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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Use a timer and limit yourself, you'll feel much better

Posted By: and get more done. nm on 2006-03-21
In Reply to: Tried it, not for me. I do the thing with the - OP

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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!
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.
Call the cops on the suckerbill and THEY'LL know. I feel for you. nm
xx
I think it'll be Make-you-own night. I don't feel like cooking either. (nm)
ss
Can she join a mom's discussion group or exercise where they have childcare? She'll feel bette
s
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
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!
Is using a timer cheating?
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?
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.
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
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.

Usually there is no limit.
As an IC, you are not considered an employee where the company would only give you a certain amount of time.  I have taken time off sporadically as an IC, and the company has not said a word.  They actually thanked me for giving notice.  I guess on the norm even notice isn't required.  I just thought it courteous to give the company a few weeks to maybe find a replacement for that time period.  It has never been a problem whether it be a day off or 10 days off.  If I only need a day off though I don't even tell them, I just don't take the work.  The IC position I have though is an actual IC position in that I am not assigned work.  It is a typing pool basically, so if I do not want to work that day, I just don't take any work.  It has neve been a problem.  This type of arrangement in my opinion is true IC status. 
If you want to limit yourself, as IC that is your
x
Age limit
Is there any age limit to be a transcriptionist? Could a 16-year-old do it? Thanks!
age limit
Not sure about age limits, but you need to check out training programs before anything else. Check out this link: http://www.ahdionline.org/scriptcontent/mtschool.cfm
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
but limit I think 250 lines a day...nm
x
There is not a limit, but for some reason it
deletes entries and you have to start all over again.
limit internet
I, like you, want to make more money this year. . I am going to start by trying to limit my time surfing the net while working. . I have had a problem getting bored in the past. . but my resolution is to just stick to my 8-hour work day with maybe only 1 little internet break during the shift. .
If you retire and go on SS, there is a set limit--sm
you can earn per month, if you continue to work, or they will reduce your SS income per month by how much over the set amount you are allowed. NOT a pension retirement, SS retirement.
I don't think there is a time limit -
I live in Georgia also and the only reason we ever had notes on the charts was for insurance purposes. If the note is not transcribed, you are not supposed to bill insurance. Other than that, there is really no legal reason that the chart has to be dictated.

Now, ethically and for continuation of care purposes, yes, it needs to be done.

The doctor I worked for used to dictate, but it might get transcribed in a week and it might get transcribed in a month.
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.
We put frank away. as for your questions, please limit them
to inquiries about chapstick.  Number one, do not leave them in the sun as they will melt.  Any and all other questions I'm forced to get back to you at a later time, be vague or better yet not respond to you at all.  Good day. 
You can but you may blow up autocorrect because there is a limit
to how many entries you can put in autocorrect. The Productivity Talk forum has instructions.
You may be at your limit for the accounts you type on - sm
Those are not bad line counts. It really depends on the docs you can get and if they say literally the same thing again or again or say *use my normal.* I used to for years do 500-600 lines an hour when I had docs who were fast talkers who used all kinds of normals and I had a much smaller pool of them (say 30-40 docs). I now work from a HUGE pool of docs, all acute care, from 5 different hospitals with very different account specifics for each hospital. A good day for me is 250-275 lines an hour no matter how fast I slam the keyboard. You may be doing the best you can do with the accounts you have. :-)
Doubt any way can earn more than the limit of
x
When she took retire. she agreed to 900 limit.
x
It will not affect MT's. I think the limit is 250GB and
the tech people with my company says an MT uses around 2GB/month.  Even if that is a conservative figure, still leaves you a lot of GB. 
also remember that they limit how much you can withdraw
from your Paypal account every month, otherwise they'll require you to upgrade your account which tacks on another fee.

I only use Paypal to get paid as a last resort and then I use the fees as a writeoff. If I can wait for a snail mail check, I will.
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
I don't know if they get paid but I know they limit the people who will buy with these crazy name

Can you imagine having to say I live at 555 Squirrel Run or 555 Wild Turkey Walk for the next 10-20 years?  Just the image of squirrels and wild turkeys alone would force me to look elsewhere.  Got any good names for streets? 


$3.40 in eastern NC. I just sat in line for an hour to get gas, and they had a $35 limit. nm

There is also a limit. People in expensive cars
pulling up to stand in line for free money.  Doctors and lawyers, supposedly respected business owners, etc who really did not lose that much, at least not to the point where they can't recover on their own.  Help the ones who can't help themselves but the ones who can help themselves should be ashamed!
What state are you in? There is time limit that applies
In Calif, 45 days past due is enough for default to go into effect. Then, my loan goes to atty's desk and they begin collection.

I would say to you to pay your mtg before anything else at all other than food/utilities and insurance for medical care.

sorry, didn't realize there was a time limit. I
personally just read some of the posts.
1400 - that's about my limit - and a real good day
nm
welcome, you dont' pay to send out or receive until you go over a certain limit. sm
i use several different email addies with them so that when i run out of room, i change to a different acct to send work/receive work.
Mobile broadband 5GB limit with ALL carriers
I signed up with Sprint last year when it was unlimited, and starting in July 2008, they put a cap of 5GB, which is what all the other carriers had done also. That said, if you are using the connection mainly for work, the cap should not be a problem. I downloaded a program that keeps track of my usage as well as use the Sprint site to check it occasionally. You can't be downloading tons of MP3s or watching a lot of youtube or other video things during each month, but it doesn't have to be completely avoided either.