One of the greatest benefits of working full-time as a freelance transcriptionist or a transcription company owner is the ability to set your own hours. However, we all know that in order to make the most money, we have to be willing to work when it best suits our clients. If you’ve been struggling with how to structure your day, or you wonder if starting your own transcription company is going to be too time-consuming, read on to discover how I balance my career with my personal life as a transcription company owner.
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More than a decade of experience has taught me that keeping office hours is seen as more professional by my clients and allows me to “clock out” each day for a good work-life balance. When my kids were young, I worked primarily when they were sleeping. I would do things like send emails and meet with clients during nap time because naps occurred during my clients’ office hours. Most of my transcribing would be done in the evenings after my children went to bed for the night.
Now that I’m an empty nester, it’s easier to stick to a more typical work week. Although, with clients on the East and West coasts of the U.S. and transcriptionists on three continents, I must accommodate a variety of time zones across the globe. I do my best to stick to a set schedule as much as possible. I’ve even published office hours on my Google Business Profile. However, ever-changing workloads and the occasional need to prioritize my personal life have resulted in what is actually a very tentative work schedule.
Let’s take a look. Perhaps the way my day is structured will give you some ideas and inspiration for creating your own work-life balance as a full-time transcriptionist.
6:00 am Wake Up and Read Emails while Drinking Coffee – I am NOT a morning person. If I could have my way, I would be getting up no earlier than 10:00 am every day. But like I said earlier, earning the most money means accommodating my clients. I like to catch up on emails early in the day so I can respond quickly to the priority emails and get the quick reads out of the way.
6:30 am Farm Chores – Most mornings, I collect eggs from the chicken coop, make sure water dishes are full, and water the gardens. Sometimes I have no chores at all. Other times, chores take much longer than expected or the chores just can’t be done precisely at 6:30 am. Animals get sick. Storms pop up out of nowhere. Take this morning for example. It’s 6:00 am and I’m filling my coffee pot with water when I see through the kitchen window two coyotes headed toward my flock of free-range chickens. Well, that couldn’t wait until 6:30 am. I had to take care of my chickens immediately!
7:00 am Workout and Have Breakfast – My workout starts by taking my German Shepherd Dog puppy on a walk. He has a very high need for physical exercise and mental stimulation, so our walks usually include a mix of training and doggie brain games. After our walk, I warm up with some yoga before doing a cardio or HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout. I always have a cold breakfast; yogurt parfaits are my favorite, and sometimes a second cup of coffee.
8:00 am Check for Incoming Work from Clients and Prioritize My Day – Some of my clients send work daily, some on a less regular basis and some send work quite randomly. I promise a specific turnaround time to all of my clients, so it’s incredibly important for me to get all incoming work queued up the day I receive the files. First, I download all of the audio and any supporting documentation my clients have offered. Then, I check the quality of the audio, set a deadline, and assign the work to a transcriptionist. Finally, I track the progress of each assignment in Trello.
Trello is a free and easy-to-use workflow tracking platform. The platform includes a ton of automations that save time and prevent mistakes. I love how easy it is to customize the platform to suit the needs of my transcription business. Try my Trello Transcription Workflow Template for free by clicking below.
8:30 am to 12:30 pm Transcribing, Editing, and Proofreading – I spend most of my mornings proofreading and editing the transcripts that are due in the near future. I have several really great transcriptionists on my team, but every single word of every single transcript is checked by me before being sent to the client. The only exception to this is my own transcription work. I always have someone else proofread and edit my transcripts. A second set of eyes will usually find something the transcriptionist missed.
12:30 pm Lunch (sometimes) – If I have a full workload, I skip lunch. I know it’s not healthy, but it’s so much easier for me to snack throughout the day while working. When I do have lunch, it’s usually leftovers from the previous night’s dinner, so it’s quick and easy to reheat. Every now and then, I’ll take a long lunch break, maybe to watch the mid-day news or get a quick chore done, but that’s rare.
1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Invoicing, Training, Meetings, Etcetera – My afternoon is spent on all of the tasks not involved with creating transcripts. These tasks include communicating or meeting with clients, training my transcriptionists, advertising, bookkeeping and accounting. Thank goodness for Google Workspace, which allows me to do all of these back-office jobs in one place. Google Workspace is my virtual office and I wouldn’t be able to stay on top of my transcription business without it. At just $6.00 a month, the Business Starter Workspace is very affordable and provides everything I need to run (and grow!) my business. Try it free for 14 days by clicking below. If you decide to sign up, be sure to use Discount Code MCQNEYXCQTYX4HM for 10% off! (If you’re outside the US, email me for a discount code)
5:00 pm Make and Serve Dinner – My husband and I eat at home most nights and we cook everything from scratch. We usually cook together. It’s a great way to spend time together and we’re able to get a meal on the table a bit quicker than if just one of us were to do all of the cooking. Last night was pizza night. He made the dough and Canadian bacon. I made the sauce with homegrown tomatoes and herbs. All of the vegetable toppings were homegrown as well. The only store-bought ingredient on our pizza was the cheese!
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Household Chores and Family Time – The rest of my evening is filled with non-work activities, with one exception. Twice a month, I attend a Zoom meeting that starts at 6:00 pm. The meeting usually only lasts about half an hour and it’s the only time I get to see the beautiful faces of some of the people I work with. Other than that, my evenings involve household chores, playing and training with my puppy, spending time with my husband, and the occasional television show. I’m always in bed between 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm.
As you can see, running my transcription company is a full-time career. However, I also have plenty of personal time. I’ve built flexibility into my day as well. It’s easy for me to work overtime when my workload is heavy or schedule time off to take a vacation. My schedule wasn’t always so accommodating, especially when I first started working as a freelance transcriptionist. But over the years, I’ve figured out a schedule that appeals to my clients, allows me to make the most money possible, and still have a great work-life balance. Hopefully, this look into my typical work day gives you some ideas and inspiration to do the same. Share in the comments below your ideal work-life balance and what your typical day looks like as a transcriptionist.
