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Make The Process Easy.

I’m a big fan of doing many different things. But when you begin doing that, things can easily or quickly spiral out of control. The phrase keep it simple, stupid comes to mind-but I have a phrase that I like to say of my own.

It’s called Make The Process Easy. It doesn’t form a nice acronym, but it does help you to remember how to do something. And by that, I mean that you can do a great many different things as long as you “keep the process easy”. This is how it works: figure out what you’d like to do. Create the workflow that best keeps WHAT you like to do in a easy and condensable package.

Let’s take an example. I like to podcast. Doing a podcast requires a bit of work. You have to record it, and then you have to edit it, and then you have to add sound effects, and then you have to upload it.

Having to find the mic, recorder, computer, find the files, organize the files can be a giant pain when you don’t keep good track of what you’re doing. And nobody wants to continuously battle that, which is also why most people drop off when they realize how much work things take to produce properly.

In order to prevent that, make a workflow that keeps everything organized, keeps things where they need to be, and allows you to make the edits quickly. Think of it like you’re producing a show live. It’s much easier-in my opinion-to produce a live show and edit because when it’s done, it’s ready to go and packaged. Some tools and mixers allow you to add sound effects and pre cue assets on the fly, which means that your podcast doesn’t have to sit and process for audio or take a long period of time. Of course, there may be edits to fix, but when everything is already packaged it become much easier to produce. And that can keep you going much longer with your project. I’ve experienced projects that I’ve slogged on and continued to work on for years, partially out of love and the other out of spite in order to finish the project. By that time, the end result becomes blurred and not worth the effort you once had in the production phase.

So create that solid workflow in order to make your life easier to handle and produce, and that will make all the projects on the side fun and simple to complete, which is the most important part. COMPLETE THE PROJECTS! Sometimes I find that completing a project, even with minor issues is still better than not having a project done at all. Which is why I prefer the “live” method with most of the projects I do personally if I can, or attacking them as quickly as possible to prevent the idea from becoming stale and dying off.