A question I get asked often is, “Podcast post-production takes too much time. Is it really worth it to write show notes and do detailed editing? How long does it take you to do your post-production?”

I wanted to share a few tips this week to change the way you think about podcast production and post-production.

Key Takeaways:

• Multi-tasking (while working on your podcast) is killing your productivity. Set a timer and focus on a single task at a time.
• If you don’t have 45 minutes of content, don’t record a 45 minute episode. Make your show only as long as it needs to be.
• Every minute of audio you record adds time to your post-production work, so don’t ramble. Stay focused on the point of your episode.
• Be respectful of your audience’s time. Before you hit record, plan out what you are going to talk about.

Here are the two biggest tricks that have helped me reduce the amount of time I spend on post-production:

1. Stop Multi-Tasking While Doing Post-Production Work

When I’m doing post-production (editing, show notes, admin stuff), it’s really easy to work for 20-30 minutes and then switch over to check email or Twitter or get into what I call “procrasti-working” (doing work that is important but not the most important).

I’m really good at procrasti-working. This morning as I was preparing to record this episode, my brain kept coming up with sort-of important things that I could be doing instead of working on the episode. Even though I knew that the most important thing for me to do was record an episode, my brain kept trying to derail me with easier, less-important things.

If you’re on a schedule and you need to publish an episode by a certain day, pick a day or two and block off a couple of hours to dedicate to post-production. Try this: put your phone in your bag or out of reach and turn off your wifi while you’re working on your podcast. Work for an hour, then take a 10 minute break to check Twitter or email or use the bathroom, then get back to work.

Multi-tasking (while working on your podcast) is killing your productivity. Set a timer and focus on a single task at a time.

You’ll find that doing this will reduce the total number of hours you’re spending on post-production because you won’t be as tempted to go down rabbit trails.

I like to set a timer for an hour and see how much I can get done before it goes off. You can use a common kitchen timer, or the stock timer app on your phone, or a Mac app like Simple Countdown.

2. Talk Less – Make Shorter Shows

This topic came up twice in the past week. I was talking to Ben Toalson, and he mentioned that he had a rough time with his last episode. I said, “You know, if you don’t have an hour’s worth of material, you don’t have to do an hour-long show.”

If you don’t have 45 minutes of content, don’t record a 45 minute episode. Make your show only as long as it needs to be.

My friend Alex recently started a podcast, and he wanted to do show notes the way I do them. After a couple weeks, he realized that he was spending more than 5 hours every week writing show notes and he asked me if I thought it was worth it.

I told him, “I think it is worth it, but I also think you should record shorter shows.” Alex has been doing 45-60 minute episodes with a co-host. If he did a 20 minute podcast instead and focused on making it super tight and valuable, it would cut his show note writing time by a third, at least.

Every minute of audio you record adds time to your post-production work, so don’t ramble. Stay focused on the point of your episode.

You don’t have to make a long show. Your show should only be as long as it needs to be.

If you can make a really valuable point in 5 minutes, then you’ve made a great 5 minute show. If you need to spend 30 or 45 minutes to explain a concept or do a product review or whatever, that’s fine.

Be respectful of your audience’s time. Before you hit record, plan out what you are going to talk about. Don’t just wing it and ramble for 45 minutes because you think that’s what people want.

Cool Stuff to Check Out:

• Recommended Gear: https://kit.com/thepodcastdude
• Podcast: https://thepodcastdude.simplecast.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepodcastdude
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thepodcastdude
• Successful Podcasting: http://successfulpodcasting.com
• Simplecast Blog: http://blog.simplecast.com/
• Free Episode Notes Template: https://medium.com/simplecast/how-to-make-show-notes-look-good-in-podcast-apps-656614fa6bd9
• If you're a Logic Pro X user, check out Ripple Delete: https://youtu.be/Ueba-B0xa0M