Court reporters have transcript deadlines to meet each and every day, and meeting those deadlines gets trickier and trickier the more work we take on. So, we asked our veteran reporters to share with us how they manage to get it all done, and here’s what they recommended:
- Feed your brain a balanced diet. It will not only help you remain optimally productive for those long work days, but you’ll write better, cleaner notes for longer periods of time.
- Back up your notes and realtime file to the Cloud at every break, so that you never have to worry about your laptop and/or writer getting lost, stolen or damaged in a power outage or surge.
- Input all deadlines into your “To-Do List” (Android, iPhone), and work backwards from there, inputting every step needed to meet that deadline: (a) when to be edited, (b) when to be proofed, (c) when to be delivered.
- When inputting the steps (in 3 above) into your calendar, consider building in a cushion, so that if you don’t feel well one day, you have the flexibility to carry that step over to the next day.
- Add to your calendar only that which you are confident you can complete. Overshooting only adds pressure and can be harmful to your health.
- Sit down in a quiet place to work. Do not attempt to edit an assignment while listening to your children or spouse tell you about their day. It’ll take you twice as long, and there may be mistakes that get past you when attempting to “multi-task.”
- Factor breaks into your transcription time, so that every time you sit down, you are at your best.
- If you’ve been working really hard on a case and feel like you may be burning out, take a vacation. Burn-out decreases cognition.
- Establish a routine for archiving your completed assignments, as well as those assignments that went unrequested.
- Let someone you trust at home and at work know where your jobs are stored and how to retrieve them, so that should something catastrophic happen to you, your work product will always be accessible.
A reporter’s work is never done, so while these tips are meant as an aid to help you meet your deadlines more easily, remember to give yourself a break when you need it – after all, life is about so much more than just pages.