Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 - 6:24 p.m.

The transcription job is...well. The pro column includes money for time I would otherwise be spending scrolling FB, hyperfocus that may or may not be good for me but is in some ways enjoyable, and of course a sense of self-efficacy. The con list includes the pay being basically well below minimum wage and yet requiring a level of attention and quality that deserves way more than minimum wage. Two of my projects I scored perfectly on, and two I scored 4/5 on one of the metrics instead of 5/5, and now if I am not perfect for the next 4 months, they’ll deactivate my account. Well, I suppose once I raise my average score, there will be wiggle room again, but still.

The obvious best way to deal with this is to not work at it very much. To be selective about the projects I take on (lowering my wage even more since I have to screen everything carefully before taking it on), only taking them on at a time of day that I have quiet and enough energy for full attention. I had intended to do one transcription in the morning when it’s quiet, make maybe $10-15 a day, do the rest of my day as usual, it would all be bonus.

If I think of it as a job, it’s demeaning. If I think of it as an alternative to dicking around on FB, it’s a good deal. Either way I don’t want to deal with my sense of failure if I get terminated within the first week of the only job I’ve had in years, the only thing I can manage from home to turn my wasting of time into money.

In other words, cross your fingers that I don’t make any more mistakes with ellipses or hyphens.

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