As this community’s podcast continues ( see, #listen ), I thought I’d share the checklist I use when I’m doing an episode.
Hit reply and share your checklists, or checklist ideas, (or questions :)
PodComm’s checklist
The header stuff, at the very top, is a byproduct of this being a document I’m maintaining in the project management software we use. ( Basecamp )
Beginning
As I look at my coming day, I grab a sheet for each recording that is scheduled. I write the guest’s name on the sheet, and I fill in the two at ____ lines with the specific times. This way, the sheet lays on my desk where I am very unlikely to forget the appointment.
Prep work
I do this stuff 15-minutes before the call. Spin up the call, setup my environment for recording, etc.
Recording session
My reminders of things to say/do.
Post work
I can explain any of these steps that are of interest, in more detail. But, all of the post work, except the “create slip” part, only takes me a few minutes.
An actual example
Notes on the right
I do my best to scribble some notes during the recording. Good luck reading my writing. 
The boxed, “reflection” is the word I chose for the episode title.
What’s a “slip”?
As part of each recording, I add slips to my slipbox. The first slip (3x5 card) is for the recording itself; My notes from the checklist, get recopied (and often edited and expanded) onto the slip. The next two slips are from areas in the slipbox which are indices; Joe is filed under the two letters, “w” and “e”. And he’s the first thing I’ve added under the theme “reflection.”
Different checklist
I use a similar checklist—the system is the same, but the checklist has very different individual items. (Again, happy to explain any details that people want to ask about. But, sorry, “explain them all” is beyond my time for one sitting. ;)
This particular one is interesting because I made some red markings. As I’m working, if I find something about my process that needs to be changed, I mark it in red. That way, I don’t get immediately sidetracked. I “worked” this checklist all the way to the end, and tossed it to the side of my desk. Later, I went back and thought more about what, and why, I’d made the red marks. (I think in this case, I did nothing about my red marks around the “Timer” — that’s simply something I have to remember to do with Zoom. But the red marks about “image”, I went in and amended the checklist.)
