How to Prevent Podcaster Burnout

Written By Lauren Popish

✴ Stop podcaster burnout in its tracks

Whether you’ve been podcasting for a while or just started a show, you might be coming to realize that this whole podcasting thing is a lot more work than you anticipated.

Trust me gals, I’ve been there. 

Let me guess, countless late nights editing, hours spent on marketing that you’re not  even sure is working, and the creeping feeling that the podcast that used to feel like a passion, is starting to feel like a chore.

Wait...do you smell smoke? Time to stop, drop, and roll! 

Stop podcaster burnout in its tracks,

Drop all of your preconceived notions about the “right way” to produce a podcast,

and Roll with your homie, who is me, Lauren Popish, here to save you from this dumpster fire.

✴ What is podcaster burnout?

Well…First coined by Herbert Freudenberger in his 1974 book ‘Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement’, burnout is best described as a loss of motivation in your work, resulting from a combination of chronic mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion that has been left unmanaged.

In other words, you’re overworked, sis, and it’s a major bummer. 

What are the common signs of burnout?

  • Lack of Energy 

  • Loss of Interest in Your Work 

  • Physical Pain 

  • Loss of Creative Ambition and Enthusiasm 

And as a result...

  • A Sustained Dip in the quality of your podcast...

When you suffer, your work suffers. I’m no doctor, but I can confidently say there’s nothing wrong with you. There IS however, something wrong with your podcast workflow. So let’s talk about some things you can start doing TODAY that will keep your podcast on track, and you from bursting into tears on the reg.

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✴ Strategies for preventing burnout

Tip 1: Batching

Studies have shown that we are more productive when we focus on one task at a time instead of switching between multiple tasks. That’s the logic behind batching. Batching is when you group certain tasks that are similar and do them at one time. 

You can apply batching to almost every part of the podcasting process. Instead of scheduling 4 separate recording times on 4 different days, batch all of your recordings for one day a month. By setting up your equipment, testing it, and adjusting the sound only once instead of four separate times, you can start to get some of your podcast production time back. Apply batching to guest scheduling, editing, and marketing, and you will save literally hours of time in a month.

To successfully implement batching, you have to plan ahead. This means determining your guest lineup for the whole month and blocking off days on your calendar that are dedicated to one task. I have one recording day, editing day, and script writing day on my calendar, but you can break up tasks the way that make sense for you and your show. Batching is my favorite way to save time and avoid that pesky podcaster burnout. 

✴ Tip 2: Outsourcing

There’s a famous expression I just invented, and it’s that no female podcaster is an island. Podcasts require a ton of time-consuming tasks to keep things moving, and hiring an outside professional is a great way to free up your time and energy while making sure your podcast remains a well-oiled machine. 

Trust me, even top dogs like Joe Rogan are outsourcing editors to clean up raw footage. 

Outsourcing pod-tasks like a boss yields several benefits, for example: 

  • Increased efficiency 

  • More opportunity to shift out of menial tasks and into your creative flow state where you belong

  • Reduced risk of your podcast suffering by stretching yourself too thin.

  • And a workflow that moves at a comfortable pace

✴ Tip 3: Automating & Templatizing

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time you sit down to edit a new episode. Depending on the format of your show there are actually ways to templatize your almost every part of your production process.

Start by setting up a workflow for securing and prepping your guests. You can use tools like Calendly that will allow your guests to schedule time with you without you ever opening your calendar. Google Forms or Typeform are customizable survey tools that you can use to collect information from your guests. Again, the idea is that you’re creating a system that reduces the time you spend on that task. 

You can even templatize parts of your editing process. I use a master episode template for my show that allows me to save all of the repetitive segments of my podcast in one file and never start from zero. It has my intro, outro, and transition music already backed in. We created a separate video showing you exactly how to create a master episode template, so check that out if you haven’t already.

Investing the time up front to flesh out a robust organization system will make even the messiest creative brain feel delightfully organized and less stressed as you move through production. 

Last but not least, don’t think we forgot about a free tool for helping you save time, stay organized, and avoid burnout like Covid-19. It’s our podcast episode calendar. This is a tool you can use to plan all your guests ahead of time, set statuses for every part of your production process, and batch your editing work so you can spend less time behind the computer and more time telling people about your latest episode. I use this episode calendar, and I think you will enjoy it too. Grab it HERE.

✴ Let’s Review Podcaster Burnout

SO. How do we combat burnout? 

  1. Batching

  2. Outsourcing 

  3. Automating

Have some burning questions you’d love to have answered? Leave a comment, and we just might make a whole video about it! Don’t forget to subscribe, turn on those notifications, and soak up these hot podcast tips.

Thanks for watching! Keep podcasting, and enjoy the ride.

 
Lauren Popish
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