I thought this month I would focus on what a normal day looks like for me as a transcriber. I work with Sonya, my business partner, although I am in Victoria and she is in Queensland, which doesn’t seem so far away when you consider when Sonya and I first began collaborating, she was living in the USA! We founded Top Team Transcripts a while back and then went on to create TranscribeRight.
But back to my normal day.
What does a day in the life of a transcriber look like?
Every morning I let the chooks out and walk my dog in the park, that is the one thing that I never miss. I might also go for a swim or the gym depending on what I feel the workload is going to be like.
Over a cup of tea, I will go through my emails, see what work has come in overnight to be allocated out to the team, who’s available, and what needs editing and returned to our clients. I will usually spend some time on social media, checking our Facebook pages and replying to any comments.
Sonya and I tend to work pretty much normal business hours, although I start at 10:00 and finish at 5:00 and Sonya starts at 9:00 and finishes at 4:00. If there’s something that either of us needs to do during the day, like an appointment, or if we have a lunch dated planned, or need to run errands, we just let each other know.
I would usually work steadily until lunch-time, either transcribing myself, or doing administrative work on the business. Over lunch I might read, hang out the washing (or get it in), possibly do some quilting if my sewing machine is already out, or catch up on calls to family or friends.
The afternoon is pretty similar, again with the flexibility of being able to pop out to appointments, or grab some shopping. Sonya and I are very lucky that we work so well together, we laughingly refer to our “hive mind,” as we often will have exactly the same thoughts or ideas at the same time.
Around 5:00 I can wind up, start dinner, put the chooks to bed and plan my evening. Because the office is temptingly near, I will often still reply to emails, or check our social media pages a couple of times, but that’s because I like to rather than having to.
So that’s it, a typical day for me as a transcriber and business owner.
What I love most…
I love being at home, at my own desk with my dog. I don’t really have to worry about colds and flu, as, being at home I get to avoid commuting and being in an office where I’d be coming into contact with people who are unwell. Sonya and I use ICQ and have a constant conversation going, so I never feel alone. I love that I can light a candle in my office if it’s a big dark and wintry to brighten up the day. I love not having to sit under fluorescent lights. I love the fact that if I’m tired, I can go next door and put my feet up for a few minutes next to the wood-burner, or, if it’s summer, spend a few minutes out in the sunshine. I can even take my work outside if I want to. I am the designer and master of my day, and my working environment.
I love that we can travel too. Sonya has just come back from a big trip to Europe, working as much or as little as she wanted to with her travel itinerary. I love getting away with my husband and our faithful four-legged companion in our camper, and that I can still work if I choose to with just a little planning to ensure I have connectivity, or give myself a file with a longer turnaround time so that I can download it while I have internet, transcribe it offline, and then upload it once I am back online.
If you could own your day, what would yours look like? TranscribeRight.