WEBVTT - Get the flywheel going 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is about how to get the flywheel going. Starting

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<v Speaker 1>things and sticking with things are different matters. And while

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<v Speaker 1>we think a lot about the former, I think the

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<v Speaker 1>latter is what tends to matter most. So this week

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<v Speaker 1>we are celebrating the 2000th episode of Before Breakfast. The

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<v Speaker 1>show began in March of 2019, and there has been

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<v Speaker 1>a new episode every weekday morning since then. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are looking at a podcast counter, the number might be higher,

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<v Speaker 1>but that's because we run repeat Second Cup episodes on weekends.

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<v Speaker 1>Counting just the new episodes, we hit 2000 on Wednesday

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<v Speaker 1>of this week. A recent podcast guest, commented to me

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<v Speaker 1>that we must have quite a system around here to

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<v Speaker 1>have produced 2,000 episodes. And the truth is, we do.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not fancy, but for now the flywheel is going.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's how it works. We always work a few weeks ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>My small editorial team and I come up with ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>What would be a quick tip that would be helpful

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<v Speaker 1>to people? We look at news stories and other podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>and think about topics that people have asked about. I

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<v Speaker 1>tend to have ideas slotted in about three to four

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<v Speaker 1>weeks out. I am also constantly looking for guests who

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<v Speaker 1>would be interesting. And people send me pitches for those

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<v Speaker 1>spots as well. Then, on Monday of each week, I

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<v Speaker 1>write the scripts for four short shows. This is for

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<v Speaker 1>the Monday two weeks in the future through to the

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<v Speaker 1>Friday about 18 days in the future. These scripts tend

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<v Speaker 1>to be about 500 to 700 words long. After seven

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<v Speaker 1>years of doing this multiple times a week, creating these

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<v Speaker 1>scripts doesn't take too long. I have started thinking in

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<v Speaker 1>500 to 700 word chunks. After writing these essays, I

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<v Speaker 1>go into edit. And while editing... I read the scripts

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<v Speaker 1>out loud. This allows me to practice and make sure

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<v Speaker 1>that what's on the page will sound okay too. In general,

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<v Speaker 1>I think writing for the ear tends to make writing better,

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<v Speaker 1>so this seems like a plus to me to practice

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<v Speaker 1>this way. Also, practicing means I am less likely to

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<v Speaker 1>trip over my words when I am recording, which is

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<v Speaker 1>what I do next. On Monday mornings, I go into

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<v Speaker 1>the closet in my home office, which is where I

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<v Speaker 1>have all my recording equipment. I record the four short

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<v Speaker 1>episodes back to back, reading from my scripts. My goal

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<v Speaker 1>is to have a clean take that I can send in.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes I have to start over, but having practiced right before,

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<v Speaker 1>that's becoming a little less common. Then I send these

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<v Speaker 1>sound files to my sound editor, and I add the

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<v Speaker 1>titles and descriptions. to our ongoing document. The interview episodes

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<v Speaker 1>work a little differently. For those, I need to set

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<v Speaker 1>up times when the other person can be available. I

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<v Speaker 1>send them a link to Squadcast and we record virtually.

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<v Speaker 1>I need to spend some time preparing for each of

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<v Speaker 1>these episodes, which I generally do by reading the person's

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<v Speaker 1>new book, seeing other shows they've been on, and thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about what the person's expertise is and how that would

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<v Speaker 1>be helpful for my listeners. I make a list of questions,

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<v Speaker 1>but of course, I also respond to how the person answers.

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<v Speaker 1>The questions are mostly helpful in case we have a

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<v Speaker 1>lull or I'm trying to direct things in a certain way.

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<v Speaker 1>In general, I spend the first two segments talking about

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<v Speaker 1>the person's expertise and then the last segment after the

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<v Speaker 1>second commercial break discussing their schedule and the productivity tips

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<v Speaker 1>that work for them. I ask each guest, what's something

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<v Speaker 1>you've done recently to take a day from great to awesome.

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<v Speaker 1>I tend to have these booked and recorded about on

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<v Speaker 1>the same timeline as the other episodes, two to three

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<v Speaker 1>weeks ahead, though I do like to have some on

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<v Speaker 1>my calendar for a little further forward too. There have

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<v Speaker 1>been about 110 guest episodes at this point, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a lot less than 2,000 episodes if you're keeping track,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's a lesson in here about creating a system

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<v Speaker 1>that lasts. Sometimes it's you need to iterate. We decided

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<v Speaker 1>to add a weekly interview episode about two years ago

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<v Speaker 1>to allow this show to run 60 second ad spots. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I know as a listener, ads can be annoying, but

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<v Speaker 1>this is a business. That's how a lot of podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>support themselves. For the first five years, we did short episodes,

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<v Speaker 1>five of them each week, but I think adding an

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<v Speaker 1>interview episode has been a nice switch. It has also

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<v Speaker 1>been forced networking for me, which is not a bad thing. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>working ahead means that things like vacations or if I

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<v Speaker 1>or my kids get sick, it doesn't mean we have

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<v Speaker 1>to interrupt the show. I worked quite a ways ahead

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<v Speaker 1>when I had a baby in late December of 2019.

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<v Speaker 1>By recording ahead, I created my own maternity leave. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not saying anyone else needs to handle content creation

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<v Speaker 1>and parental leave that way, but recording a few short

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<v Speaker 1>episodes doesn't take that long. After my son was born,

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<v Speaker 1>I would often do it during baby naps. Having some

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<v Speaker 1>help with the idea generation means I don't run out

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<v Speaker 1>of ideas. I'm picking ideas from what people bring me,

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<v Speaker 1>in addition to contributing my own. And short is sustainable.

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<v Speaker 1>I would not be able to do an hour-long show

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<v Speaker 1>every day. But five minutes is only five minutes. Nothing

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<v Speaker 1>lasts forever, so before breakfast won't last forever either. But

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<v Speaker 1>working ahead and searching widely for ideas, iterating and keeping

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<v Speaker 1>things short, means we've been able to stick around for

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<v Speaker 1>2,000 episodes. When the flywheel gets going, it gets going.

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<v Speaker 1>And so it goes for many things. that stay around

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<v Speaker 1>for a long time. It is one thing to start something,

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<v Speaker 1>and I know that sometimes starting can be challenging as

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<v Speaker 1>you're figuring things out. But if you want to stick

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<v Speaker 1>with something long-term, it's important to figure out ways it

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<v Speaker 1>can fit sustainably into your life and stay interesting to you.

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<v Speaker 1>When it's never too much, it's not too hard to

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<v Speaker 1>keep going. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at LauraVanderkam.com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media. For more

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