watching the show. You know and I know there are other shows as well. Just think what you could have done with those 70 hours!

Does this mean you can't watch TV? I enjoy television and movies. I enjoy food. I enjoy lots of things. The problem is you can't have five umber one priorities. Right now my friend Cliff Ravenscraft is exercising like a madman and dropping weight. How? He has ONE number one priority. I wish Cliff well. I will be interested to see how he finds balance when he hits his target goal. I'm sure some of that balance will be achieved by using the word NO.

Turning off the TV (or netflix) is just part of creating an environment of success. There are studies that show Americans spend an HOUR a day LOOKING FOR STUFF. One way to avoid wasting this time is to come up with a plan (any plan) to create your show. I use tools like voice memo on my iphone to capture ideas. I use tools like Evernote, Workflowy, and Asana to management my tasks. I use the clock on my iPhone to remind me to go home if I'm working in my office. Technology can be a boost to your productivity as long as your productivity isn't just entering taks into the new system. You eventually have to do the tasks.

But what about that show you really like? Well watch it online (where you can fast forward through the commercials) and if you really want to take your binge watching to a new level use MySpeed. Its a great tool that lets you speed up (or slow down) online videos (including netflix).

Organize all of the files you use in every episode into a folder. This way if you ever need to do a show on the road, it's all right there to throw on a jump drive. I use the folder structure of Podcast Name > Episode >Raw/Finished. This means I store voicemails, and any other materials in the raw folder. I use those to create the finished episode.

Family issues? Work with your family to come to an agreement on when you will be podcasting. If the family knows Mondays & Thursdays are your podcast days they will be less likely to interrupt you (and if they do, you know its important).

A mantra I used in high school and Jr. High School was if I didn't start (drinking, etc) I didn't have to worry about stopping. When it comes to binge watching, if you don't start a show, you don't have to worrying about how it ends.

When you get into your studio, with the TV, Twitter, facebook off, you can turn to your task list and start working on those important items that will impact your dream the most.

The Other Thing You Have Control Over: Your Attitude

“The longer I love, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.

It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church….a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”
? Charles R. Swindoll

Smart Podcast Press Update

This Simple Podcast Press player is the player I use on the Ask the Podcast Coach website. It puts buttons beneath the player for subscriptions (like itunes), and ways for people to join your mailing list. I caught up with Hani to find out what is new. Here are the new exciting features:

1. The ability to have a link right the time in an episode.

2. The ability to easily show your positive reviews on your website (inspiring people to create more reviews).

3. Create a table of past episode with a link to your audio.

The best part is it's only $49 for a single use license.

For more information go to simplepodcastpress.com

Update on Podcasts.com

I did get a reply from podcasts.com I wrote about it on my blog.

In the end, they do not offer a redirect from their site (which is really bad) so you do not want to make this your primary distribution channel.

Daily Podcast Tips! Put Your Inbox to Work