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Is using a timer cheating?

Posted By: princesspug on 2006-09-18
In Reply to:

I work on production only.  I do have a set schedule, but the company I work for is fairly flexible.  I have started using a timer where I set it for 60 minutes and stop it if I am interrupted, have to get up, etc.  This gives me a more accurate picture of exactly how much I can type in an hour.  Is this cheating not to just go by clock hour?


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I did not see it as an Indian country cheating - I saw it as an American cheating - see message
The way I understood that post was an American woman was getting the contract and then sending her work she was supposed to be doing to the Indian to do and then she was not paying them after they did her work for her.  I did not see that it was an American masquerading as an Indian or an Indian masquerading for an American - I think the poster was somebody that had been hoenstly cheated of a paycheck that they had earned - I may not agree with our work going to India, but if they do manage to get the work, they should be paid for it after they have done it.
I use a little handheld digital timer from Pyrex (our oven timer doesn't work) - sm
and it's great, has two digital windows, clock on top, counter (which is what I use) on the bottem, then you can switch "modes" to a screen with 2 timers if that is what you want. Cost about $10. So I time myself more now since it helps me buckle down and I see who I am fastest at this way.....average anywhere from 12-18 minutes of dictation an hour doing this--- unfortunately I spend too much time looking up addresses but I hope my address directory will be to the point one day where I don't have to look up anymore (or at least not much). Have fun.
Who is cheating who then?

Not cheating
I didn't mean to sound like I was trying to cheat and you didn't have to be so nasty. I did NOT "choose" to retire. My daughter and son-in-law are on their second tour in the resort community of Baghdad. His mother and I are sharing raising their three girls.  My company sent all their work to India and I could not find work at the age of 63 that would pay what I had been making. Now that I am getting my social security, I am only allowed to make $900 a month and I think I will make too much as fast as I type. I am trying to work 20 hours because I want to and need to, but I am not going to throw my granddaughters away while their parents are fighting on their country's orders.  I simply cannot work full time while they are over there. My son-in-law's mother cannot quit or retire. She is too young and is single. Don't be so hasty to judge people, lady. My question was how does it work with being an IC, not how to cheat!!! I read somewhere that you can have your husband's taxes withheld at a higher rate and I read it on THIS board. That is not CHEATING. I just wanted to know how it works. If all I can type is $900 a month, obviously I don't want it all going out to taxes and I was trying to see how that other lady did it. I'm glad your life is so perfect that you can sit back and accuse other people of cheating. Are YOUR kids over their facing death every day? I am TRYING to work!
Not cheating but ....
All that has been said on here is that you can have your husband overwhold to pay your tax liability as you file joint at the end of the year.  But if you chose to retire and can now make only $900 a month but need more than that to tale care of your grandchildren, sorry but it is your problem.  Have your daughter and son-in-law pay you.  Not trying ro sound cold or callous but you chose to retire early to do this.  I am sure that one of them could have gotten out if the other went.  But the guidelines say such and it is such.  No way around it unless you work under the table.  Good luck. 
And there are those who are cheating by
adding lots of extra spaces in the report where there should be blank lines. This adds to the line count and not visible unless formatting is turned on in Word.

There are many ways to cheat the system, but everyone is accountable for their own soul in the end.

Respect is what we should be striving for, and then and only then will our income increase. Doctors have no respect for us because we have sunk to the lowest of the lows.
I'M NOT CHEATING
EXCUSE ME FOR ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION ON A COUPLE OF THINGS. I WAS NOT ASKING FOR THE ANSWERS. I FOUND THIS WEBSITE BECAUSE I WAS RESEARCHING AND SOMEONE CAME ONTO THIS WEBSITE WITH THE EXACT SAME QUESTIONS I HAD ON SOME THINGS OTHER THAN WHAT I NEED NOW AND SHE WAS GIVEN THE ANSWERS. I HAVE BEEN COMPLIMENTED ON MY RESEARCH SKILLS FROM THE INSTRUCTORS AND HAVE STRAIGHT As. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HEARD SOMETHING RIGHT ON THE TAPE. I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PLACE TO GET SOME ADVICE. I RESENT THAT ANYONE SAYS I AM CHEATING. I WOULDN'T DO THAT. I CAN RESEARCH. THANKS FOR NOTHING.
Most companies consider that cheating and
the e-mail was very, very misleading by trying to make everyone think this person typed this much.   What low class company this must be to resort to this out and out lie by management. Anyone that goes to work for them after reading this gets what they deserve.  
check for cheating us
i agree with you completely -- the check is valid for 180 days, so i'm holding off until I get verification on how they got the figures that I'm satisfied with and what the lawyer's come up with. They're so underhanded that if that lawsuit does become a class action lawsuit their lawyers would probably come up with some kind of excuse saying that you're disqualified if you did cash that check indicating that you were okay with their figure.
Cheating = anything you're doing with
a member of the opposite sex that you are hiding from your spouse because you know he/she will be hurt by it and find it out of bounds.

That includes with a live person over the internet, on the phone, or in person.

If you don't want DH to know about it, you're cheating.
cheating/infidelity
It would be hard to forgive.... however, there are various reasons people cheat.  Perhaps the couple have lost touch with each other, perhaps the other person withholds intimacy.  In my estimation there is a reason people cheat. I think most women do because they are lacking or neglected in their marriage by the husband.. ie.  he is never around, he ignores his wife like she isn't there, has priorities that are not healthy for the marriage.  I am not saying all this stuff makes it right.  But when a person's heart is not tended to, just plants are not taken care, they wither and die a little bit everyday, thus leaving a person empty, lonely, and afraid.  When the heart is not taken care of, a little bit of life is gone from a person until the begin to feel cheated and neglected.   A man can take care of things at home for his wife, do dishes, fix this, fix that, but in the end is that enough to keep you heart nurtured? 
Not so. That's not cheating you in any fashion.
However the MTSO chooses to contract with dictation providers is up to them.

The MT's only concern is the contract between their own services and the MTSO.

If she wants to charge the client by the page and pay the MT by the character, that's fine.

MTs have GOT to get over this idea that they are the end-all/be-all ... that every decision should be made around them and include them. Not true.


The big companies are cheating themselves, as well.
The pay big money for all the equipment & software to speed up TAT, and then sell themselves cheaply to the hospitals by allowing themselves to be dragged into a price-war. Hiring offshore MTs just compounds the problem. If they had stuck with US MT's, kept the work onshore, and kept their prices at US levels instead of Third-World levels, they'd be rolling in $$. Unfortunately, just because one is in a CEO or management position, doesn't necessarily mean their IQ matches their overstuffed pay envelopes. And in most cases, it doesn't even come close.
The big companies are cheating you?

and have never met you?  They have maybe talked with you on the phone.  They give you vacation time.  I just don't get it.  An IC might gain an account for 14 cpl with an office.  The national is only charging say 10 or 11 because they can afford to since they have platforms and the ease to take on high volume.  They pay you 7, 8, or maybe 9, provide benefits, yet the MT feels cheated? 


I totally agree that quality matters, but when you are an hourly employee you don't feel that pressure of TAT.  Also, the raises aren't there either.  So, you wind up working making the same paycheck even though you are still typing an 8-hour day and just as tired.  Production makes you more $$$ no matter how you slice it.  I've done both, and production is better believe me. 


Read again, I'm not the one who actually said you were CHEATING....
However, you did say, and I quote:

**I need a few more answers on some of the dictation for the final. If you are out there reading this and can help me, please let me know. It is just a few clarifications on things I have researched and just can't find. I need to do great on this final.**

Now, I am not the one who called you a cheater, but you might have wanted to word the above differently, as you did say you needed ANSWERS and needed to do great on this final. I'm just saying.......

Good luck to you I really hope you do well.
cheating lines
Please tell me how you figured that out. I've been very suspicious about my company as well. I keep track of everything, the number of the report, where the report was sent, status of uploaded or not and number of lines; however, if they are fudging you, it won't show up on your line count that you see. It will mean that they have messed with the counting system on the software. People are very sneaky and cruel. I've been doing this for 25 years and cannot get above 100 lines an hour. Now, tell me how that's possible what with using short cuts, etc. Please let me know so I know what to look for. Thanks
Get you a timer and sm....
and see if you are actually working that entire time or if you are like me and very distracted and really only work 5 of the 8 hours. I am terrible about checking emails, looking out the window, surfing the internet, etc., etc. and once I really look at how long I worked I really only got in about a third the time I thought I was actually working. This may not be you at all, but this would help you to see if this is part of the problem. You might also get you a notepad that you have on your desk and write down everytime you answer the phone, answer a question from spouse or kids, got up to do something, etc. and see what type of distractions are taking away from your working time. I am talking from experience here. If I was not so distracted I would probably do at least 2000 lines a day but I am lucky to get 1300. Just a thought and good luck.
Timer
XNoteStopwatch.com
YOUR lying, cheating snake....
lied us into a war with over 3500 American SOLDIERS dead, and going on a trillion dollar cost. No wonder bridges are falling down - the U.S. has been neglecting infrastructure needs in favor of militarism for MANY decades.

That said, give the "sex lie" diatribe a rest: Nobody died when bush's predecessor lied...

Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Even Bush admits that now.

They used the fear and outrage from 9/11 to lie about WMD in Iraq - and to then JUSTIFY invading Iraq in order to steal it's resources. Deal with it.

BOTH PARTIES are corrupt - but its the evil in office now whose lying should concern *all* patriots the most - because OUR country is in crisis - regardless of party we all should step up and demand our policies change.

As to you flip comment about knowing what's going to happen with the weather? Give that a rest, too. there is all KIND of documentation showing THIS admnistration prefers to fund FAKE wars instead of take care of the people at home. He was warned about 9/11, failing levees in New Orleans BEFORE Katrina, AND crumbling infrastructure like the BRIDGE in MN.

In fact, he CUT FUNDING FOR THE LEVEES in New Orleans THREE YEARS RUNNING before Katrina.

Please do your homework before you defend *any* administration. Don't rely on PAID radio or TV personalities to tell you what YOU need to know in order to protect YOUR country from bad administrations. They have an agenda and trust me PROPERLY informing you is not part of that agenda.

And yes, I know this thread is turning into a topic for the other board...


That's called cheating and scamming and
Talk about unethical and criminal.

Falsifying payroll records, etc.


A real old old timer
When I learned how to type in high school, we had the manual typewriters with no letters on the keys.  The first electric typewriter when I was a senior, was awesome! You barely had to touch it.  I can't remember either the name of the first "word processor" I used, but I know that soon after came the "Mag Card".  I definitely don't miss any of these.  Yes, that was before production.    Boy, just thinking about this makes me realize how "ancient" I am and how far technology has come in my lifetime. 
TIMER FOR TRANSCRIPTION?

Here is a question for you gals (and guys).  Where can I find a timer like the chess players use that you can hit the button and it stops, hit it again and it continues.  I would very much like to be able to track just how much time I actually spend on transcribing versus jumping up and down doing housework, answering the phone, door, etc.


Thanks!


I used to use a timer, but not anymore.
It would jump the living daylights out of me every time as I was "in the transcribing zone." :)
Sounds like me to a "T" -- I use a timer too - sm
I find if I set it in 15 minutes increments I get more done; then I try 30 minutes. I find with the harder doctors I can get up to 12-14 minutes an hour done that way. One doctor I can do 25-28 minutes in an hour this way (he's my favorite), even then though I only average about 160 lines an hour since I have to look up addresses, or look up an unfamiliar term, etc. All that slows you down too. I am getting better though in the time department but still have a long way to go. Kills me to think I can have my work done in 6 hours or less IF I would buckle down; don't know why I torture myself but need to give myself a good kick in the butt!
Only part timer here
and i have a housekeeper, have for years (say 12-15) even when it was just me and my child at the house. I do not like housework, never have so I have someone to come over not every week because only the 2 of us and the 3 furry ones. I do not think that expensive.
Part-timer, too sm

Half the year I only worked 15 hours a week, second half worked 30 hours a week and will make just over $30,000.


for old part-timer
Yes, I have.
I think 0 Vicryl looks weird.
The 0 could easly be lost somewhere. It makes more sense to be typed as 0-Vicryl, so that one knows where this '0' belongs. Otherwise it is just dangling there all by itself.

I looke it up and the right way is like that:
0 Vicryl
3-0 Vicryl.
This has no logic.
Hopefully you're not cheating on an employment test, right?
shame on you
Wealth/Shrinks/SATs/Cheating
This has been occurring forever in another way - hiring a shrink to get your child an appropriate score to be placed in the ADVANCED classes and keeping others out who bust their butts to make honest A's.  Went thru this with my own children...who were gifted in some areas, not as great in others, but certainly not slow, and working hard to make the A's and B's.  You can pay a shrink to give them that IQ score they need that puts them in the "click" in this area.  It's okay though.  My kids have done great regardless and don't give a @#$ about clicks and who owns what!
If your child was caught cheating at school,
x
I needed to divorce cheating DH of 27 years. This was
xx
I use a stopwatch but I'd rather have a chess timer!
Makes a real difference for me!
Agree with Old Timer. Don't shortchange sm
yourself. A good education will make this very difficult profession a whole lot easier for you. After college, though, you should get a job in a hospital or clinic to get some good in-person mentoring. The MTs who don't do this and go straight to working at home end up having to struggle and never quite making it.
I'm an old-timer who loves PRD also and will share with you what little I know

PRD is DOS based and must run in DOS-based WP program.... I have a link that explains how to load WP DOS if you are interested.  Looks pretty complicated to me... I gave up as realized I was eventually going to have to move to Windows.  Bought InstantText which allows you to add PRD glossaries - but I hate it!! 


http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos/windowsxp.html#installguide


Part-timer here and I have housekeeper
NM
Desktop Timer- Where can I get this online?
For Free.
Weber short timer
I too have only been with the company a short 3 months. Great supervisor, 2 good accounts. I do radiology and work 3rd shift so I do run out some nights. But plenty of opportunity to make it up during the day if I want. So far thats the ONLY negative I have seen.  :)  Good luck and welcome aboard.....
No distractions. Stay in your chair. A timer.
x
Use a timer and limit yourself, you'll feel much better
x
digital kitchen timer and a scratchpad ....
I am always startled at how much tallying line count every hour or two keeps me focused. Some days just spread out vaguely and my line count suffers as I get distracted or restless.

The info your platform provides should be enough ... to keep some sort of a running tally.

I trust almost no one is still doing manual logs (best kept in Excell, imho), but yes, even with manual logs, a "bad" hour total can provide the seat-in-chair motivation to perform better next hour.

Taking breaks is a good idea -- but I admit I still spend a lot of time playing catch-up.

I do the same thing for set my timer for 20 minutes, that 1 nap does the trick usually for the rest
of my day (if I happen to be working during the day). If I start nodding off late at night, I just go to bed and get up early if need be to finish up.
(more than 1)Quiet, not coming here, timer, expander, deadlines - nm
x
At one time, someone posted a link for a free clock timer. sm
I've searched the archives but could not find it. It was for timing your actual time spent transcribing. Anybody remember what it was. TIA.
Get out the timer. You'll have to force yourself to work uninterrupted for periods of time.
Just keep in mind that you WANT the money. Best of luck!
You can also download (free) a product called Cool Timer from CNet.
You can set it to act like a stopwatch or to countdown time. I use it all the time and it has helped me immensely. I just have it open all the time on my toolbar. http://www.download.com/Cool-Timer/3000-2350_4-10062255.html