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Any tips for increasing motivation/production? - Saugust

Posted: Nov 15, 2010

I'm not sure if I'm burned out on MT as a whole (I don't think I am), just my current MTSO, or if I've got some component of ADD. Whatever it is, I need to get out of this slump. Increasing production just because I need the money doesn't seem to be a motivator.

I've been doing this for 21 years now. I've always been a little distractible, but it seems to be getting worse.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for improving their production (when the work is available that is), especially when the dictators want to make you throw in the towel? Maybe I'm too focused on quality over quantity, but the few times I've tried to just go "OK, screw it. I'm not trying to make sense of your gobbledygook sentences anymore. You're getting what you say, word for word" my conscience just won't let me.

Reading that some MTs are doing 350+ lines an hour on straight transcription just astounds me. What am I doing wrong that an outstanding day, for me, is maybe 250 an hour? Unless it's a "please pull up the last report and I'll make changes as we go" dictation, I've been lucky to put out 150 lately.

Pulling up normals seems to be a joke most of the time. What one person adds as a normal is far from what the dictator is actually saying. Bolding won't be turned off after the heading, so you start typing, see it's bolded, then have to go back and fix it. Some of what's included is even a direct contradiction of the account specifics. And these are ones that have been added by the MTSO office staff.

I'm not bitter. I'm thankful to have a job right now, as frustrating as it can be sometimes. I just want to be more productive, for my own sake as well as for the patients.

I agree - cll

[ In Reply To ..]
that quality is important. I also just can not put out an inferior product. If something does not make sense and I can not make sense out of it, I will throw it back to the office as an incomplete. I just can not bring myself to put my initials on work that is shotty.

As for the motivation, have you tried changing your surroundings? If you have an office that you work in, maybe a change of the paint color or hanging a new picture to look at. Also one thing I have tried lately as I sometimes have this same problem is pick something that I really want or a few things that I want to work towards and put together a collage of pictures and hang it in front of my desk to remind me of what I am working towards. Also, if possible keep destractions to a minimum, such as TV, etc. playing while you are working. I can get some distracted sometimes just by what other people are watching on TV and totally lose track of time and what I am doing.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Thank you for the reply. I do the same thing - saugust

[ In Reply To ..]
with the TV. My fiance is working from home too, and he always has a TV or two on even if he's not in the house. Both are within earshot of my desk. It's usually on the History or Discovery Channel. Sometimes it something I could care less about. Other times it can be pretty interesting and I'll get up in the middle of a job because something caught my attention. So I'm always turning off the darn things.

The Net is another huge distraction. Seeing how we get our work, that's kind of an unavoidable obstacle. I tried an app a few years back that you could set to block the usage of anything, for any length of time you wanted. It didn't really work, since I was the one who set it and knew the password. LOL I can never just look up the word I'm stuck on and then close the window.

One tactic I've tried that seems to always work, and I have no idea why, is to set a timer and tell myself I have to work for that length of time without doing anything other than work. I'll do it for a few days and then get cocky and think I don't need it, then I end up right back to where I was. So, I guess I kind of answered my original question, didn't I? :o/ Guess I needed my memory jogged.

Menopause? Or pre- ? Can really do a number on - ability to sit still and focus. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
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