Working as a home based transcriptionist for a transcription services provider from home is a highly rewarding career in itself. Besides enabling you to be your own boss, remain independent and earn well, it also makes an attractive addition to your resume. On the other hand, since you are not physically present at your office and will most likely be required to juggle housework and other duties along with your transcription work, it is also important to think about what you can do to reduce at-home distractions while you are transcribing.
Stay at home working mums may expect that their employer show them some leniency in terms of deadlines or work perfection because after all, they are working from home. However, that is not a fair presumption to make because every client looks forward to an error free transcript and overall value, irrespective of whether the transcriptionist works from home or not. Here are a few tips on how to produce A rated transcripts from home itself:
- Time Management- Begin your day with an idea of how you will spend the day. Keep a fixed time for doing household chores, being with the kids if you have any, buying groceries etc. It is best to work on transcripts when you are mentally calm, when you can concentrate fully without worrying about other things and of course, when you are not mentally or physically tired. Fix a specific time slot for your professional work and stick to it every day.
- Work in Silence- If you were working in an office, you would take care to ensure that your surrounding environment was a quiet one. Make sure that when you work, you are alone in a room with just the equipment you need for transcribing and without any other external distractions such as doors banging, loud music playing, the TV switched on, etc. A quiet working environment helps you concentrate better and deal with the work faster too.
- Be honest– Stay at home working mums often stretch themselves to the limit in order to make extra cash or to keep up with 9- 5 transcriptionists. It’s best to be honest with your employer about how many transcripts you can complete in a single day/week as well as if you are unable to take up any extra workload for whatever reason. Keep an open mind about re-doing transcripts if there are many errors in your first submission and take your employer’s feedback about your work on a regular basis.
- Get support– Just as working women need support from their families, you do too! Managing a home and being the perfect wife/mother and working hard to have a career too is no small feat. And it’s a task you may not be able to complete all by yourself every day. Don’t shy away from asking help from family members when needed or making small changes to the daily household routine, if it helps you work more efficiently.
