work from home – EarfulEdits

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!

The Future of Transcription: Exploring Emerging Trends

Posted on November 12, 2024 by earfuledits

After a little research, I found that there are three primary things that are trending in the transcription industry:

1. Academic Transcription

Academic transcription is in higher demand primarily because of the increase in technology. More and more classes and meetings are held virtually.

To learn more about the reasoning for the trend of academic transcription, click here: Academic Trend

2. Medical Transcription

Medical transcription is trending because of an increase in electronic medical records and people relying on transcription to accurately transcribe legal documents.

To learn more about the medical transcription trend, click here: Medical Trend

3. Artificial Intelligence

AI makes transcribing a lot easier. The only problem is that it is not always accurate. A lot of transcriptionists will use AI to transcribe things quickly and then proofread what was automatically written while listening to the audio.

To learn more about the AI trend, click here: AI Trend

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

Transcribing Podcasts with NO AI

Posted on October 17, 2024 by earfuledits

Although I personally have not had any experience with transcribing podcasts, I do hope to transcribe one someday. I did a little research on how to transcribe podcasts and, surprisingly, nothing came up except for AI tools. AI is not always the best way to transcribe. It’s almost never accurate. At my small business, Earful Edits, I do all of my transcribing manually with no AI assistance. So, if I ever have the privilege of transcribing a podcast, here is how I would go about doing it with no AI:

1. Download the audio to Express Scribe

I use a transcription software called Express Scribe for all my transcripts. It’s an easy way to transcribe by using a foot pedal to play and pause the audio hands-free. To see more about this transcription software, click on the following link: Express Scribe

2. Transcribe the audio in my client’s preferred way.

There are a few different ways a transcript can be written:

Standard verbatim: Cleaned up — omitting all uh’s, um’s, and stutters
Strict verbatim: Everything is typed up as is, including the stutters
Time stamps: Add the time of the audio every 15 seconds in addition the verbatim that the client wants

After the preferred format is communicated, get started on your transcript!

3. Proofread.

Once I have finished a transcript and am at the proofreading stage, I usually proofread to double speed audio. This makes the process a little faster. After that, I proofread with no audio. Sometimes just reading over a transcript with no audio can make mistakes a little clearer because you don’t have any distractions.

Although AI can be good for a faster turnaround time, I prefer to transcribe with no AI assistance. AI just can’t replace the quality human touch.

One thing to remember: If you are like me and manually transcribe your audio and dictation files, remember to take breaks! I am guilty of going into hyper focus mode and working for several hours straight on some transcripts. It’s good to take breaks every 30 minutes to an hour to avoid burnout. Take care of yourself!

Overcoming the Barriers: Transcription for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Posted on October 9, 2024 by earfuledits

When we watch movies or tv shows, we often see audio indicators such as [laughs], [distant crashing], [gasps], etc. Have you ever wondered how transcriptionists know how to add these indicators and when? Or how they do it without obstructing the actual words being said?

Check out this article to learn more about breaking down the barriers for the deaf and hard of hearing: Meeting the Needs of Deaf Clients

Tag: work from home