podcast planning template excel free

Podcast Production and Editorial Calendar

This system provides a centralized workflow for tracking podcast episodes from initial concept through publication and promotion. It is designed for individual creators and small production teams to manage deadlines, guest logistics, and asset distribution. Update this sheet weekly during your production sync meeting.

Column Definitions

• Episode #: Integer. Unique identifier for the episode sequence.
• Working Title: Text. The temporary name used during development.
• Status: Dropdown. Select from: Planning, Recording, Editing, Finalizing, Scheduled, Published.
• Guest Name: Text. The full name of the primary interviewee.
• Record Date: Date. The scheduled or actual date of recording.
• Publish Date: Date. The target date for distribution.
• Assets Ready: Checkbox. Indicates if cover art, show notes, and audio files are finalized.

Essential Formulas

Days Until Publication (Calculate urgency):

=IF(ISBLANK(F2), "", F2-TODAY())

Episode Progress Tracker (Count completed stages):

=COUNTIF(C2:C10, "Published")

Overdue Alert (Flag episodes past publish date that aren't marked published):

=IF(AND(F2<TODAY(), C2<>"Published"), "OVERDUE", "On Track")

Formatting and Validation Rules

1. Status Dropdown (Data Validation): Select the "Status" column, go to Data > Data Validation > Criteria: List of items. Enter: Planning, Recording, Editing, Finalizing, Scheduled, Published.
2. Overdue Highlighting (Conditional Formatting): Select the "Publish Date" column. Use "Format cells if" > "Date is before" > "Today". Set background color to light red.
3. Completion Check (Conditional Formatting): Select the "Assets Ready" column. Use "Custom formula is" =C2="Published". Set text color to green and bold.