I love psychology (if you haven’t been able to tell- and maybe you haven’t because this is the first post you’ve read? Feel free to go read more! 😉 ), and I was majoring in it in college.
As I was learning more, and especially about the different mental illnesses that people might have, my immediate thought was, I think I’m all of these… schizophrenic, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, neurodevelopmental… until the next time we met in class (I was taking classes online at this point with my four kids at home), my teacher says that some people start diagnosing themselves with all these disorders because they can see parts of themselves in all of them, but that doesn’t mean that you should.
It’s completely normal to feel all that range of thoughts and feelings; it’s part of being human.
After that, and after learning more about how the mind works and how people think, I wanted to start a podcast. I wanted to share the information that I was learning, and sort of hit two birds with one stone, as overused as that phrase is.
I loved talking about it with my husband, and I knew that the more that I talked about it, the more I remembered. So I thought a podcast would be great, because I could talk more about it, and in doing so I’d remember more.
And I also wanted to explain things clearly so it would be easy to understand and apply to my life at the time, and for others to do as well.
So I bought myself a fancy microphone with one of those cool little mesh things on top and was all set to record! Then life set in…
Going to school full time, with 4 kids, was already hard, and I found that I didn’t want to take any more time away from the kids to do a podcast, and I didn’t really want to spend the time doing that, editing, and posting it either, at that time in my life.
So… the microphone was shoved to the back of the closet (stayed there WAY too long for not using it, ha ha, don’t clean out my closets very often I guess), and then eventually made it outside and graduated to the bottomless pit of storage in the shed, collecting dust.
Number 5 kid comes along, my other kids start going to school, and pretty soon my youngest starts preschool.
I now have a couple hours a week when I’m in a house by myself. I start thinking, what can I do? (Obviously not counting the software I was working on [see this post if you’re lost on that (link)], or the UGC I decided to start doing and recording, or the digital art that I wanted to create and sell, or the photography that I was trying to start up again and finish my course… obviously I was looking to add more to the list I had. Seemed logical.)
My mind went back to my podcast and to the fact that I now had set times during the week when I’d be able to actually record it and plan things out. So I decided to do it.
I started by noticing what was happening in my life, then read books and researched psychology concepts. I thought about what I wanted my podcast to be, represent, and accomplish. I had paused much of my learning because I was no longer in school.
Sure, I’d pick up a book to read a little bit (truth be told, I hardly ever finished one), learn things, and try to apply them, but I felt that without the homework, accountability, etc., what was the point? But I realized I could still learn without being in college, or without even having finished college.
I could learn things now, in my own life, and apply them to myself and toward my husband and kids. I wanted to learn in real time, which is where I got the name, “Learning in Real Time”.
I decided that my schedule would be Mondays writing the outline, Wednesdays recording, and Fridays editing and publishing.
I didn’t necessarily plan on it having psychology concepts in every episode, or to explain them at this time, but it just happened that way, because that’s a lot of the way that I see life.
When someone asked me what my podcast was about, I really didn’t even know, other than just life, learning, and psychology concepts, ha.
Or when someone would ask, why are you making a podcast? I didn’t, and still don’t, really have a reason other than that I enjoy learning, I enjoy talking about what I learn, and when I talk about it, I remember it more.
I like concepts that are sometimes more difficult to explain or grasp, and I like them explained clearly, with examples that help clarify and show how they’re applied in everyday life.
I wanted to bring that to my attention and others’.
I started recording and posting every week. I got to episode 11 (skipped spring break because I had no quiet time to record), and then summer hit. So I decided (or maybe it was forced…? Ha) to make that season one, and then, once my kids are back in school, I’ll start my podcast again and begin season two.
I have a lot of great ideas for where I want season two to go. I even have a running note of my thoughts, ideas, and concepts that I want to explore, and look forward to having the time and quiet to start up again!
