WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.150 Joe: One of my favorite Disney plus shows is Loki. 00:00:03.840 --> 00:00:08.970 It's a truly fascinating look at time travel, predetermined events, 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:11.010 and controlling your own destiny. 00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:15.870 And now I'm going to give you a major, if not very simplified 00:00:15.875 --> 00:00:18.150 spoiler if you haven't seen it. 00:00:19.185 --> 00:00:25.785 See in the finale Loki Masters, the ability to time, slip or transport to 00:00:25.785 --> 00:00:28.995 any time, any place, and in any timeline. 00:00:30.015 --> 00:00:33.855 For all intents and purposes, a timeline is a parallel universe. 00:00:34.155 --> 00:00:40.425 If you're not familiar with the multiverse in Marvel, this also allows him to 00:00:40.425 --> 00:00:43.394 relive events over and over again. 00:00:44.670 --> 00:00:51.480 So as all of existence faces eradication, he can take as much quote unquote time 00:00:51.810 --> 00:00:58.860 as he wants to learn how to save all of everything and everyone on every timeline. 00:00:59.910 --> 00:01:05.340 He continuously over thousands of years, learns everything he needs 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:11.610 to learn and practices through trial and error to improve his process. 00:01:11.970 --> 00:01:17.550 And his odds of saving everything and everyone, and while we don't 00:01:17.550 --> 00:01:22.830 have thousands of years or the ability to time travel, we do have 00:01:22.830 --> 00:01:28.920 the ability to take a step back and consider the question what's missing. 00:01:29.850 --> 00:01:30.750 Hey everybody. 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:32.070 Joe Casabona here. 00:01:32.070 --> 00:01:39.420 This is episode 4 0 4 of how I built it, and I'm going to ask you the question. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.149 What's missing from your process? 00:01:42.600 --> 00:01:46.320 You can find all of the show notes for this episode and you can join 00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:51.929 my mailing list over at How I Built It slash 4 0 4 for members. 00:01:51.929 --> 00:01:55.800 I'm going to be talking about thinking about my own production toolkit and 00:01:55.804 --> 00:02:02.759 process, and wonder if it's time to ditch D script for my recording and editing. 00:02:03.330 --> 00:02:06.900 If you want to become a member, you can click the link in the description. 00:02:07.215 --> 00:02:11.535 Or you can find that link over@howibuilt.it slash 4 0 4, 00:02:12.045 --> 00:02:15.674 but for now, let's get to the intro and then the episode. 00:02:20.725 --> 00:02:25.105 hey everybody, and welcome to How I Built It, the podcast that helps 00:02:25.105 --> 00:02:29.515 busy solopreneurs and creators grow their business without 00:02:29.519 --> 00:02:31.195 spending too much time on it. 00:02:31.734 --> 00:02:37.045 I'm your host, Joe Casabona, and each week I bring you interviews and case studies 00:02:37.195 --> 00:02:41.594 on how to build a better business through smarter processes, time management. 00:02:41.795 --> 00:02:43.894 And effective content creation. 00:02:44.255 --> 00:02:48.424 It's like getting free coaching calls from successful solopreneurs. 00:02:49.054 --> 00:02:53.375 By the end of each episode, you'll have one to three takeaways you can 00:02:53.375 --> 00:02:58.984 implement today to stop spending time in your business and more time on 00:02:58.984 --> 00:03:04.084 your business or with your friends, your family reading, or however 00:03:04.084 --> 00:03:06.904 you choose to spend your free time. 00:03:07.156 --> 00:03:13.636 Okay, so back in November I asked this question of my members, when do 00:03:13.636 --> 00:03:15.886 you burn it all down and start over. 00:03:17.056 --> 00:03:21.106 In the members portion of this, I discuss my current and future tool set for 00:03:21.111 --> 00:03:22.786 recording, editing and transcription. 00:03:22.786 --> 00:03:22.816 I. 00:03:23.281 --> 00:03:27.451 And I can't help but wonder if I'm just a chronic app switcher 00:03:27.691 --> 00:03:32.521 I am, or if I'm looking to legitimately improve my processes. 00:03:33.451 --> 00:03:35.431 Here's what I said back in November. 00:03:36.481 --> 00:03:39.271 So when do you burn it all down and start over? 00:03:40.081 --> 00:03:43.891 I think it's when the frustrations start getting in the way of you 00:03:43.891 --> 00:03:50.311 working efficiently if what you have is working and you can continue 00:03:50.311 --> 00:03:52.201 to afford the tools you use. 00:03:52.546 --> 00:03:53.446 Leave them be. 00:03:54.346 --> 00:04:00.586 But if your processes suddenly start fighting you or there's a consolidation 00:04:00.591 --> 00:04:05.776 of tools like with DS script and squad cast, you should consider changing. 00:04:07.306 --> 00:04:11.686 So that's again what I said back in November, but that's not the whole story. 00:04:11.746 --> 00:04:14.206 That's the burn it all down story. 00:04:15.106 --> 00:04:17.806 Reviewing your process is a bit different. 00:04:18.646 --> 00:04:22.246 It's something that you should do more often than every couple 00:04:22.246 --> 00:04:25.396 of years or so in the show. 00:04:25.396 --> 00:04:26.086 Loki. 00:04:26.626 --> 00:04:32.026 Loki could have continuously gone back to a happier time, relive 00:04:32.026 --> 00:04:34.516 that until it gets bad and go back. 00:04:34.906 --> 00:04:40.906 He was living outside of time as they put it in the show, but he 00:04:40.906 --> 00:04:44.056 was burdened with glorious purpose. 00:04:44.236 --> 00:04:50.206 Loki: I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. 00:04:50.641 --> 00:04:57.511 Joe: In Groundhog Day, bill Murray's character, Phil Connors, which by 00:04:57.511 --> 00:05:02.731 the way, I just realized, uh, that that's like an homage to p Phil. 00:05:02.731 --> 00:05:08.101 And then I am assuming John Connors from, uh, from Terminator. 00:05:08.671 --> 00:05:13.111 Anyway, in Groundhogs Day, bill Murray's character, Phil Connors is stuck 00:05:13.141 --> 00:05:18.121 on the same day and after realizing selfishness and hedonism isn't the way. 00:05:18.376 --> 00:05:26.536 He uses the time to improve himself until spoiler alert, he breaks the cycle. 00:05:27.646 --> 00:05:32.776 In both instances, the characters took a step back, looked at what needs to 00:05:32.781 --> 00:05:35.746 be fixed and solved their problems. 00:05:36.746 --> 00:05:41.681 So let's talk about reviewing your processes, but first, let's take 00:05:41.761 --> 00:05:44.216 a break to hear from our sponsors. 00:05:45.206 --> 00:05:50.786 Okay, so let's look at reviewing your processes, bringing 00:05:50.786 --> 00:05:52.916 this point back to reality. 00:05:53.036 --> 00:05:58.076 How many times have you ignored something until it got truly painful 00:05:58.076 --> 00:06:02.661 to experience a light bulb that flickers an ache in your foot? 00:06:03.566 --> 00:06:08.606 Having to comb through your email to find that contract you sent one time so you can 00:06:08.606 --> 00:06:11.516 make a copy of it to send to a new client. 00:06:12.626 --> 00:06:16.076 It's easy to view these fixes as inconvenient. 00:06:16.706 --> 00:06:22.136 You're taking time away from what you're trying to do after all, but. 00:06:22.496 --> 00:06:28.436 You find that the fix changing, the light bulb, visiting the doctor, saving that 00:06:28.441 --> 00:06:34.826 contract in an easily accessible folder is actually much easier and could end 00:06:34.826 --> 00:06:37.496 up saving you time and or frustration. 00:06:38.846 --> 00:06:42.926 The same thing goes for your work, making a video, writing, 00:06:42.926 --> 00:06:44.396 creating a podcast episode. 00:06:45.101 --> 00:06:49.961 You are so caught up in the actual creating that you don't feel you have 00:06:49.961 --> 00:06:53.111 the time to step back and evaluate. 00:06:53.771 --> 00:07:01.331 Does that sound familiar to any of you, but my friend doing this exact thing? 00:07:01.331 --> 00:07:05.621 Taking a step back and evaluating your process. 00:07:06.251 --> 00:07:13.451 This has the potential to unlock or properly reallocate hours of your time. 00:07:15.236 --> 00:07:16.406 So how do you do it? 00:07:17.606 --> 00:07:20.306 Well, I think that there are two paths. 00:07:21.266 --> 00:07:24.596 The first one is to think about what takes the most time. 00:07:25.466 --> 00:07:30.866 You can ask yourself what takes the most time and eliminate or improve that. 00:07:31.976 --> 00:07:38.036 For example, when I first started this podcast, I would edit each episode, 00:07:38.816 --> 00:07:42.536 but I quickly realized that this was the longest part of the process. 00:07:42.851 --> 00:07:47.231 I wasn't particularly good at it, which is also something I hear 00:07:47.231 --> 00:07:49.001 from my clients and students. 00:07:49.001 --> 00:07:52.061 Editing easily takes the most time. 00:07:53.411 --> 00:07:56.411 So I decided to hire an editor. 00:07:57.821 --> 00:08:01.211 He does for about 50 bucks an episode. 00:08:01.721 --> 00:08:06.431 What would usually take me one to two hours per episode. 00:08:07.331 --> 00:08:11.561 So not only was I eating up a lot of my time. 00:08:12.176 --> 00:08:16.976 But in terms of billable hours, I was losing hundreds of dollars per episode. 00:08:18.716 --> 00:08:25.316 If there is a bottleneck in your process, that's a great place to start improving. 00:08:25.826 --> 00:08:30.116 If you do something and it's just eating up your time, and especially 00:08:30.116 --> 00:08:35.516 if you don't like doing it, it is a prime area for improvement. 00:08:36.811 --> 00:08:40.921 The other thing that you can do is think about the lowest effort improvement. 00:08:41.941 --> 00:08:45.691 Perhaps the improvement that would take the most time would also take a high level 00:08:45.691 --> 00:08:51.091 of effort to fix, or would cost funds or cost money that you don't have yet. 00:08:52.051 --> 00:08:57.061 So conversely, you could consider the easiest thing to improve and do that. 00:08:58.051 --> 00:09:03.481 A great example of this in podcasting is using a scheduler to book your guests. 00:09:03.856 --> 00:09:10.346 Instead of figuring out a time via email, the scheduler is easy to implement, 00:09:10.406 --> 00:09:16.616 free to start, and saves a ton of time and confusion getting guests booked. 00:09:17.276 --> 00:09:21.686 I've gone back and forth over multiple days getting a time set. 00:09:22.511 --> 00:09:25.301 There's the whole what works for you. 00:09:25.391 --> 00:09:28.361 Dance, because you don't have direct access to their schedule. 00:09:28.571 --> 00:09:30.191 You have the time zone dance. 00:09:30.191 --> 00:09:30.911 Where are they? 00:09:30.916 --> 00:09:32.951 Are we close to daylight savings time? 00:09:33.161 --> 00:09:34.631 Are they in Arizona? 00:09:34.871 --> 00:09:37.781 Arizona has its own rules for daylight savings time. 00:09:37.991 --> 00:09:43.006 No one knows what time it is in Arizona in November, no 00:09:43.006 --> 00:09:45.586 more because I use a scheduler. 00:09:46.696 --> 00:09:51.286 And the great thing about this approach is because you're looking at low effort 00:09:51.286 --> 00:09:54.256 improvements, it allows for quick wins. 00:09:54.261 --> 00:09:59.086 Without monumental process shifts, you can make a change here and a change there. 00:09:59.091 --> 00:10:01.726 And over time those will compound. 00:10:03.601 --> 00:10:07.621 Now, I know I said that there were two ways, but there's actually another way 00:10:07.621 --> 00:10:10.021 to think about improving your process. 00:10:10.351 --> 00:10:15.931 And I suspect that the cold open and the title of this episode 00:10:16.261 --> 00:10:17.911 betrayed what I'm about to say. 00:10:18.721 --> 00:10:21.661 Uh, it's to ask what's missing? 00:10:22.741 --> 00:10:28.051 This is the most open-ended question, and it could yield a bunch of answers. 00:10:28.966 --> 00:10:33.586 You could find what's missing is an extra step that makes your content more popular. 00:10:34.066 --> 00:10:38.596 For example, I started publishing my articles on Substack as well as 00:10:38.596 --> 00:10:42.316 my personal blog this year because I have a suspicion that thanks 00:10:42.321 --> 00:10:46.426 to Substack Discovery Engine, more people will find my work. 00:10:47.956 --> 00:10:52.276 You could also find what's missing is an automated reminder to follow up with leads 00:10:52.276 --> 00:10:54.196 so they don't fall through the cracks. 00:10:54.871 --> 00:10:58.861 Around the holidays, I forgot to follow up with certain people because 00:10:58.861 --> 00:11:04.591 I moved systems and I realized that I was missing those reminders, and so I 00:11:04.591 --> 00:11:08.521 fixed that and now I know exactly what I need to follow up with everybody. 00:11:09.811 --> 00:11:13.021 Maybe what's missing is an assistant or a coach. 00:11:14.446 --> 00:11:18.961 When I'm looking to improve my process, I like to start with 00:11:18.961 --> 00:11:20.096 the question, what's missing? 00:11:21.331 --> 00:11:25.891 It allows me and my coaching client, who I do this exercise with as well, 00:11:26.251 --> 00:11:30.931 to think bigger picture about the overall process, moving through 00:11:30.931 --> 00:11:34.801 each step and wondering if there's something better that we can do here. 00:11:35.701 --> 00:11:39.901 Usually when I sit down with a coaching client for the first time, I ask them 00:11:40.171 --> 00:11:43.051 to tell me everything that they do. 00:11:43.771 --> 00:11:47.941 When they publish a single episode of their podcast, they go through it and 00:11:47.941 --> 00:11:49.621 they say, okay, but what's missing? 00:11:50.551 --> 00:11:52.861 What do you do before you book the guest? 00:11:53.401 --> 00:11:56.191 What do you do after you edit the episode? 00:11:57.151 --> 00:11:59.491 What's missing from the process that you just told me? 00:12:00.121 --> 00:12:05.131 And we usually end up with a much longer list than they anticipated and plenty 00:12:05.131 --> 00:12:07.201 of places where we can save them time. 00:12:08.301 --> 00:12:11.631 Here's an example of me doing this exercise recently 00:12:11.631 --> 00:12:13.161 with these solo episodes. 00:12:14.766 --> 00:12:18.546 The original process was to make an outline, record some thoughts 00:12:18.546 --> 00:12:23.586 in D script, make some light edits for content, and then publish. 00:12:24.636 --> 00:12:29.376 So as I approached this process, I asked what's missing, and here are 00:12:29.376 --> 00:12:30.847 some of the answers I came up with. 00:12:31.666 --> 00:12:33.346 There's not a clear story. 00:12:33.351 --> 00:12:34.006 I'm telling. 00:12:35.111 --> 00:12:40.516 These episodes aren't as polished as my interviews, which are edited more 00:12:40.516 --> 00:12:42.856 for both audio quality and content. 00:12:44.341 --> 00:12:52.171 And there's not a clear show document or notes for my VA to use to upload 00:12:52.231 --> 00:12:57.961 the episode to Transistor because I'm usually just doing this based 00:12:57.961 --> 00:12:59.881 on an outline that I created. 00:12:59.881 --> 00:13:05.011 I'm not creating the full document, and so usually she ends up asking me what to do. 00:13:05.741 --> 00:13:11.621 I realized that I was spending all of my time on doing basic edits because I 00:13:11.621 --> 00:13:16.751 didn't have a clearly defined thought progression every time I recorded. 00:13:17.471 --> 00:13:22.301 I would just have an outline, so I would talk a little bit, get off track, ramble, 00:13:22.301 --> 00:13:24.251 then make an edit point to edit that out. 00:13:25.391 --> 00:13:30.131 Then like I said, when my VA went to upload those episodes, she never knew 00:13:30.191 --> 00:13:34.421 what to write in the description box because I didn't provide anything for 00:13:34.426 --> 00:13:36.851 her because I just recorded the episode. 00:13:38.081 --> 00:13:44.651 These were big problems in my workflow because I thought solo episodes. 00:13:44.966 --> 00:13:50.126 We're going to be easier than interviews, and I should say that there are big 00:13:50.126 --> 00:13:54.206 problems in my workflow because I didn't take the time to define the process 00:13:54.716 --> 00:13:58.886 because I thought that they were going to be easier than interviews, and they are. 00:13:59.276 --> 00:14:02.546 I mean, but I'm still trying to produce good content here, 00:14:03.656 --> 00:14:05.786 so how do I fix these problems? 00:14:06.566 --> 00:14:09.896 Well, through this exercise, I found that the main issue 00:14:09.896 --> 00:14:11.966 was the lack of a clear story. 00:14:12.671 --> 00:14:16.541 I've been talking for at least the last six months about the 00:14:16.541 --> 00:14:21.101 importance of good storytelling in podcasting, how storytelling 00:14:21.311 --> 00:14:26.711 is going to help you differentiate from every podcast out there. 00:14:28.151 --> 00:14:33.281 And I wasn't doing a good job of that on my own podcast, so I knew I could 00:14:33.281 --> 00:14:38.531 kill two birds by adding a script, which in turn becomes articles that 00:14:38.621 --> 00:14:41.291 you read on my blog or on Substack. 00:14:42.306 --> 00:14:49.106 The script allows me to hash out my ideas and formulate a good three act story 00:14:49.106 --> 00:14:55.706 with a hopefully gripping open, uh, that got your attention, but it also gives 00:14:55.706 --> 00:15:02.066 me clear copy for my VA to add to the description, I usually just copy and paste 00:15:02.066 --> 00:15:04.526 the text that is serving as the cold open. 00:15:06.551 --> 00:15:10.301 I also made the decision to send solo episodes to my editor. 00:15:11.051 --> 00:15:15.581 He can edit for content and polish up the audio better than ica. 00:15:17.051 --> 00:15:18.731 By asking what's missing. 00:15:19.361 --> 00:15:23.381 I was able to make several improvements to these solo shows. 00:15:24.401 --> 00:15:30.461 So to wrap up, I want to point out something that you may have realized. 00:15:31.436 --> 00:15:36.596 It doesn't seem like I'm saving time by swapping the edit for writing a script. 00:15:38.066 --> 00:15:42.386 And you're right, it may not always be true that you're saving 00:15:43.076 --> 00:15:48.566 a bunch of time by improving your process, but as I talked about in 00:15:48.571 --> 00:15:50.996 my piece, great things require time. 00:15:51.776 --> 00:15:57.476 It's about taking the right shortcuts or saving time in the right places. 00:15:57.986 --> 00:16:03.986 So that you can focus on the really important bits, in my opinion, swapping 00:16:03.986 --> 00:16:08.966 the edit for scripts or for writing scripts creates much better content 00:16:09.686 --> 00:16:14.186 and early indications on my podcast stats show that you think so too. 00:16:15.326 --> 00:16:18.116 Plus, I usually write an article for my blog and newsletter. 00:16:18.116 --> 00:16:22.406 Anyway, some minor tweaks, and that content now serves three purposes, 00:16:22.796 --> 00:16:24.536 which ultimately does save time. 00:16:25.631 --> 00:16:26.771 That's not really the point, right. 00:16:26.771 --> 00:16:32.674 I swapped out editing for script writing when both Loki and Phil from 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:35.734 Groundhog Day had a problem to solve. 00:16:36.064 --> 00:16:38.764 They weren't trying to save themselves time. 00:16:39.694 --> 00:16:45.309 They were trying to leverage the time they knew they had and make the most of it. 00:16:46.969 --> 00:16:49.459 That's what a good process does for you. 00:16:50.449 --> 00:16:55.309 It allows you to use your time wisely so you can do your best work. 00:16:56.569 --> 00:17:00.679 That's what you can gain from asking what's missing. 00:17:02.449 --> 00:17:06.049 Thanks so much for listening to this episode of How I Built It. 00:17:06.379 --> 00:17:11.569 You can find the article for this episode as well as the ability to join 00:17:11.569 --> 00:17:13.249 my mailing list or the membership. 00:17:13.654 --> 00:17:17.554 Over at How I Built It slash 4 0 4. 00:17:17.974 --> 00:17:22.324 You will get bonus points if you write in and tell me the little Easter egg 00:17:22.354 --> 00:17:24.904 I hit in the topic of this episode. 00:17:25.624 --> 00:17:32.974 Uh, now if you do join, the membership members will hear the extended 00:17:33.064 --> 00:17:36.634 version, the ad free extended version where I'm thinking about 00:17:36.634 --> 00:17:38.944 my podcast production toolkit. 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:44.209 And I kind of think out loud about if it's time to ditch DS script, which has 00:17:44.209 --> 00:17:47.749 been an integral part of my process, but I have some reasons that I'll 00:17:47.749 --> 00:17:49.879 explore in the members only episode. 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:51.319 Thanks so much for listening. 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:56.689 Thanks to our sponsors, and until next time, get out there and build something.