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Stretch .. stretch before you work, during breaks,

Posted By: Busy MT'ing on 2005-09-21
In Reply to: okay now i'm motivated but - you're like super MT (this is not a flame) sm

after you work. Get the circulation up and keep flexible and limber. It will help.

Yes, your position will make a LOT of difference.

I type at my desk for probably 70-75% of my work. Have to adjust my chair so my legs are neither pushing back to keep me in the chair nor dangling. I use the pull-out keyboard tray but put a huge Stedman's Medical Dictionary under my keyboard so it is up high enough that it is not pulling down on my shoulders to type. Keep my monitor up so I don't find myself with my chin on my chest trying to "look down" into it.

When I've taken my 1st break, I move into the living room and work on my laptop. I can sit either in my recliner or on the couch and have an adjustable laptop table with a wireless keyboard and mouse. It is very comfortable sitting and helps the legs, back, bottom and feet. Change of scenery helps too. However, I do NOT even turn on the TV whatsoever or I'll watch it instead. No TV. No answering the phone (unless it is MQ or Spheris or son's school). At night I move back in here to my desk so that I can finish my lines and not be disturbed by the TV or XBox or PlayStation or company, etc.

You CAN increase your line count. Don't try to do it all at once.

Oh, and be careful what you eat before working and during breaks. Eat lightly, a split between protein and carbohydrates. For me, caffeine and sugar give me a sudden burst of energy but then drop me down as the blood sugar drops drastically so I try to eat fruit, tuna on wheat bread, raw veggies, etc. Keeps you from being in a mental fog and feeling all bloated up.

Good luck! Email me if you need some tips. I'll tell you all I can. It sometimes takes a bit of time for me to answer but I'll get to you.

I'm tired and going to bed. Good luck!



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stretch your leg
I lay on the floor and have my son pull my leg. Believe it or not, it helps fast.
This might be a stretch,
Do you think this might have anything to do with "visible characters" (i.e., excluding spaces)?

Just a thought.
You have to get up and stretch, go for a walk
and take lots of breaks from just sitting, even if they are only 5 min. breaks. It helps both mentally and physically.
must say it that way so it can stretch across her tongue better sm
lycra being that ultra stretchy stuff swimsuits are made of.
can you sit on it for 8 to 10 hours at a stretch? NMSG
nm
Maybe a stretch, but a very good question
to ask before one starts work. Might be a way to blow smoke, depending on whom you are talking to.
If I stand very straight and stretch I am 5 feet too.
I have a reacher for the higher cabinets, though tend to put things there that aren't used very often.  I also keep a low step stool for when DH or my kids aren't around.   I don't have problems with my office chair not being low enough, so I guess mine goes lower than others.   In typing class in jr. high I would cross my ankles and my teacher was always telling me to put my feet flat on the floor.  He always got a good laugh when I told them they didn't reach.  I had to sit on a thick phone book in driver's ed and had to have extension put on my gas/brake pedals in my first car.   My dream would be to be 5'2".  
I have to take lots of breaks. I work a little then

cook breakfast and load the dishwasher.  I work some more and then do some more chores.  Sometimes I do a hobby for about 15 minutes, or I prep dinner, work in the yard if the weather is nice.  It seems like I'm working 12 hours/day that way, but I'm not and I'm getting housework done too, which tended to pile up when I tried working in 4 hour stretches. 


I also try to make a game out of it sometimes.  I reward myself for working 2 hours straight - maybe read, work on hobby, something just for me, not something that needs doing. 


 


Do you work an actual 8 hrs a day if hired for such or is it more like 7 with your breaks, etc. nm
s
Feeling too guilty to work after son breaks down.
My son is 9 years old and I love him very much.  The very reason I started doing transcription was to be home with him.  Where we live we have no family nearby so it is just me, my husband and my son.  I recently lost the account I had been on for 6 years and was moved to a new account that is 3 times bigger with 3 times more doctors and all new way of doing transcription.  Needless to say, this has slowed me down work wise a lot.  I am slowly learning the new account but now I just don't have the get up and go to work.  My son just broke down in tears before going to bed, telling me he feels like all I do is work anymore and don't have time for him.  The sad part is that I feel the same way but I am having to work more hours to keep full time on new account.  I love my son more than anything.  He is my life.  I really need to find a better balance between work and home but this seems impossible.  All I can do now is sit and cry myself, knowing my son feels this sad and upset.  If anyone has had similar situation and has any advice, I'll take it.
Completely addicted, do them on breaks from work and before bed.nm
x
She's get BIG tax breaks by doing that, not...sm
so much here. She can be a cheerleader for everybody else to be helping US citizens, especially during the hurricane, but MOST of her donations go overseas. I'm sick of her high-falooting ways and uppity attitude! I liked her at first, but now she just reeks of "I'm bigger and better." Not allowed on my TV anymore! JUST MY OPINION!!!!!
yes of course I do, I eat, drink, take breaks
40k a year now.  Work your shifts guys.
oh my heart breaks for these
families -- to be told they are alive and now that they are not -- please pray for these families, as only God can provide them any level of comfort now.
are working 24/7/365 and no breaks...sm

All these people, if they were making the BIG BUCKS that they claim to be making, would have absolutely NO TIME WHATSOEVER to be on forum boards posting 24/7.


Most posters embellish and most are full of it!!!


So, yep, I agree totally with your post. 


Kenmore - never breaks
nm
breaks and lunch

I think the way it goes is that you must be allowed to take breaks and lunch.  I was an employee for a company that did not care when you worked, as long as you met turnaround time. 


frequent breaks? nm
x
IRS Gives Advice on Tax Breaks
Published: 12/22/06, 5:25 PM EDT
By JIM ABRAMS




























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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service on Friday advised taxpayers on how to file for deductions passed by Congress too late to be included in 2006 forms.


Nearly 1 million taxpayers may not have their returns processed until early February, the agency warned.


The instructions involve three deductions renewed by Congress just before it adjourned two weeks ago and signed into law by President Bush this week: for state and local sales taxes in states that don't have income taxes, for higher tuition costs and for educator expenses.


The tax agency urged taxpayers seeking the three deductions to file electronically. Software will be updated to include the three tax provisions and taxpayers "will get their refunds faster through e-file," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "Even more importantly, e-file will greatly reduce the chances of making an error compared to claiming the deductions on the paper 1040."


The IRS said that some 6 million taxpayers in states without state income taxes who receive Form 1040 will by mid-January get a special mailing of Publication 600, which will include tables and instructions for claiming the sales tax deduction.


Publication 600 was also posted Friday to the IRS web site, http://www.irs.gov/.


Form 1040 will not be updated and the higher education and educator expense deductions cannot be claimed on Form 1040A.


The IRS said the deduction for tuition and fees can be claimed on Form 1040, line 35, "Domestic production activities deduction," by entering "T on the dotted line to the left of that line. Similarly, the educator expense adjustment can be claimed on line 23, "Archer MSA Deduction," by entering "E" on the dotted line to the left of that line entry.


The sales tax deduction was claimed on about 11.2 million tax returns filed for tax year 2005. It applies to nine states: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.


The higher education provision, which allows deductions for up to $4,000 of tuition and fee costs, was claimed on about 4.7 million returns.


The educator expense provision, allowing teachers to deduct up to $250 for personal expenditures on school supplies, was claimed on 3.5 million returns.


The tax agency said it will not be able to process tax returns claiming these deductions until early February. It said that based on filings earlier this year, about 930,000 tax returns claimed any of the three provisions by Feb. 1. This year, the IRS expects to receive about 136 million tax returns.


The three tax breaks expired on Jan. 1 this year, and thus were no longer part of tax law when the main IRS forms went to print in early November.


page breaks
I just press "control" enter and this gives me a good page break.
If you are FT employee, must take two 15 min breaks and 30 min lunch
But, I am sure, many MTs do not do this and say they do.
Working 40 hrs. with lunches/breaks..how do you sm
I have to set up my schedule with my company.  I have to work 35-40/week to be considered full time.  When I log off the system during my workday to eat or take a quick break, I don't believe that it is considered part of my 35-40 hrs; I have to be logged in and at the computer for the hours to count.  Just wondering if you schedule yourselves a lunch or always work through an 8-hr shift, or schedule yourself a 9-hr shift minus your lunch, or how you do things....I can't see how I can work 40/week (35 maybe) without scheduling myself for 9-hr days unless I don't plan to stop and refuel somehow!  thanks
Take breaks, though! You'll regret it if you don't!
NM
I do the exact same thing... take breaks often..nm
''
...and then we'd be on a clock, taking breaks and lunches just like SM
we were sitting in an office slashing throats over the thermostat.
Just be thankful that you don't actually see the person, I did. Your heart breaks for them. Goo
nm
Look, I am as tired of everything as everyone. My heart breaks for MTs who cannot buy present for t
and it breaks my heart for people not helping other people. I don't know what your point is. I just don't want to be attacked and it seems we get off the subject and take one line from a post and use it against the person.

I have given people money that came to me door saying they couldn't pay their rent when I didn't really have it, not the whole rent but what I could give. It wasn't important that I knew if they were telling the truth or not, it was important to me I could help. I took 2 cats to help a woman who was evicted from her apartment or she was going to leave them there. I already had 2 cats. I am not religious but it seems strange I was taking my trash out and commented to her about moving when she told me she had been evicted, and about the 2 cats. She was not able to get them back and now I have 4 cats. I gave her money during this time and I did not even have a car. I gave her money on several occasions and I did not put retrictions on where it went. I gave her what I could without going hungry or my cats going hungry and I know she appreciated it. My new neighbors borrowed over 100.00 from me and 2 months later I asked them when they could repay it and it made them mad. They didn't speak to me the rest of the time I lived in that apartment. So what I am saying about that is don't loan money you cannot afford to get back, I already knew that but I was going through a bad time with a company I was working for and needed it. Some people are users but I would rather believe and do, if I help someone it helps me more. The woman with the cats stayed in that apartment for 3 nights with no electricity because she had nowhere to go. The people who borrowed the money from me had a little girl and they said they needed it for a drug prescription. I could have said no I didn't have it, and no I didn't have so much money I could throw it away but even though it made them mad at me, I know that little girl got her medicine. Maybe it was all a lie, I don't really know, but in my mind she got the medicine.

I don't know why it offended you that I said don't attack me, you don't know my situation and I don't know yours. I have no family, just my pets and if someone showed up at my door I would give them what I could, I am just built that way. If I said no, I would shut the door, and then probably run down the street to find them. I have a roof over my head, doesn't mean I will in 2 months, but so many people don't. I am sorry but I really hurt over this.
Tax breaks to companies that outsource overseas... tic tic tic
Apparently, the President has vowed to stop giving tax breaks to companies that outsource jobs overseas.  That is a GREAT thing for MT's!  Woohoo!  Can't happen soon enough. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/15/obama.taxes/?iref=mpstoryview
That makes sense, taking frequent breaks,
plus you would only have to work 3 days a week to be full-time. Wow! I seldom get OPs, think the editors cherry-pick them off system because OPs are very repetitive and easy to expand. Thanks for input, will leave you alone now so you can stay busy. I need to stay off this board during working hours. Would definitely help my line count.
I use the same - Love oil of Olay! Mary Kay breaks my face out. nm
x
I had 439 for an hour yesterday, 1800+ if I don't take breaks in 7 to 9 hours.nm
nm
I think is called preferred vendor? Facility gets certain monetary breaks to only use one

:+


yeah tough crowd. makes or breaks a comedian. don't quit your day job andromeda
no one is bent out of shape. it is what it is and the people bent out of shape are those who want everyone to laugh generically without any thought to the content.
I get my work from an FTP site that they load the work to, however I don't have pool work so to
speak, but I tell them how many minutes a day I want.  The work is generally put in my box by 5 pm every day, then I have until 10 am the following day for some priority work, or 3:30 pm for the rest, so TAT is not too bad. I would like to work less at night though, but I working on that. My downside is I do not get the same dictators day to day, there are a few I do on a semi-regular basis though, some generate great lines but take longer to do that other doc's and are not "money-makers", I also do not get paid for spaces so that hurts a bit too.  This is WP5.1 too.....so very antiquated but that is what the hospital uses, so not much choice there. But I understand what you mean about the C-phone. I was just doing another job with C-phone recently...they incidentally did not tell me how to get off of the system, which was very simple.  I'd finish a job, then hit stop and hangup if I wanted to get off or quit working.  That is what you need to do if you want to sleep, eat, etc.  Don't feel guilty, do what you signed up for, believe me they watch the pools and will get others to do the work you don't finish.  If they get on your case remind them that you are only PT and only want 500 lines a day, etc.  It's not worth killing yourself over.  Good Luck.
You go by your schedule and have no work. Everytime I get on to work, there is always work.
x
Then you would have no life at all except work, work, work if you did that. I wouldn't do it. nm
.
Same thing with nationals. You work all the time to keep the account caught up when others dont work
and then when they decide to put a whole lot of extra people on your accounts and run you out they could care less about how much you worked.
Have a hospital I work for and they consistently change work types and do line counts. (sm)
Management just doesn't understand in order to crank out the work you need to be proficient by typing the same accounts. Go figure, they just don't get it ??
Usually work "live" on a Cphone, while connected. There are ways to record & work off line, bu
s
steady work...gearing up to start new account....but there was no work on Tues as it was a holiday
Be patient with your eyes open....
I work for Warminster at MQ and I am sick to death of being jerked around with no work all the time.
I would like a job where I can depend on the work and it does not seem to be in this office of MQ.
Speaking of offshoring MT work, who does not directly send work offshore?
Just curious.  Has anyone got a list of companies who do not send work offshore?  Precyse?  MQ?  Spheris? 
Becky you work in a great place. With no one hovering, I bet you get a lot more work done w/o agoniz
wants what. The only people qualified to do QA on my reports are the dictating doctors and the rest is just pure waste of money and time. If I have a question fine. But this random QA bites and hurts everyone. BTW, I don't have random QA for those who seem to think I may have an ax to grind. No dog in this fight. Just common sense.
Good. Why dont you send some our way. What office do you work for so I can call and get your work.
:
Before needing to work, I did volunteer work through the Junior League where I am from in Texas. lm

Junior League was like a full-time job sometimes, but I loved it. Now that I have to work, even though it is from home, I still volunteer through my son's school.  I am a school teacher in my previous (pre-MT) life, so I volunteer my tutoring services for children who need the help beyond what the schools are able to provide but whose parents cannot afford to pay for private tutoring. I also know how you felt about being afraid.  I was strangely afraid before I joined the Junior League.  It was just the unknown. But I was SO blessed by being able to help.  Honestly, I am sure that it helped me just as much, if not more, than I helped others.  Go for it.  You won't be sorry.  (Just remember that you have to say NO when you have to say no, okay?  Remember that and you will be richly blessed by the experience!)


nm would you mind if I asked where you work and what type of work hosp, clinic ?
x
All I know is it caused the company I work for to be unable to do all work due today and the rest
:+
Just return the work, submit your bill, the scurry and find more work elsewhere. sm
They will never meet with you before next week. It is Thursday, already. Be prepared to sue for payment, because you will probably need to. But, most of all, find other work elsewhere, because I have a feeling this final payment will be a long time coming.
I work on Escription platform and the adapter didnt work for me. I tried it on my laptop though
and the foot pedal would just not play correctly with the adapter. I think others have tried it and done it but it just didnt work for me.
IC sets their own hours. As long as the work is done by the deadline, you decide when to work.

Glad I work somewhere where you cannot cherrypick....our work is divvied out by minutes and - sm

the office manager (who does not normally transcribe) dishes out the work, so some days are easy, others are a mix.  So no cherrypicking is possible.  You type up what is given to you, period.  She will alternate the tough one's out so no one person gets him/her all the time unless they want him/her and are used to that doc, or everyone gets a little piece, etc. There are days when I ask for easy work (tired, chemo day, Jen sick, or a lot going on, etc.) but not often, generally I get a mix but they all get easier the more you do them.  I am not working as much as I should be of course, every week is different here so I adjust my limited work schedule accordingly, so sometimes it hard to get better at certain docs.  I used to have a lot of blanks with the Trauma ER unit, but I have been doing that a lot lately and now and very good at it, still a time consuming account but at least I am improving. -----------------------  But I believe the OP was stating she did it to clear out the log, not to make more lines, and only when she was asked to do so.  At an old job I had #s meant everything, everyday we would get report (2=4 x a day) of the backlog, and emails pleading us to work, work, work.  The QA rules sucked  (MQ probably is basing their new plan loosly on this one), however we did not get penalized, just chewed out if you sent in too much work to QA (over 5%, and was 80% ESL), I would imagine eventually fired if you continued to do it. They were a great place to work for until they re-organized....it all went downhill from there.  This is why I prefer smaller MTSOs, it's not all about the #s, yes, they want production too but at least it's not so cut-throat.