The Importance Of The Unimportant Parts Of Podcasting [S3E31]

You want your podcast to be successful, don’t you? You want it to grow, don’t you? You want your episodes to reach as many people as they can, don’t you? Of course you want those things. All podcasters want those things. Almost by definition, working on critical things puts us working podcasters in crisis mode. We’ve no time for fluff, context, theory, and nuances. We want the meat, plug-and-play solutions or a checklist that tells us exactly which five boxes we need to tick to make a successful podcast. Now, please. Sound familiar?  The solution to the inevitable burnout that comes from operating in full-time crisis mode? Take a break and get some downtime. That can be a simple as shutting off the studio computer when you’re done with the day or when you need to finally sleep. Or it might be less a frequent but longer break, like a vacation away from your podcast for a week. But what if I told you the scenario I just outlined is a false dichotomy? What if the difference between “working” and “not working” on your podcast wasn’t a binary choice? Generally speaking, we’re happier podcasters when we occupy the middle ground between overwhelming business and complete relaxation. The trick is finding that healthy middle ground for us. That’s a tall order for those of us who were raised in a culture that rewards the “up and to the right!” business mentality.  Finding the middle ground is hard when you're getting slammed on all sides with ideas on increasing the productivity of your podcasting efforts, ways to grow your podcast even bigger, and dozens of articles on ways to podcast better that you simply don’t have the time to read past the title. And the other side isn’t quiet, either. Seminars, apps, newsletters, and more constantly come across the transom, imploring us to walk away for a bit, take a nap, make room for a passion project, or spend a couple of weeks alone in a cabin in the woods. That sounds nice, doesn’t it?  But remember, this isn’t an either/or situation. I could come off like some low-rent self-help guru and tell you it’s about finding balance. Instead, I’m going to tell you about the lamp on my desk. I hate this lamp. It's ugly. It doesn't put out the right amount of light. It doesn't fit with the vibe of the rest of the studio. It's hard to turn it on without sorta flipping my hand over at a weird angle. Oh, and my wife hates it too. So occasionally, I go lamp shopping. I've hated this lamp for a couple of years now. Yet in all that time, I haven't bought a new one. That's because replacing the lamp is not what’s important to me. What is important to me is that, occasionally, I go lamp shopping.  Yes, I know this sounds incredibly dumb. In fact, you may think it sounds like I’m using lamp-shopping as a way to take a break from podcasting.  You’d be wrong. This lamp, hate it though I might, is a part of my podcast and podcasting business. If I didn't have a lamp, I couldn't do the show or do any business. I need light to see and to function. Clearly, the lamp itself is not super-critical to my podcast. I mean, my audience isn't going to grow or shrink depending on what my lamp looks like. Clients aren’t going to flock to me or run away based on my decorative light fixture choices. I mean… it’s just a lamp, right? And in the grand scheme of things, the lamp is necessary, but not important.  For me, shopping for a new lamp for my studio gives me a break from the truly important things regarding my podcast and my podcast business without being completely trivial. Put another way, lamp shopping gives me perspective. What's your lamp? What unimportant-yet-necessary element in your podcasting process can you return to again and again when you need some perspective? I’d love to hear it. Go to BuyMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/evoterra) and tell me what your lamp is. I'll share your donation card with other working podcasters. Oh, and it's a nice Support this podcast