Podcasting In The Zone (Without Zoning Out)

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I was in a zone yesterday. For seven hours I was deep inside of a zone working on my presentation for the Outlier Podcast Festival in Salt Lake City this weekend. I didn’t plan on working for seven hours. The time just flew by and I didn’t even notice it.

You probably know what I'm talking about. You're doing something deep inside of the zone, and you just sort of lose sight of the world around you. Any working podcaster knows this feeling. As a working podcaster who helps produce shows for 24 clients, some on a regular weekly basis and some on a more ad hoc basis, I rely on the zone to keep my head on straight.

If you also support lots of other podcasts, or perhaps just lots of different shows in your own network, it's important for you to try to work inside of the zone as much as you can, fighting all the distractions that come at you from all sides while you’re trying to work.

I sometimes wish podcasting were as simple as sitting down in front of a microphone and talking (and I certainly try to make it that simple for my clients). But you and I know that there's a lot more to podcasting than just talking into a microphone or editing an audio file. There are a lot of processes to process, and most people find that process happens best when you're inside of the zone.

The way I help myself get in that zone for all the clients that I work with is by structuring my work week. Today is Monday and I won't work on any client-based projects today. Probably. If I do, it's very limited: I’ll dip in dip out of conversations as needed, but today is the day I focus on the other aspects of running my business.

The next three days -- Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday -- will be dedicated to in the business stuff. That's my zone-time. That's when I have headphones on most of the day if I'm doing audio engineering work. That's when I'll be poring over spreadsheets and running through numbers. That's when I'm pulling different proposals and generally making sure that we can get all of the work done in time for our clients. That’s when I evaluate the tactics behind the strategies to make sure everything fits together.

That all happens in three very focused days to put me in that zone. Friday is kind of a free for all, where I sometimes work with new clients, sometimes soliciting new clients, and sometimes just taking some time to take care of me.

It’s smart to establish a zone like that for your own work. But exercise caution: getting too deeply into the zone can lead to a pathological condition. And if you’re podcasting just one thing, like you really just have a podcast instead of being more broadly focused on podcasting overall, it’s too easy to be locked into your zone. That makes you myopic: so focused on your thing that you lose sight of the larger world around you.

When you zone out, you lose sight of all the things that are happening in podcasting. You miss changing best practices. You don’t get to experience changes to formats that might make new opportunities for you.

Yes, you want to get into your podcasting zone. But not so far that you zone out.

This medium is moving fast! I did some really quick number-crunching last night for the presentation I'm prepping for the Outlier Podcast Festival in Salt Lake City and am a little shocked to quantify how much things have actually changed and how many brand new people are getting into the podcasting space. I’m still verifying the numbers, but I’ll share them in the future. For now, just trust me when I tell you the evidence is quite staggering.

But if you are so deeply into your own zone that you've zoned out and are doing the same things you’ve been doing since 2012, 2007, or even 2004... you might've missed more than one sweeping change to standards, changes to how you can produce your episodes better, or changes to what the new wave of podcast listeners expect from podcasters.

I just found out that Podcasting For Dummies, the book that I wrote back in 2005 with Tee Morris, is now about to go into its 4th edition. Chuck Tomasi, one of the authors of the 2nd and 3rd edition, told me that last week during our PHX Podcast Club meetup. They want to have a consult with me since podcasting in varied formats is my full-time focus. While I doubt my name will grace the spine of the book, I am excited that at least a flavor of me will inside of that new edition due out at the end of the year.

To recap: Make sure that you find a way to get into the zone so that you are more productive. But also make sure that you can break out of that zone from time to time to observe the wider universe around you. Because podcasting changes all of the time.

One change is that you can now rate podcasts very simply. All you have to do is go to RateThisPodcast.com/podpont, for example. It doesn't matter what app you use to listen to podcasts. It doesn't matter what device you use to listen to podcasts., It doesn’t matter whether you're on mobile or your laptop when you go to RateThisPodcast.com/podpont. Try it and see how easy it is to leave a rating for this show.

If you thought this information was helpful, you can go to BuyMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra and buy me a coffee. You can pick a monthly recurring donation so that you pass a little bit of money my way every month. I don't charge for the show and I don't run advertising on the show, so your support is nice to have.

And if you need assistance with your podcast, please get in touch with me. Reach me at evo@PdcastLaunch.pro or go to SimplerMedia.pro to see all of the services that we offer our clients.

I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

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Podcasting, like any craft often feels best when you get in the zone. Call it focus if you like, but things just seem to flow better unless you get too focused and lose sight of the bigger picture.

Hello and welcome to another podcast. Pontifications with me. Evo. Tara. I was in a zone little yesterday. Like for seven hours deep inside of a zone. Didn't even know the zone had taken me away from the world. Time was going by so quickly. You probably know what I'm talking about. You're doing something, you're in it.

You're deep inside of the zone, and you just kind of lose sight of the world. Now, as a working podcaster, as I said, you know this, but me as a podcaster who helps produce shows like. I have 24 clients I'm working with in different aspects. You know, some on a regular weekly basis, someone a more ad hoc basis, some I've helped previously and they just use me whenever, which I guess is the same definition of ad hoc Evo.

Anyhow, that's a lot of things to keep in my head. So a lot of things for anyone to keep in their head. And I know I'm not the only working podcaster that does this, that supports lots of other podcasts, some support, just lots of different shows in their own network. And it's important to try to work inside of the zone as much as you can because you've got to fight all of the distractions that come at us from all sides.

I mean, I wish podcasting was as simple as sit down in front of a microphone and talk, and I certainly try to make it that simple for my clients. But you and I know it takes a whole lot more and there's more to just talking into a microphone or editing an audio file. There's a lot of process that needs to happen, and again, that process happens best when you're inside of the zone.

Keeping all of those distractions out of your brain, keeping all those distractions away for a while helps you conscious, really focus down and get something done. And again, when you're in that zone, things are. Effortless. Things are simple. Things are easy. You're just doing it. The way I helped myself get in that zone for all the clients that I work with is I really structure my work week.

Like today is Monday and I won't work on any client based projects today, or if I do, it's very limited dip in dip out stuff because there's other aspects of running a business that I have to do and that's what Mondays are for. Now, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are dedicated in the business stuff.

That's my zone time. That's when I have headphones on almost all day. If in fact I'm doing audio engineering work, that's when I'm opening up spreadsheets and I'm running through numbers. That's when I'm pulling them different proposals and wondering, not wondering, but. Making sure that we can get all of the work done in time.

How's the strategy going to fit in together? That all happens in just those three days, but those are three very focused days when I'm in that zone, and then Friday is kind of a free for all. Sometimes Friday is working with new clients, sometimes Fridays is trying to solicit new clients and sometimes Friday is just taking some time off for me.

That's how I help get in the zone. Mondays and Fridays are not zoned days. Doomsday Wednesday and Thursday, Thursdays are a deeply zoned days for me. Okay. That's smart. To establish a zone like that, but getting too deeply into his own can be somewhat pathological, especially if your podcasting, one thing, if podcasting is your thing, if you really have a podcast.

More than your more broadly focused podcaster, deeply focusing on one thing. It's easy to get into your zone. It's very easy to get into your zone. Unfortunately. It's also quite easy to stay in that zone, to be locked in that zone, to be myopic, myopic, no myopic where you're just too focused in on that thing and you lose sight of the larger world around you.

You lose sight of all the things that are happening in podcasting, changing best practices, changing formats and thoughts and ideas. Getting into his own is great, but once you start going too deeply, you zone out. Which isn't good and you lose sight of all the other activities happening around you, and this medium was moving fast.

I did some really quick numbers last night for the presentation I'm about to do at outlier podcast festival salt Lake city, and it's amazing how much things have actually changed. It's amazing how many brand new people are getting into this space, bringing in their new thoughts and their ideas, which are causing lots of things to change.

And if you are so deeply into your zone that you've zoned out and you've been doing the same thing since 2012 2007 since 2004 you might've missed some of the activities going on around you and some of the changes either to the standards or to the way you can produce products or what customers and listeners are looking for.

You might be too zoned out. So try not try not to do that because there's a lot of new things happening in the world. I just found out recently that podcasting for dummies, the book that I wrote back in 2005 with T Morris is now about to go into its fourth edition. When I was having lunch last week at our OD, our Phoenix podcasts club meeting wasn't lunch.

It was dinner, uh, with Chuck Tomasi, one of the authors of the, of the second and the third edition of the book. And he tells me that the fourth edition is coming out and they want to chat. They mean T and Chuck want to chat with me to make sure they've got the latest and greatest stuff in there. Because again, I do this all day long, full time.

I'm much deeper into that, so it's sometimes good to check in with someone who might have a little wider experience, who might be more up to speed on what the current ways of doing things, just like these guys are doing. I doubt my name is going to grace a side of the book. I mean, I've, I've already written a couple of those and I don't know that I want to do that again, but it'll probably at least have a flavor of me inside of that new edition.

So that's what I wanted to say today. Make sure that you find a way to get into the zone so that you are more productive in the things that you do, but also make sure that you can break out of that zone from time to time to observe. Observe the wider universe around you, because podcasting changes all of the time.

One way that it changes is that you can now rate podcasts very simply by going to rate this podcast.com/pod punt. That's a do it for me. Rate this podcast.com/pod pot. It doesn't matter what app you use, doesn't matter what device you use, whether you're on mobile or your laptop, doesn't matter. Just go to rate this podcast.com/pod Pont and see how easy it is to leave a rating for this show.

And once you've done that, uh, do the same thing for your own show. Well, don't rate your on show, but set up your own. Little, you know, vanity URL, kind of nice. If you thought this information was helpful, you can go to buy me a coffee.com/evo Terra and well, you know, buy me a coffee. You can even set it up for monthly recurring donations so that you pass a little bit of money my way every month because I don't charge for this and I don't want advertising on the show.

And if you need assistance with your podcast, you can get in touch with me. evo@podcastlaunchdotproorgotosimplermedia.pro. To see all of the services that we offer our clients. I shall be back tomorrow with yet another podcast on deification. Cheers.

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