Podcrastination:
1. Delaying the launch of your podcast due to fears of failure, imposter syndrome, or general shyness.
2. Putting off production of a new podcast episode for an existing show. This often results in Podfading.
3. Remaining at an unsatisfactory level of quality podcast production due to lack of preparation and recording at the last minute.
How do you eliminate podcrastination?
Have you been struggling with Podcrastination for a long time?
There are some habits you can develop that will help you to focus and produce regular high-quality content. I’ll talk about these habits in this post but the desire to overcome podcrastination has to come from within you.
If you don’t have the desire to make a change to your current mindset and habits then no strategy, system, or workflow will help.
First, you have to ask yourself if you really want to change?
If you don’t want it bad enough maybe you should just let your podcast (or podcast dreams) go. If you are only half committed to it then you will not have the strength to persevere.
If you let go you will free up your mind to focus on other things… maybe you won’t feel guilty watching your favorite TV show anymore because you won’t have your unfinished podcast in the back of your mind the whole time.
By giving up on what you aren’t fully committed to you can live in the now and enjoy the moment. You can enjoy the things that you are FULLY committed to like your family, career, or other hobbies.
If you decide that you are fully committed to your podcast (or blog) then you will be able to make use of these strategies and systems below. Being emotionally “all in” will empower you to make it happen.
But first, let’s look at what can cause your podcrastination?
Causes of Podcrastination:
There are several potential causes of podcrastination.
- Imposter Syndrome
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of Success
- General Shyness
Let’s look into each one of these in detail.
Imposter Syndrome is a leading cause of procrastination in podcasting.
Have you ever asked yourself, Who am I to talk about this topic? There are other people way more qualified than I am! Maybe you feel bad that other people regard you as an expert when you know the truth about yourself.
It is normal to feel like an imposter sometimes. Everybody does and there is nothing wrong with it.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Impostor syndrome (IS) refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context.
To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don’t belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck. It can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, or degree of expertise.
verywellmind.com
If you are not able to realistically assess your competence, attribute your success to external factors, constantly self-critique your performance, and fear not meeting other people’s expectations, then you are probably suffering from Imposter Syndrome. You may self sabotage your podcast or not publish it because it has to be perfect first. You may have self-doubt about your ability or set unachievable goals and feel bad when you can’t meet them.
Keep reading to learn how to overcome Imposter Syndrome and eliminate Podcrastination.
Another cause of Podcrastination is Fear of Failure.
When you launch a podcast you are putting yourself out there. And if you fail you fail in public. This is not a pleasant prospect for many people. Fear of Failure is a real thing that can cause you to freeze like a deer in headlights.
What is fear of failure?
Also known as atychiphobia, fear of failure is a phobia characterised by the inability to attempt any goal that is not a guaranteed success. While your comfort zone might feel safe and secure, the fear of failing can be paralysing.
netdoctor.com
Of course, starting a new podcast isn’t technically difficult and it doesn’t have many risks associated with it. The start-up costs can be minimal and the time investment in most cases isn’t unmanageable. But there is no guarantee of success in podcasting.
Keep reading to learn how to overcome Fear of Failure and eliminate podcrastination.
Fear of Success is also a cause of Podcrastination.
When you launch a podcast it puts you in the public eye. You may be exposed to opportunities that you didn’t expect and wouldn’t have experienced without your show. There are a lot of upsides to success in podcasting. So what is the problem?
What is Fear of Success?
Fear of success is when you have an ongoing fear of succeeding, so much so that you might be inadvertently self-sabotaging.
It’s not that you think you’re incapable of succeeding. It’s more about the fear of change that may come and whether you’re up for it. For example:
– You might get extra attention, but you’re shy or introverted and uncomfortable with the spotlight.
– Public success may bring social or emotional isolation.
– Your achievement might alienate your peers.
– People might think you’re bragging or self-promotional.
– You fear being knocked off the pedestal you didn’t want to be on in the first place.
– Success may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
– Success might change you, but not for the better.
Fear of success can be easily confused with fear of failure because either one can keep you from reaching your full potential.
healthline.com
Fear of success can take up your mental space and prevent you from moving forward in your podcast production plans. If your podcast is successful you will be noticed and you WILL receive negative feedback. Maybe you will be misinterpreted and people will try to CANCEL you!
Don’t worry about being successful when you first start out. It takes a while.
Keep reading to learn how to overcome the fear of success in podcasting and how to eliminate podcrastination.
General Shyness is also a cause of podcrastination.
Some people are introverted or shy and don’t like to be in the spotlight.
What is Shyness?
Shyness is the tendency to feel awkward, worried or tense during social encounters, especially with unfamiliar people. Severely shy people may have physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, a pounding heart or upset stomach; negative feelings about themselves; worries about how others view them; and a tendency to withdraw from social interactions.
apa.org
Maybe you don’t have Imposter Syndrome, Fear of Failure, or Fear of Success but you are just a shy person. This is normal as the number one fear people have is fear of speaking in public.
Most podcasters record their show in a private space without people watching or listening live. But just thinking about all the millions and millions 🙂 of people that might listen later can cause would-be podcasters to podcrastinate.
Keep reading to learn how to overcome your shyness in podcasting and eliminate podcrastination!
Kill Podcrastination once and for all.
3 Strategies that will help eliminate Podcrastination
- Affirmations
- Podcast Business Plan
- Regular Schedule
Affirmations:
Before you sit down in your studio to work on your podcast re-affirm that you are committed to this project. This is a priority for you. It is important.
List the reasons why it is important and each time you start working spend a minute to re-read the list and add to it if you think of more reasons.
Mindset is key – What is your why?
Affirming your goals before getting to work can be motivating.
If you want it bad enough you will finish the work
Podcast Business Plan:
Create a podcast business plan… even if there are no plans to monetize your show.
You can call it your Podcast Outcome Plan or whatever you like.
You need to explicitly know what you want to get out of your podcast. What is your definition of success in podcasting? It makes a huge difference.
Quantify exactly what you want – recognition, community, leadership, awareness, branding, $$$
Know where you are on your roadmap and what the next steps are for you.
Where are you in the 4 P’s of Podcasting. You need to proceed through the stages in the right order.
Planning > Production > Promotion > Profit
READ: How to Write a Podcast Business Plan?
Regular Schedule:
Schedule your podcast work time.
Schedule regular work hours for your podcast. Don’t wait for inspiration. A professional author (Steven King perhaps?) once said I write when I am inspired to write, every morning at 8 am, religiously.
Use a system to organize your work. I like Notion, OneNote, and Scrivener. My primary tool is Notion because it syncs to the cloud and all my work is available on ALL of my devices. Same thing with OneNote and Evernote. Scrivener is great to take completed drafts and repurpose them into longer works.
Capture your ideas in one place – Notion, Evernote, or OneNote are great for this. Then when you are scheduled to work on your podcast/blog you can use the source material as a reference as you write.
Overcome your mindset challenges:
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
If you are suffering from Imposter Syndrome the first thing you need to do is to recognize that it is normal. Even the top professionals in their field sometimes feel like imposters.
There are several ways to deal with Imposter Syndrome. If you are feeling like an imposter because you are not a subject matter expert (relative to others) you can brand your show as a learning journey. Invite listeners to learn with you as you tackle your subject with established expert guests. After some time you will become an established expert yourself.
You also need to recognize that no matter how much credibility you have in your space, you already know more than some people and you can offer value to these people.
Most of the time when you are dealing with Imposter Syndrome it isn’t a big deal unless you are literally an imposter pretending to have a medical degree or another credential when you don’t.
If you are upfront and honest with your audience you can not be an imposter.
Overcoming Fear of Failure
If fear of failure is holding your podcast launch back then maybe the place to start is to redefine what it means to fail. The majority of podcasts do not grow huge audiences. If you are setting a goal to be more popular than Joe Rogan then you might want to lower the bar just a little. 🙂
If your definition of failure is that you didn’t learn anything, didn’t meet anybody new, didn’t share any stories, and didn’t add value to your niche then it will be impossible to fail.
As long as you don’t quit podcasting you will be learning new things, you will be meeting new people, and you will be adding value to the people in your niche.
Overcoming Fear of Success
If fear of success is preventing you from getting started then you don’t need to worry about it. If you are starting from scratch without a pre-existing audience then it will probably take a long time to be successful in the conventional sense. If success in podcasting means that you have a large enough show to make a considerable income from sponsors then fear not! Success won’t be coming your way for a while! Because you have to put in the reps and become a great podcaster for that to happen.
If you are paralyzed by fear of success then put off your fear for a couple of years. You probably won’t be in a position for any of your fears to become reality until you build a very large audience.
But you can still be a successful podcaster (without your imagined downsides) with a small audience. You don’t need 50 000 subscribers to be successful in podcasting.
Overcoming Shyness in Podcasting
Is Shyness holding you back from podcasting? If so, then don’t live stream your show or record in front of a studio audience. Just sit in your home recording studio by yourself and record your show alone. You can edit your show and make yourself sound good before you release the show to your podcast feed.
Podcasting can make you a better public speaker but it is quite different because there is no public while you are speaking!
A final word on Podcrastination:
Whether you have been putting off your podcast for one of the reasons outlined in this post or for another reason, I hope this post inspires you to destroy your podcrastination once and for all.
Live Long and Podcast
Spock would have said this if he was a podcaster.
Podcrastination – systems and resources
There are some books and other resources that can help you overcome podcrastination.
1. The miracle morning book by Hal Elrod
This book is a great system that has helped a lot of people get things done by establishing an early morning routine.
The Miracle Morning
$ Check the price by clicking the button
What if you could wake up tomorrow and any—or EVERY—area of your life was beginning to transform? What would you change? The Miracle Morning is already transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world by showing them how to wake up each day with more ENERGY, MOTIVATION, and FOCUS to take your life to the next level. It’s been right here in front of us all along, but this book has finally brought it to life.
Are you ready? The next chapter of YOUR life-the most extraordinary life you’ve ever imagined—is about to begin. Buy the book and WAKE UP to your full potential!
2. The twelve-week year by Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington
This book can help you to stay motivated throughout the year by changing how we define a year! A year is now 12 weeks instead of 12 months. Tired of putting off your new year’s resolutions because you still have lots of time? Not any more. You don’t have months… just a few weeks.
The 12 Week Year
$ Check the price by clicking on the button
Get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months.
Most organizations and individuals work in the context of annual goals and plans; a twelve-month execution cycle. Instead, The 12 Week Year avoids the pitfalls and low productivity of annualized thinking. This book redefines your “year” to be 12 weeks long. In 12 weeks, there just isn’t enough time to get complacent, and urgency increases and intensifies. The 12 Week Year creates focus and clarity on what matters most and a sense of urgency to do it now. In the end more of the important stuff gets done and the impact on results is profound.
3. The Podcast Journal
The Podcast Journal
$ Check the price by clicking the button
A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO LAUNCHING YOUR PODCAST IN 50 DAYS
Using the same step-by-step formula that has helped thousands of podcasters launch their podcast, The Podcast Journal takes all the guesswork out of launching your podcast. With daily exercises and plenty of examples and resources, The Podcast Journal won’t let you down!
