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ASR Catch-22 - Tense, Tired MT
Posted: Jun 12, 2010
Is anyone else experiencing sort of a Catch-22 with ASR in terms of staying disciplined to stay in your chair? I hate it so much that it makes me tense, and then I have to pop up out of my chair. When I'm doing straight MT I don't have this pop-out-of-the-chair syndrome. As well, with ASR, I want to pop up because I'm ticked that I'm not making much money doing it. Almost like there is no incentive to even SIT there. But, I have to, a little more money is better than way less money, if that makes sense.
I'm going to have to nail myself to the chair or something.
I get easily distracted - right there with you
[ In Reply To ..]I find myself checking my email or surfing the net while waiting for the doctor. I have tried the Ctl-M or Ctrl-Shift-M thing to match the voice to the dictation, but sometimes it is hard to tell what is garbage and what is dictation so I end up listening to it all. The docs will take phone calls or carry on other conversations and I end up surfing the net.
Sometimes I feel like I am on a treadmill going faster and faster, trying to hurry up and get these reports done because they aren't worth a whole lot of money, hoping for typing reports. Then I check my counts and I am stressed because even 200 lines an hour ASR doesn't equal a whole lot of money. Yeah, I get tense too. Can't wait to punch out each day.
Two helpful hints for you. - Handy-Dandy
[ In Reply To ..]I, too, had the same problem until I naively complained to my BFF CCM. She told me I now qualified for the handy-dandy MQ seatbelt. It straps you into the chair and has built-in motion sensors that deliver tiny electric shocks to gently remind you to stay on track. Ingenious. My line count doubled, and so did my Valium. Their second gift to me was a contract on how I could "stay competitive" and give them only 50%, yes, that's only 50% folks, of my gross (not net) salary to accumulate in my slush fund, or maybe flush fund. That's for a deluxe toilet on wheels with handy-dandy seatbelt buckles that just happen to fit my handy-dandy seatbelt (adjustable, too!). They spend millions of our money ingeniously engineering it to be stored away, odor-free, by simply covering the seat with our handy-dandy mouse pads when not in use, adding the pad cover never needs to be cleaned as it is already brown. Ingenious. I'm now thrilled have no excuse to ever leave my beloved Q-Throne. Ahh. I've also learned never to complain to the Q.
Handy-Dandy - Angelina
[ In Reply To ..]That made my day. Thank you! :-))
Don't forget the rigid neck brace - CA-MT
[ In Reply To ..]to hold your head immobile and looking straight at the screen.
Me too - anonymous
[ In Reply To ..]I want to get up (and eat) frequently. I have noticed that when I am tense I want to get up and move and self-soothe with food. This has become very bad since introduction of ASR. In the olden days, I would sit for 4 hours, take a bathroom break, eat a bite, and sit for 4 more hours.
You're not alone - anon
[ In Reply To ..]I feel the same way. No matter how hard I work and how hard I bust my a@@, I know that with ASR my pay is going to be awful. Part of motivation is having something positive to work towards. I'm not sure they've realized that ASR rates are not worth the extra effort it takes to get above minimum wage. I actually got an e-mail from my CCM telling me that I was on minimum wage reporting too often. Really? So, I proceeded to tell her exactly why and followed it up with my notice. After only seven months, this place has turned me, a new MT with a positive outlook for her future, into a cynical, unhappy MT who is now questioning her career choice. I'm taking the rest of the summer to be with my kids and to regroup. Hopefully, I'll have a better outlook with some time off. Good luck to you!
ASR Catch-22 - Tense, Tired MT
[ In Reply To ..]You guys are so amazing. Thanks so much. I've thought of the medication angle, but I have a conservative physician. LOL. I'm lucky if I can get an Ambien out of him so I can at least sleep at night. Sad, horrible, that we're actually considering medicating ourselves to get through this mess of a career.
I am so totally and completely there with you! - NW MT
[ In Reply To ..]For me, it is never easy to just sit for hours and hours but with the ASR it has just gotten ridiculous. I constantly find myself checking emails, going to research a term and getting side-tracked with some ad or something, anything to avoid it. It would be a bit more tolerable if we were actually paid decently for it, but as it is-forget it!
ASR Crap - rebecca
[ In Reply To ..]I know exactly what you mean. I absoulutely hate ASR, not to mention cutting my paycheck in half. It takes just as long with all the mistakes the stupid machine makes, and I have to get up and take longer breaks, my eyes start crossing, or I'm falling asleep, or just plain hating it. You would think because you are not actually typing that you can just do more lines, but it's so much more intense, not just reading, but looking at every letter in the whole report. I've only been doing it for a couple weeks and I'm already looking for another job, and I WAS very happy there. Someone who just finished the 6th grade can make more money than me........ how sad.
ASR Crud - MT
[ In Reply To ..]I know. I was happy once too. Not only am I not happy, I'm miserable. There's a middle point somewhere. I'm looking elsewhere as well.
This Stuff - Old MT
[ In Reply To ..]I'm actually not going to blame ASR. The powers that be think ASR has a brain, but it doesn't. How is it supposed to know not to repeat words just because the dictator did? You can't just throw an entire hospital on ASR and expect miracles. I'm blaming what the companies have done to their employees, not the software. I actually would keep doing this if I was actually paid for it, annoying as it is. There would at least be something to show for it.
It's here to stay folks. ASR has been around long enough for "them" to know how miserable their workers are, but they keep it anyway. However, WE don't have to stay!
On my way out too - Just me
[ In Reply To ..]I'm job hunting as well. I thought I would really enjoy ASR, seemed so easy, and when they first began selling it to us a few years ago, was really excited...until I found out about how little I make. I, too, am discouraged and really just don't care, no motivation. Having a time finding a job due to lost all my certifications and recent experience (have 21 years previous experience) doing what I used to do before starting on my promising new career of MT 5 years ago :(
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