Client contracts are very important for any business that provides services. It offers two-way legal protections, it shows professionalism, and it sets clear goals and expectations.
To learn more about client contracts, why it is good to have, and how to make one, check out this article: 10 Things to Include in a Client Contract
The picture above is my little aloe vera house plant that is sitting on my home office windowsill. I water it whenever the soil looks moderately dry. A day in my life is nothing crazy, but if you decide to read through this, thank you!
Morning
First thing in the morning, I do some exercise and then brew some coffee. After the coffee is brewed, I sit down in the quiet of my living room and write my prayers and read the Bible. I then have breakfast and get to work.
The first thing I do for work is check LinkedIn. Normally there are no notifications of importance, so this only takes a moment. I then create an advertisement on Microsoft Designer for my transcription business and I then post my ad on LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Facebook. After that, I start writing my blog posts for the week. I always schedule my blog posts for Tuesdays and Thursdays. For the images that I put in my posts, I usually go to a free stock photos website. This blog has a picture that I took myself though.
After I create my blogs for the week, I post them early on the Earful Edits website and put a link to the early blog posts on LinkedIn. As the blogs are automatically uploaded to Blogger, I repost the blogs on LinkedIn and post them on Facebook and Pinterest as well.
Afternoon
Once all the blog posts are written and posted, it is usually about lunchtime. After lunch, I check my work email for any potential client emails. I have not gotten any client emails yet since I started my business, so I normally practice my typing after briefly checking my email to build my typing speed. I have still been averaging 60 wpm (words per minute) but am hoping it’ll get faster with time. A lot of times I will also scroll LinkedIn and react to other people’s posts and comment on them to help with my networking.
After practicing my typing and do some networking, I go and practice the piano on my keyboard in the home office. I usually practice the piano for about 30 minutes at a time. After that, I go and prep dinner for when my husband and I get home in the evening. Then I go to my part time job at the music studio.
Evening
After work and dinner, I sometimes practice the piano again for another 30 minutes and then relax for the rest of the night. With the exception of some tidying around the apartment.
This is my normal daily routine. If and when I get some regular clients, I will do another post like this. I’m sure it will change! If you read this far… I hope you enjoyed!
Although I do not use AI for my transcription services personally, it can be very useful for saving time. It can also be bad due to AI not always being accurate. Take a look at this article to learn more about AI in the transcription world: AI Transcription
Something that I love to use is the pomodoro technique. This is primarily because the videos I find have nice music and alarms, so I don’t forget to stop for a moment to give myself a brain break. If you don’t know what the pomodoro technique is, it is when you take a 5-minute break every 25 minutes. After you do that 4 times, you take a longer break that is usually about 30 minutes. Check out this pomodoro video if you want to try it out: Lofi Girl – Pomodoro
2. Stretch during your breaks/ get up and move around.
Sitting down all day can be hard on your body. It makes you stiff. When it’s time to take a break, get up and do some stretches! You can also stretch while sitting down. For some good stretch ideas, check out the following link: Stretches for Desk Jobs
3. Stay hydrated.
I know, you’ve probably heard this a million times from others, but it really is important. Keep a water bottle at your work space. You don’t have to chug it and drink a gallon, but keep some water at your desk as a reminder to drink some water. Staying hydrated can help with your energy levels and keep you healthy and feeling well in general.
4. Let your work stay at work.
Once the work day is over, let it be over. I know it’s easy to keep working even after your hours are up. Emails keep popping up and texts keep coming through. Silence your phone or just your work notifications after your work day is up. This will help keep you from burning out and help you be more present at home.
5. Listen to music.
If you are able to focus while listening to music, I would highly recommend it. It makes the work more enjoyable and the hours go by faster. It also is just relaxing!
I hope these tips are helpful, and if you do try them out, let me know how it goes!
One rule when it comes to networking that I think is good to stick to is, be yourself! Being yourself is a good thing to do in general, but especially in networking so people can get to know you and build some trust.
Social media is a great tool to get yourself seen and potentially gain some clients as a transcriptionist. The key is consistency. If you are not consistent, people will most likely forget about your work. Post reminders about any deals you have going on, comment on other people’s posts, and reach out and let people know that you care about what they have to say. These are all great ways to get noticed and build your network.
To learn more about ways you can succeed at being a transcriptionist, take a look at the following link: Transcribe Anywhere
After I researched these things, I wrote down a rough draft of my business plan and went from there. This will give you a better idea of what you’re getting in to.
I have no experience with legal transcription, personally. However, I have done a little research on it and what I found was interesting! Take a look at this article to learn more about legal transcription: Guide for Legal Transcriptionists
Have you ever wondered how a general transcriptionist transcribes medical jargon? No prior schooling in the medical field. No degree. Well, I can say that it’s not easy, but it does take a lot of research. Any time I run into a word that I don’t understand, I look it up. That helps with spelling and making sure it’s the correct word. Another thing to do is to listen very carefully.
To see some more detailed information and tips, take a look at this article on how to transcribe medical dictations: Medical Transcription
Editing and proofreading are some great services that a transcriptionist could add to their business. But what is the difference between proofreading and editing? I used to think that these services were one and the same.
Proofreading is the final step in the writing process. You look for grammatical errors, punctuation errors, and incorrect spelling and you correct them.
Editing is what happens before proofreading. This is a task that involves improving the quality of the written work.
So, proofreading and editing are definitely different and very valuable services that you could add to your transcription services. To learn more about proofreading and editing, check out this article: Proofreading and Editing
