The Trading Post

Summer Podcasting: Staying Productive with Kids Underfoot

• Trader Stu • Season 3 • Episode 9

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Staying consistent with podcasting becomes especially challenging during summer months when family obligations, home repairs, and world events compete for attention and energy. 

• Summer creates unique challenges for content creators with disrupted routines and family priorities
• Home repairs and family health issues can quickly derail a podcast schedule
• World events and news cycles create additional distractions that drain mental energy
• Downloads and listener engagement naturally dip during vacation seasons
• Batch recording provides a buffer but requires significant advance planning
• Recording shorter episodes can help maintain consistency with less production time
• Finding creative recording spaces like your car can work when home isn't quiet
• The 23-minute episode length balances monetization potential and listener attention spans
• Involving older children in the podcast process can create both bonding and productivity
• Focusing on progress rather than perfection helps maintain momentum
• Remembering your "why" provides motivation during challenging periods

Be good or be good at it.


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https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/podcast-ideas-from-grow-radio-7240277072038834177/


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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome back to the Trading Post. I'm your host, trader Stu. This episode is brought to you by the Michigan Renaissance Festival. If you haven't went and checked them out yet, be sure to do so this fall. Metro Trading Association. I work for them full-time and the whole point of this podcast was to explain trade. And then I thought you know what I'll explain a little bit more than that too. So Metro Trading Association, thank you. I'll explain a little bit more than that too. So Metro Trading Association, thank you.

Speaker 1:

And Networking with Kids. That's my own personal. Well, it's me and the doc, doc Mary from Suzy Q's Kids. We run the Networking with Kids first Thursday of the month at the Jungle Java there on Hall Road, clinton Township. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by. It's from 4 to 6. Bring the kids, it's free, let them play, hand out business cards and uh mingle for a couple hours and bounce.

Speaker 1:

So all right, let's get into it. All right, real quick. I say real quick every time, don't I? It's never real quick. I am a victim of summer vacation podcast fatigue, not fatigue lacking, slacking perhaps. Maybe, basically. You know how hard it is to stay consistent with something when something else comes up and I am recording this actually on a Wednesday morning and having to submit it on a Wednesday morning because I had my, had some insurance worked into my house, had a huge hailstorm come by and just had some leaks. And Drywall painter guy came by and if you haven't used his name Al, I forgot the name of his company because he didn't give me a business card because it's through insurance work I'll be sure to ask him and I will highly recommend this guy if you ever need a drywall, if you're in the metro Detroit area, whatever, uh, drywall painting this dude, you can't even see it. You can't I, and I know where it was, you know, I know where the leak is, I know where everything, all the problems were. And let me tell you, you can't even see, like, um, like even a line or even a bump, nothing. And I had him fix a couple things in my, uh, my bedroom and finish up a paint job that my wife tried to attempt, uh, in the kitchen, and so while he was out doing insurance work, he stayed longer and I paid him, you know, to do extra, right, because he's already out. So it just made sense, um, and it cost me far less because he was already out than it did if I was to have someone just come out and do it. But uh, definitely recommend this guy if you're interested. If you need drywall and painting work done, hit me up. You know, uh, dm me or whatever and uh, I'll give you his number, all right.

Speaker 1:

So that being said, creating episodes with kids underfoot and vacations on the calendar, that's where I'm at. I was going to do this podcast in the basement and with the kids being home summer break. Well, my father's always home, but you know what I mean. And then I had to be on for if Al needed me for questions like I don't know. For an example, I have a skylight and one of my first things I did when I got in the house, I broke the skylight blinds. I tried adjusting them up and down. I was like, oh cool, here's a pole to adjust the blinds, and then I did it and I fell off the. And then I just hung there for the last four years because their cathedrals ceilings. I couldn't get up there to fix it. I really didn't care, because I wound them up enough to get out of the way and you just forget about them. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

So, anyway, he was like hey, while I'm up here, do you want these gone?

Speaker 1:

I was like, well, that's what I thought.

Speaker 1:

So you know, stuff like that. I had to be kind of on for that. And then, of course, there's planning for camping trips, and then I got sick as a dog, my wife got sick as a dog and my toddler got sick as a dog. So there went a week or two and then, you know you, just one one thing happens after another and by the time you know it, I was ahead a week on my recordings and then, uh, you know, all hell broke loose. And well, here we are, back to being behind again, and so what I really got to do is get four weeks ahead, a whole month ideally, and um, but I like recording, like current event stuff, you know. So I don't know, if I was out four weeks ahead, what would that put me at the end of July already? And I just feel like there's so much in between. But maybe I can't do it like that Anyway. So let's get into it, trying to stay motivated, staying motivated or just trying not to get behind on what to do with the kids, and I found an article about it all and I'm going to inject my own personal things that instead of somebody saying that this is what it should be, then I'm going to give you, like what's happened with me if you're trying to do a podcast for your business and then just go from there. So the summer challenge and why podcasting gets harder.

Speaker 1:

Then you got family time versus work time. The kids are at home, like I said, the routines are disrupted and vacations pull you away from your usual workflow and I want to say not even vacations. The war, world War III, has got me sucked in. You ever seen that movie, 1984? And it's just constant. You know what they call the oceania and europa? I think it was. They called it uh, or in asia, or asiatic anyway. I thought there was like three different like players in the war and they gave updates every day on who was winning, who was losing, and I think it was all bull crap or fabricated it. From what I remember, and I feel like this is what's going on right now.

Speaker 1:

Everyone's attention is on whatever Trump says does and Putin says does. Whatever Trump says does and Putin says does. Zelensky says does, uh, kim Jong-un, whatever says does and uh, what was the other one President Xi of China says does, and it's exhausting at four players and it's just like everyone's trying to follow everything and then they're going to throw some natural disasters in there and pretend and play like volcanoes never erupted before and earthquakes never happened again. And maybe it really is more frequent, or maybe it's just that the media is focusing more on it. Because I thought on average, there's like 400 earthquakes around the planet at any given time going on or something crazy like that. But now they're just like oh look, this one was a 4.0 and 6.0 and a 2.5. And earthquakes or earthquake swarms now they call them.

Speaker 1:

They got to add a title and label everything to make it palatable for the media. Make it, you know, palatable for the media in the. You know the one in with the volcano and earthquake, or the volcano in Hawaii erupts all the time. Suddenly it's got world attention. And then you know volcanoes in the Pacific and supposedly on July 5th there's gonna be a big event according to the stars or predictions or that cute fortune teller. And yeah, it's just.

Speaker 1:

There are so many different things to look at that I've just reached pure exhaustion to where I just follow one thing and then that's it. Once that episode is done, I have my coffee and I try and go do something else, and that usually never happens to be fair. I'm not lying that when I say my garage is unwalkable and it is where it is. So, all right, I digress. Also, don't forget listener behavior shifts. Right.

Speaker 1:

If your downloads and engagement they dip in the summer and the holiday seasons because people travel and they relax and they're not maybe going to work back and forth or they're working from home, they're not catching your podcast to and from work, to and from getting kids from school, or to and from kids soccer, baseball, interject, whatever sports entertainment venue thing that they're doing, right. So people not only you, but people, your listeners are. They're gone too during summer break when the kids are off, right. And then, of course, I'm struggling with right now it's personal motivation and your time temptation to take break. It's real man, but consistency is key to keeping your audience engaged. So you know everything you read is consistency. So you know, really, if you think about it once, a Tuesday is not that freaking hard man. But let me tell you what. Once you get into it, tuesdays come up quick. A week flies by, especially when you've got the kids. You've got, you know, keeping them entertained.

Speaker 1:

Right now we're looking for a playground structure. I'm looking for a guy, or a crew really, that can take down a playground, move it and then reassemble it. I figure by the time I get the tools, my shoulders can't handle too much work over my head, so there's that limitation from some injuries. I got in the military and then you got to, you know, either buy or rent a flatbed trailer, a U-Haul or whatever, and by the time you do all that you're up to at least probably a grand. You're going to do a few times, a few days or whatever. And then you got to do it, you know, get it assembled, and so I might as well spend the extra whatever one or two grand, I don't know just to have it done for me, man, and it's done and it's done right, and I know what they're doing and they're going to do it in a fraction of the time and I don't got to try and deal with my toddler trying to come over and deal, you know, and deal with him to try and get up on the playground before it's done, or he's mad because not spending time with them.

Speaker 1:

You know it's a whole thing. So I can luckily afford a little bit more than me doing it myself. Some things are just worth getting paid getting done. Just pay for it and be done with it. You know, and I think that a playground structure when my kid's safety is at hand here, and I don't want any temptations of me taking short shortcuts or you know not, or not knowing what I'm doing or how to fasten things or all that stuff, and there's a lot of parts and uh, just pay guy who does it every day? They do. I think it was two a week or two a month or something like that this guy I'm talking to. So you know there's that all right.

Speaker 1:

So here's a couple practical tips for staying productive. One batch recording I just went over this record multiple episodes in advance before the summer chaos hits. Yeah, easier said than done. So maybe next time next year I'll be ahead of the game and do that. But, like I said, maybe a week, or I tried a week ahead and that caught up with me. So I need more of a buffer. So maybe two weeks to a month, okay, so we'll do that.

Speaker 1:

Shorter episodes, that you know, take more focused approaches and it takes less time to produce them, but you keep. You have to keep your content flowing. So what that means is, you know, if you try and aim for half hour episodes, maybe do two 15 minute or something like that for me. Me, I try and stick to the 23-minute rule. That seems to be the powerhouse between monetization, listener and how long listeners can listen for, and you can put commercials in there, mid-rolls and things like that. So I always personally aim for about 23 minutes at least, no more than 27, 30 and keep her at that, but okay, whatever. And then I don't know about this one Best of replay episodes. You create highlights or re-air your popular episodes to maintain schedule without extra work. Okay, maybe I can see that more on like a video type podcast on YouTube, but I don't know how well that would go over on a traditional podcast.

Speaker 1:

Audio only. It says flexible schedule or flex scheduling. Adjust your release schedule if needed, but communicate your changes clearly to your audience. Okay, well, I didn't if you guys are listeners on Tuesdays. Sorry I didn't let you know, but here you are a day late. I should have done it earlier, I don't know. So I guess next week, if I don't do another upload then I got sidetracked again.

Speaker 1:

Managing your kids and work. So create boundaries, set up dedicated workspace and communication, or communicate clear rules with your family. That's easier said than done with a two-year-old. The 10-year-old gets it and actually that comes with the 10-year-old. Engage kids with the process. Involve your older children, yup in the simple tasks or explain your work so they understand when you need focus. The 10-year-old does like helping out. He gets excited about podcasting. He wants to learn, he wants to do it one day, so that works for him.

Speaker 1:

Finding quiet time Again easier said than done with my 2-year-old. We're trying to work on his sleep schedule. But work early in the morning, late at night or during kids' naps and activities I have tried all of those and all of those don't work. Sometimes, early in the morning, I'm like cool, I'm up at five, I'll knock one out. And then my wife comes down with them and she's like, hey, can you watch him? He's up early and I need to take a nap. Okay, I always, you know, yep. And then family comes first. Man, late at night, you think you got it, oh, okay. Then the two year olds up until 11 midnight, you know, sometimes one, uh. Or during his naps. Well, I'm not home during naps. I'm at work, but there's that. And then plan activities have a list of activities ready to keep kids occupied while you work.

Speaker 1:

Again, easier said than done, I try and knock these out. Actually, I get so darn sidetracked so easily that I do these while I'm in my car in the parking lot. At work, I try doing them at parks, but then you've got to schedule that or work around that. I tried several other things, even at my desk at work, but then I get sidetracked. As soon as I open my computer to do a recording, it's a wrap. I get sidetracked with emails and LinkedInin and alignable and the phone rings and nope, I need a podcast. Studio is what I need at rv or whatever like that, or at work, and that's the first thing I just go do, right, but uh, the car works fine. Um, the audio is here and there there, but uh, you know I'm working on it. At the dGA mics I see one of the guys I follow on YouTube, prepper News and Canadian Prepper. He records his with a DGI microphone, at least I think he does. He may have other microphones off the camera that you can't see and he does this sponsored by DJI. I don't know, but he seems to have pretty decent audio. So, heck, that's what I'm rolling with, all right.

Speaker 1:

So staying motivated and averting avoiding burnout. Set realistic goals, um, yeah, well, except that you may not be as productive as usual and aim for progress, not perfect perfection, and you know what? And that's what I'm doing. I just try and keep hitting the ball forward, man, because as soon as you get overzealous with the whole, trying to edit and make everything perfect, it's not going to work, you're not going to do it, you're going to get burnout and you're not going to record anymore and you're going to be, man, what could have been. And all you had to do was not be such a stupid stickler about trying to overedit every episode, every word, every nuance, every breath intake, every um, every blah, blah, blah. Right, so that's what I used to do, and it's exhausting, and then I quit, but then you get the fire in you. That's who I am.

Speaker 1:

I am a YouTuber at the time A podcaster. I'm something, man, and something's going to click One day. It's going to happen, and one day I'm going to actually build a little revenue off of this. And just stay at it, just keep kicking the ball forward, man or the can or whatever, your whatever. Uh, take breaks. Uh, regular breaks help you both. Help both of you and your family stay happy and productive. I don't know, yeah, take breaks, but I don't have enough of a schedule yet to warrant a break. I spend a lot of time with my family as it is, so I think I'm good there.

Speaker 1:

Celebrate your small wins and reward yourself for every episode completed or milestone reached. Okay, well, I'm not one of those guys. That's like everyone gets a trophy. I was at the very beginning of that generation. I'm an 81 baby, so I didn't get too caught up in that. Everyone gets an award and when they were trying to do that, I felt stupid or whatever. I'm like. I don't deserve that. That guy, jason, he's a he's a killer dude. He's the one who needs this. I didn't do anything. I just was out in the field running around picking dandelions or whatever. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1:

So leverage your podcast for family entertainment. It says, uh, podcasts for kids. Introduce your children to podcasts to keep them entertained and give yourself a break. Um, yeah, the two-year-old has no time for that Family listening. Use podcast time as a way to bond and share interests with your kids. I don't know why this has anything to do with your podcast. Maybe it's to like say, hey, daddy's going to go make a podcast real quick and, um, you're going to hear me on the air real soon. Is going to go make a podcast real quick and you're going to hear me on the air real soon. So in the meantime, listen to your child bedtime reading podcast. I guess I don't know. Prepare for vacation. We don't really vacation, we camp on the weekends. But either way, plan ahead, schedule content release while you're away or let your audience know you'll be back soon.

Speaker 1:

And teasers and trailers. Drop a teaser for the next season or upcoming content to keep your listeners excited. See, I don't go by seasons. I do seasons by category. You know category one is all about trade, barter and how it helps business. Season two is networking, sales and marketing. You know ideas, whatever. And then season three is the experience of using a podcast for growing your business, which is what you're listening to right now. This is a season three podcast, so I try to keep it to three.

Speaker 1:

Motivation and mindset Consistency is key. Even if you're not at your best, showing up regularly builds trust and loyalty with your audience. So the only one I notice if they don't upload an episode is my prepper guy Only because he does current events and news and I actually look forward to the next thing he says because he's pretty well on track with the Canadian Prepper guy. Everything else I don't have. I personally don't follow podcasts to like say, oh man, they didn't upload an episode for me to listen to on Wednesday morning. That's not me. I know some people are.

Speaker 1:

But whatever Model resilience and balance your work and family and set a powerful example for your kids and your listeners. So that kind of yeah, so I'll use my lawn mowing focus for that. I don't. I hate yard work. I'm allergic to grass pollen. The other day I finally broke down and I was like man, screw it, I'm going to wear. It was like a baklava what do they call it? Or balava and over my nose to keep the pollen out, to filter it. And it worked. I hated it because I didn't have to take it off anyways to weed whack, because every time I breathed out I'd fogged up my safety glasses. So in the long run it didn't really work, but it did work for the lawnmower. So maybe I'll just do that. But whatever, let's see what else we got.

Speaker 1:

Remember your why. Reconnect with the reasons you started your podcast. This will fuel your motivation during tough weeks. Well, I mean, I just told you my why. So there's that Call to action Sharing your tips.

Speaker 1:

Encourage your listeners to share their own summer productivity hacks In the summer in your comments or on social media. It's a good idea. I actually like that. A little social media presence there and how they keep their productivity for doing podcasts on the up and up. Stay connected. Remind listeners to subscribe and check out upcoming episodes, even in this schedule is later. Cool, I like it. I guess you could do this too in the summertime. Wrap up with a quick recap of everything that you went through in your episode. Every episode you create this summer is a win, no matter how small. Keep moving forward and enjoy the journey. Yeah, you know what I like this. I'll even tell you my sources on where I found this stuff.

Speaker 1:

Podcasting tips for busy parents. How work-from-home parents can stay productive when kids are at home. How to take a summer break without losing momentum. Take breaks for seasons. Five strategies to take a break from podcasting without losing listeners.

Speaker 1:

A secret tool to entertain your kids this summer my origin story. So, yeah, I like that. That was you know what productive I think. I think it was a good idea. Everything makes sense for me and I'll try and use it. I mean, like I said, keeping your motivation going. It's not about motivation, it's about is it motivation going? It's not about motivation, it's about is it motivation? I guess if you're so motivated to where you live, will you breathe, ate, slept, podcasting. That's all you could think about. I guess you would automatically stay on topic right there on on schedule.

Speaker 1:

But if you can't, or if it's not your number one, so, like I use this as a marketing tool, I use this one. So, like I use this as a marketing tool, I use this for educational purposes and I use this for my um. I try and be real, because everything on social media or YouTube podcasting I guess it's all social media it's fake. I think it's fake. They're like you know look at my perfect life or look at how easy it is for me to do this and podcasting isn't that hard. If you just do this, it's all bullcrap fake. So, unless you have a team that depends on you, which I don't ever really want to get to, I say that and watch me get to like an editor, or you know someone who does all my social media, which would be awesome one day, I guess.

Speaker 1:

Maybe I don't know if I could pay them without having to depend on episodes though I don't want to depend on episodes to make paychecks. That sounds like it takes all the fun out of it. And a lot of times you hear these people who get these million-dollar offers, these contracts, but they can't talk about what they want to talk about, they can't release what they want to release about, they can't release when they want to release and they can't interview who they want to interview and they're like well, I don't want it then and I want the money, because that's the whole point of me. Wanting to get into podcasting is to do that. So you know, as they say, once you got all your bills paid, um, the rest of it, all the money, is just for showing off, and one day maybe I'll get there and understand that, but you know right now I'll take the money. So maybe I don't know. I say that, but we'll see what happens. At any rate, whatever you do, be good at it.