home-based job – EarfulEdits

Improving Your Typing Speed

Posted on December 11, 2024 by earfuledits

Typing fast is one thing. Typing fast and accurately? That can be difficult. If you are a transcriptionist, generally you will get faster the more you type and work on transcripts. A fast and accurate typing speed takes practice as any skill does. Aside from typing transcripts, there is one website I enjoy going to for typing practice. It tells you your WPM (words per minute) and your accuracy.

If you want to practice your typing or are simply curious to see what your typing speed is, take a look at this website: Free Typing Test

Comment below what your WPM is, I am curious to see what it is!

Remote Work: Creating a Productive Workspace

Posted on December 5, 2024 by earfuledits

Remote work is great. It gives you flexibility and allows you to work from the comfort of your home. However, it can also create distractions because it is at your home. It takes more effort to stay focused and motivated and sometimes, depending on the home and family, it can be loud! So, how do you stay productive and focused while working in the comfort of your home?

For some simple and helpful tips, read this article: Home Office

Focus Groups: Transcribing Multiple Voices Effectively

Posted on December 3, 2024December 3, 2024 by earfuledits

Have you ever wondered how transcriptionists capture the chaos of multiple people talking? Whether it be a podcast with three or more people or a business meeting, a lot of times people will talk over each other and interrupt. It’s hard to understand! Sometimes it’s impossible to understand what is being said when there are multiple people talking over each other. However, there are some techniques that are used to capture the chaos of multiple voices.

Here are some techniques that I use:

1. Listen carefully.

I know this is an obvious one. It’s important to listen carefully no matter what you’re transcribing. I do follow one rule though, and that is: Do not rewind and listen to the same thing any more than three times. If I can’t understand what is being said after three listens, I move on and either put my best guess in or put in an [indiscernible]. After I finish the audio, I go back and listen again while proofreading.

2. Focus on the primary speaker if people are talking over each other or interrupting.

When the speech gets chaotic because people are interrupting and talking over one another, I usually try and focus in on the voice that was speaking first. Then, when there is a break, I will move on to whoever is speaking next. It is definitely difficult to navigate interruptions and overlapping speech, but it just takes practice.

3. Memorize voices.

This technique I am still working on. Sometimes there will be a couple of people that sound so similar I get mixed up on who is who when they speak. Try and memorize the voices that are speaking so you know how to label them. If you need to, go back and re-listen.

These are the techniques that I have used in the past when transcribing groups of people. I am pretty new to transcription. So, if you are a more experienced transcriptionist, feel free to comment below your techniques for transcribing multiple speakers.

A Day in the Life of a New Transcriptionist: Behind the Scenes

Posted on November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 by earfuledits

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!

Finding Balance: Transcription Pricing Strategies

Posted on November 18, 2024 by earfuledits

When starting a business, you need to figure out what your rates will be. You shouldn’t make it too expensive and drive potential clients away, but you also shouldn’t make it too cheap and sell yourself short. So how do we find a good balance where you are being paid what is fair for your work and are also cheap enough that more people will come to you?

To find out the balance and what is a proper rate for transcribing services, click on the following link: Transcription Pricing

Transcription Technology: AI

Posted on November 11, 2024 by earfuledits

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

Self-Care Strategies for Desk Jobs

Posted on November 6, 2024 by earfuledits

One thing I have always struggled with while working is taking breaks. I get in the zone and 3 hours have passed without me realizing it. For those of you who work at a desk job and struggle to take care of yourself properly, this is for you! Here are some self-care tips for the workplace and at home!

1. Take a break every 30 minutes to an hour.

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!

Social Media for Transcriptionists: Expanding Your Network

Posted on November 4, 2024November 4, 2024 by earfuledits

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

Legal Transcription: Ensuring Accuracy in Court Proceedings

Posted on October 23, 2024 by earfuledits

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

Medical Transcription: Clarifying the Medical Jargon

Posted on October 21, 2024October 21, 2024 by earfuledits

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

Tag: home-based job