Day in the Life

So just what does the day look like for an at home transcriptionist? Well, that can vary from person to person. In my case, with four kids under the age of 4, no day is "typical". It takes a lot of juggling and coordinating, but I figured I'd share with you a sample day for inquiring minds.

8:00 am to 9:00 am - Wake up. Yes, I'm a late starter. Last year I was an early riser, but with twin babies that are just starting to sleep more at night I find that I get the most sleep done during that time. So I try to catch some zzzz's when they do. They are sleeping until 9 am or 10 am on a good day (knock on wood). Elijah usually gets up first and he watches cartoons while I wake up...takes me a while.

9:00 am to 10:00 am - Ahhh, nothing like fresh brewed coffee to start the day. I love it, love it, love it. Without the much needed energy boost I would be sluggish. Transcription work as a mama of young ones has made me quite an addict! Usually during this time I get Zion dressed. She's in preschool. I give the babies a quick nursing and then it's out the door.

10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Usually I drop Zion off at school and attend class myself, depending on the day of the week. I'm finishing my degree right now. Yes, I am that busy. But I'm so close to being done so I'm pushing right on through.

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Lunch, playing with kids, checking email, transcribing, drinking hot tea, going for a walk, and cleaning house. There is not particular order to this part of my day. I am on "baby" time - or should I say "twin" time and "toddler" time...I actually refer to them as the "triplets" sometimes. But I manage to get things done because nap time occurs during this block of time and I can anticipate at least 2-3 hours of silence to get things done. I tackle things on an as-needed basis...meaning whatever needs to get done right away takes precedence and whatever can wait...well, it waits.

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Family time, dinner time. Enough said? Can't forget about the reason I try to make these busy days work.

8:00 pm to 9:30 pm - Baths and bedtime.

9:30 pm til 12 or 1 am - Work, work, work. I mostly finish up any audio that I had leftover from earlier. I try to not have too much to do because I get sloppy when I'm sleepy and miss silly things. I try to proof at night because it's quiet. Thankfully the twins are sleeping more now, so I can usually get a few hours of work in without them waking up to nurse.

Yes, this schedule is busy and jam-packed. I do change it to fit my needs. So if I need to work a little extra to make some extra cash, I get a sitter or work out things with my husband so that I can have more time to work. If I have a sick child, I adjust to work less to take care of them. I used to work a lot of overtime on the weekends, but my family complained about that a lot so I don't take on as much weekend work and just have family time.

The sky is really the limit when you work from home. You dictate what you do and when you want to do it. No "big brother" looking over your shoulder or getting write-ups for taking an extra 10 minutes on your break (gasp).

Have any more questions about how I spend my days? Feel free to ask in a comment :)