How to Have a Podcast and a Full-Time Job | Marc Alcobé Talló

Most podcasters quit because they can’t keep up while working a full-time job. It’s a tough thing to balance both without burning out! But, it doesn’t have to be that way! In this episode, Marc Alcobé Talló shares practical strategies for staying consistent with your podcast without burning out, while also balancing your full-time job. Get ready to protect your energy, maintain high quality, and build a show you can sustain without losing your job!

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Podcasting Challenges
02:50 Understanding Burnout in Podcasting
05:46 Strategies to Combat Burnout
09:09 Building a Support Network and Utilizing Technology
12:05 Finding Balance and Self-Care in Podcasting

Takeaways

Over 70% of podcasters quit within the first year due to burnout.
Setting realistic goals is crucial for sustainability.
Managing your podcasting schedule can alleviate stress.
Passion for your content is essential to keep going.
Experimenting with new formats can reignite enthusiasm.
Building a support network with other podcasters is beneficial.
Utilizing AI tools can save time and reduce workload.
Taking breaks and practicing self-care is vital for mental health.
It's okay to take a step back and reassess your approach.
Podcasting is a journey that requires balance between passion and responsibilities.

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/373

Transcript

0:01

You're listening to Podcasting Made Simple. Did you know that over 70 % of the podcasters quit within the first year? It's a scary number. And one of the biggest reasons, burnout. How can you balance having an amazing podcast at the same time that you have a full-time job without feeling that you are drowning? If you ever felt overwhelmed balancing both, this video is for you. Hi everyone. My name is Margal Cube and today we will be talking about a very important topic for all podcasters out there who also have full-time jobs. I know the hassle all too well. I have a full-time job and I also have a video podcast that has bi-weekly releases with a very active YouTube channel and I'm constantly engaging in social media with my audience. It sounds a lot, right? The first question that I always get from my friends is like, how can you manage all of this? The second one is, do you ever sleep? Do you even have hobbies? And the short answer is yes, I do sleep and I also play futsal. It's indoor soccer for the American audience. Play video games and even I carve wood from time to time. So I'm not a robot. I have a life outside work and podcasting. I think many of us podcasters share the same struggle. We love creating content, but sometimes it can feel like content creation consumes all your time. And let's be real. Burnout is not just a password. It's something that can scale up faster than you expect. In this video, we'll explore some practical strategies to help you manage your time, keep your enthusiasm alive, and ultimately avoid quitting what you started out of passion. So grab a snack, get comfy, and let's jump into it. So let's talk about the elephant in the room first, burnout. Many podcasters kickstart things with a lot of energy and excitement. Starting something new gives that momentum a life. But as time goes on, that initial burst can fade, and suddenly the to-do list feels endless. You're juggling between recording sessions, editing, promoting your episodes, and you don't need to forget that you have a full-time job and personal life and hobbies, etc. Time management becomes a real issue. Sometimes it feels that there is not enough hours in the day to get everything done. This overwhelming feeling can lead to a lack of enthusiasm. And eventually that spark that you had for podcasting starts to fade out. You might find yourself like during releasing not the episode at the time or delaying the recording or even thinking about quitting. And let's be real, if you're not excited about your content, your listeners will pick up that energy. They maybe don't feel it 100%, but they will notice that something is off. Burnout and podcast frustration is a rabbit hole. Once you fall into it, it's very hard to get out. So how do we combat this? Here's where the fun begins. Effective strategies can make a real difference. So let's try to break them down into actionable steps so you can keep burnout at bay. The first one is setting realistic goals. This is huge. When you first start podcasting, You might be tempted to release weekly episode and a lot of content, and you think this is what all the successful podcasters do. But it's not always realistic, especially if you have a full-time job and other commitments to do. Instead of aiming for a weekly episode, consider bi-weekly or even monthly releases. These give you breathing room and help you maintain your enthusiasm in the long term. On top of your releasing goals, Define exactly what you want to release alongside these episodes. You want to create social media posts, videos, blog articles. Think about your priorities. Remember you are a broadcaster first. The podcast episodes come always first. Everything else is an extra. Prioritizing what you need to do will help you keep focus on what truly matters, delivering quality content to your listeners. To put this into perspective, Let's say you aim to release an episode every two weeks. Use the time between these two weeks to focus on promotion, social media, or even brainstorming new ideas. Give your certain time to reflect, improve, rather than rushing to push new content every single week. That will help you improve also on the quality of the content that you are releasing. Second strategy is managing your podcasting schedule. Once you set the goals, it's time to start organizing your time. Being organized is absolutely key. Break down the entire process of recording and releasing an episode into manageable steps. From brainstorming ideas to writing scripts to promotion to edit everything. Outline every single step and add relative deadlines to it. Think it as in your production workflow, let's say like this, and stick to it. This is very important. You need to stick to your times in this workflow. For example, I have a checklist for every episode covering everything from recording to writing captions for social media. I then transform this checklist to those into blocking some time in calendar apps for each task. So basically I'm very a big fan of using apps like Notion, Trello, Google Calendar to stay organized and have my to-do list. So I keep a track on progress. One also very good tool for that. That's ModMats workflows that will help you also have the time dedicated for each task that you want to use. And then just try this system for some time. That's what I always recommend. Check it. Try it out for a few episodes and then reevaluate. Am I missing something? Should I add? any tasks or remove any, there is something that is not really working or it's draining all your energy. If that last one is the case, consider dropping it. You don't need to do any extra thing besides releasing episodes. You are a podcaster. The third strategy, it's rather simple. It's passion. Passion is what brought you into podcasting in the first place. And it's what it will keep you going, actually. Make sure you are podcasting about topics that you are generally excited about. If you're passionate about something that you are discussing and that you are showing to your listeners, that's the energy that shines through it also. And your listeners will feel it too. But passion alone isn't enough. We know that. So sometimes you need to mix things up, experiment a bit. So try out new formats, styles, or even like consider getting a co-host. Sometimes trying something new can reignite that passion. Maybe you've been doing solo episodes and it, I don't know, it starts feeling a little bit monotonous. So why not inviting a guest or collaborate with another podcaster? New voices and perspective will bring a fresh line into your show. You can also try themed episodes, so I don't know. deep dive into more niche topics or even Q &A sessions live with your audience. Switching things up keeps podcasting exciting for both you and your audience. The fourth strategy that I want to talk today, it's about building a support network. And I mean this in two different ways. The first one is connecting with other podcasters. Join communities, forums, social media groups, where podcasters share their experiences, challenges and success. collaborating with others can just be like, I don't know, talking a little bit about the struggles of editing an episode at 2 a.m. And at the end, that's kind of therapeutical. It will release some tension from you. Secondly, we should talk about technology. We live in an age where AI tools can handle a lot of repetitive tasks, and that will free up some time for you. So the point is use AI to help you with tasks Like writing scripts, refining them, creating artwork, I don't know, even cutting your episodes into shorter formats so you can post them as social media reels or short videos. Tools like ChatGPT, Canva, Descript, Opus Clip can streamline your flow. That will save you a lot of hours of work. So use them. On top of that, refurbish your content. Single podcast episode can be turned into blog posts, social media snippets, YouTube videos, and much more. Use AI to help you repurpose your content and distribute it across the multiple platforms that you want to distribute. And that will allow you to not burn out to create extra content on top of your podcast episodes. Last but not least, the last strategy is set aside time for yourself and self care. Have a hobby. Have a hobby that doesn't involve screens. This is very important for those who spend in front of a computer most of its time. Whatever it's reading, going for walks, cooking, or in my case, playing a sport or carving wood, find something that allows you to disconnect from the digital world from time to time. Taking breaks when you need them is essential. Don't be afraid to pause on your podcast, recharge, and start again. If your mental health starts to suffer, your content also. Remember, it's perfectly okay to taken a step back, focus on yourself, and then come back. Believe me, your listeners will understand and you will come back refreshed and ready to create even better content. Let me share a quick personal story about this. A while back, I was really feeling the pressure. I was juggling with my demanding job full time. my podcast and everything else that was going on my life. I was starting to feel like it was too much. I was literally in the point where I was considering stopping and throwing the towel. So then I decided to take a step back. I reassessed my approach. I took the time to re-brand the podcast, change its name and refocus my energy. I also reached out to some other podcasters, content creators and guess what? they had also been through similar struggles. So we shared tips and I realized I wasn't alone in that journey. So that was a massive relief for me. It helped me also regain a little bit of motivation and that's why I decided to continue. On top of that, I also switched it to a bi-weekly release schedule and created clear workflows that I could do and I know that I could do without feeling overwhelmed. That small change made a world of difference. I found my enthusiasm again and my content improved also because it wasn't rushed. This experience taught me that it's all about balance. Sometimes making little changes can have a huge impact on your mindset and creativity. So, to wrap things up, remember, podcasting is a journey, not a race. Balancing your podcast with your full-time job is doable. But you need to put the strategies in place and need to put the correct ones in place. Manage your time effectively, set realistic goals and objectives, define clear processes and workflows, stay passionate about your content, experiment, mix things up, keep it fresh, and use technology and community around you to make it easier for you and your life easier. But most importantly, take care of yourself. Avoid burnout, it's all about finding the sweet spot between your passion and your responsibilities. Keep that balance in check and you will be in a much better position to create amazing content for your listeners. I hope this was helpful for you all and I look forward to see you continue releasing amazing episodes. For more episodes, please visit podmatch.com forward slash episodes. Thank you so much for listening.