Flow. Rhythm. Consistency.

These are all words we want to associate with how we do our work, but so rarely can we actually describe a week or even a day as flowing, rhythmic, or even possessing some level of consistency.

Variable, external circumstances certainly contribute to our state of relentless syncopation. But the way we think about our work–how we organize it, visualize it, plan it–doesn’t help either.

Now, this episode of What Works is a bonus. In fact, up until yesterday, I had no idea we were going to be publishing this. But when Sean and I got off our latest round table discussion in the Standout Podcast Club, we knew it was the perfect addition to this month’s What Works series on working the plan.

If you haven’t heard, Standout Podcast Club is the brand-new training, coaching, and networking hub for podcasters that we launched through YellowHouse.Media. Every month, we host a round table discussion where we dig deeper into an aspect of podcast production.

This month’s topic was finding your podcasting rhythm so that you can stay on track with the workload and avoid feeling like you’re always behind, which is a huge problem for podcasters. Essentially, the topic is working your podcast plan.

Now, even if you’re not a podcaster, this is a valuable conversation.

If you’re regularly producing any kind of content or you want to be–content like articles, a newsletter, or even social media posts, this conversation applies directly to you. If you’re not regularly producing content and you don’t want to be, there’s likely some other process in your business that often feels disjointed or for which you often feel behind. You’re going to find something valuable in here, too.

Sean and I talked through the common pitfalls of managing a podcast workflow, as well as how to mentally organize the flow differently, how to plan ahead, what to consider when it comes to the technology you use to manage the process, and how to find a consistent pace so you’re not feeling like you’re always rushing toward the finish line.

You’ll also hear us work through a sort of hot seat example of what we’re talking about with Jacquette Timmons host of the More Than Money podcast.

Finally, we mention some graphics and screen sharing, and I’ve included each of those below!

How podcasters typically think of their process–episode by episode

How we think of the podcasting process–incrementally over time

Episode by episode project management

Timeline view project management

Sean’s spur-of-the-moment mindmap