87: How to Stop Procrastinating and Start Podcasting Podcasting with Aaron

Why are you procrastinating?
This is an important question, and is worth considering, reflecting on, and writing about.
It could be a few different things.
You've decided that something else is more important.
What are you doing (or what should you be doing) that's more important than your podcast?
Maybe a podcast isn't what you're supposed to be focusing on right now.
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
Maybe you don't know what you need to do next.
Write a to-do list with action steps. Make it as detailed as possible, but give yourself a 20 minute time limit.
Maybe you do know what you need to do next, but you haven't decided when you're going to do it.
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.
You decided when you're going to do it, but then did something else that felt more important.
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.
Maybe you tried, didn't like the results, then gave up.
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.
Forget about making it perfect.
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.
Set realistic expectations. What can you actually accomplish today, or this week?
How much tim