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Staying Focused -Energy Drinks

Posted By: Michelle on 2008-04-11
In Reply to:

I am having a huge problem.  I cannot seem to find the energy to work all day.  This sounds so bad because I sit all day!  Seriously though, it feels like I get so bored sitting here at the computer.  When I drink some of a Nos energy drink, however, work is so fun, I have tons of energy, and I make a lot of money sitting here.  I love this work, but what's the deal?  I don't even like consuming caffeine.  I got an energy drink the other night to stay up all night and finish some STATs, and now I feel like I can't work without it.  It was hard to focus even before I started the caffeine.  What is going on here?    Why can't I just get my work done like a normal person?


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Energy drinks. Caffeine and sugar, sm
and all kinds of vitamins. I like the Sobe one. I even drink it in the morning now, instead of coffee.
what are your ideas on staying focused??
When I am on my game I can do 250 to 300 lines per hour, but then after a couple of hours I start dropping to less than 150 lines per hour.  How do you stay focused?  I have tried working different shifts, split shifts, etc., but I just do not seem to be able to stay focused.  I have no small children at home, so that is not a problem.  I am in my own office space, but I just seem to start drifting after about an hour and then that is it.  Any suggestions?  Thanks. 
Stayin focused

Here are my ideas for staying focused on your work and achieving better productivity.


1.  Keep your body healthy.  Get a good night's sleep each night so that you will be alert for work each day.  Most people require at least 7 hours a night to be at their optimal best, regardless of what they may believe.  Avoid snacking at your desk or, if you must snack, make it a healthy snack such as carrot sticks, broccoli, celery with peanut butter, etc., and not junk food like chips, candy, crackers, etc.  Remember....garbage in, garbage out.  Always have a good breakfast, preferrably with protein such as eggs or cheese, to help jumpstart your day and give you stamina.  Don't work through lunch but rather always break for lunch and, again, make sure you have a protein in it.


2. Keep your environment healthy.  I work much better with a clean desk.  Don't let your desk become the household catchall for the kids' school papers, permission slips, stray toys, stacks of bills, unopened mail, and catalogs....all of which draw your attention away from work and cause your productivity to suffer.  Make sure your desk and chair are ergonomic and that your reference material is in easy reach....and not piled up on your desk which only creates distraction.  Keep your desk visually appealing.


3.  Allow yourself some "play time."  Give yourself a 10-minute break in the morning and afternoon to do whatever....whether it be surfing the net, throwing on a load of clothes to wash, or whatever.  Set a timer for 10 minutes and do not allow yourself to go over that.


4.  Set mini production goals for yourself and challenge yourself to meet them.  Once you meet a goal, raise the bar a bit and go for it again.  Type uninterrupted for a hour and see just how much you can accomplish.


Most concentration problems can be resolved without the aid of medications, either prescription or herbal, and the side effects of a lot of these medications far outweigh the benefits.  Make this an absolute last choice and only consider it after truly trying to alter your work habits and work environment so that you are more rested, focused and less distracted and ONLY after seeing your physician.  Hope these suggestions help.


 


To stay focused sm
I keep my bills in plain site. Nothing motivates me better.  LOL
Focused- easy for me
Knowing that I will be making the money that I want to make.
Everyone seems to be focused on the foot pedal
problem. My main concern is the poor technical support, or lack thereof, i.e., autocorrect function not installed as it should be and firewall problem not resolved as stated it would be. Oh well.
any tips on how to stay focused -sm
and actually put out some work?  I've been struggling for weeks now and paychecks are getting smaller!  Help!  I can't make myself sit in my chair and transcribe!  I know its summer, but I am not on vacation!  I'm getting really down about this?  My biggest problem is that I surf the web when I should be working.  I need to break this habit and now!  Can anyone help me?  TIA
Right on Chickadee. Might get worse before it gets better. Stay focused
dd
It depends...if I am super focused I don't read through them...
but if I feel like I am not concentrating and just typing I will type a few paragraphs and then re-read them...but not fully re-listen to the dictation.
Also this seems to help energy..
I take a good prenatal vitamin, B150 vitamins, calcium, magnesium& zinc, along with some others, but I think these are the most important and help my energy level. GYN doctor put me on prenatal (going through menopause).Important to eat and not get into junk food, quick grab habit...
Were documents signed initially that focused on such an event?
dd
It is "speed" , of course it gives you energy! nm
x
I take energy supplements as well

I started taking them to help me lose weight, but I do find that my production increases when I take them.  But I end up having a hard time sleeping at night.  I also get headaches on the weekends when I don't take them and I'm extremely fatigued without them.  If you thought you were tired before you tried the energy drink, wait till you stop it.  It'll take about a week to get back to normal.  I think the other poster is right - try to get a walk in.  You also might want to try shorter shifts - that's what I'm trying now.  Work an hour or 2 and take an hour break.  It may take longer to get your work in but it's not as mentally exhausting.  This job is mentally exhausting.  Most people don't realize that.


kid drinks in college
And what are you gonna do if you kid does drink at college??  Kidnap him/her and deprogram them?  They are adults when they are in college.  I would hope by the time a child gets to be 17, 18, they have been taught right from wrong and no I would not want to know if my child was partying and drinking in college.  They are living a normal young adults life.  I would want to know he/she is having fun and doing their studies and, of course, if they became a drug addict or alcoholic, they I will be there but normal partying for young adults, Im okay with that..better than being tied to my apron strings.
The days I have energy and no hot flashes.
x
Seems to help me... Keeps me motivated, energy up... et cetera. NM
:)
I think you'd be wasting your time and energy and
If you're hanging around waiting on work, you're the one deciding to do so.

When you run out of work, go file unemployment if you are working as an employee. Tell them immediately you are filing for unemployment since they are out of work and also looking for another position ... and then go do it.

You can't force companies to provide you with work if they don't have any. I don't think your argument holds any water at all. You're the one sitting around waiting on it.


you don't want to know if your child drinks at college? (sm)
I am praying for you and your daughter. Honey, you had better get your head out of the sand and make it perfectly clear to your daughter, whether at college, home, friends, etc, it is not a good idea for a young girl to drink and lose control or insight into what is going on around her.  That is just asking for something horrible to happen.  Please talk to your daughter! Don't turn your back on something potentially dangerous to your child! When all is said and done, she is still your child, your responsibility, and God forbid something horrible happens to her, you will be blamed.
If an MT drinks a whole bottle of wine while...
working, there is NO WAY that can't have any affect.  Yikes!  There she.he goes now! 
My gma is 87 years old and drinks a beer a day...
She still mows her own lawn, takes care of herself and her home and doesn't have any problems.  She's always been very fit, eaten right, didn't smoke, but when people ask her what her secret is, she swears it is the can of beer she drinks with dinner every night.  She's had cataracts but other than that she hasn't had any health problems and takes no medication. 
thanks but no sweet drinks (diabetic) *S*...NM
.
My kitty drinks out of the toliet as well!
This is my first cat so I'm new to all of this, having dogs all my life. I bet your cat will come back home. My mother's cat goes off all the time and comes back weeks later.
Only 1 cup, but I'm addicted to monster drinks. nm
nm
B150 is a great energy source...
The only place I can find them around here is Wal-Mart.
Yes....except I'd go for steak, that way I'd have plenty of food and energy
x
P.S. Channel some energy into agility classes
perhaps! Sounds like a great candidate if he/she can jump and get your sunglasses! Lots of classes for agility in most areas, and lots of fun for dog and owner, not to mention exercise! Woof!
It is because the body burns fat instead of glycogen for energy. sm
Without carbs, there is no insulin spike to store fat as fat in the body, so it goes through it or is burned as energy. The body preferentially burns fat stores since there is no glycogen to burn because there is no consumption of carbs.

It is hard to work for someone who drinks, and even worse
when they don't think they are an alcoholic. It really fries their brain,they are moody and unpredictable, and fly off the handle for no real reason.
My DH drinks 8-12 light beers a day, though he is trying to cut back - sm
but he's been doing it for over 20 years, so I would not be surprised if cirrhosis shows itself. He is in good health, for now. I don't buy him beer anymore since I was enabling him and he did ask me to stop, so that has helped a lot in him cutting back. I think we only have 1 beer in the house tonight so that is good!
PA dictates patient drinks "a gallon" of liquor a day.
I hear people drinking a pint or 1/5 a day, but a GALLON.  The guy is only 45. 
If you try caffeinated drinks, make sure to use Equal or Splenda.
nm
I take MetaboLife, ephedra free. Love it, lots of energy. nm
x
My favorite gifts over the years were the homemade ones - congrats for having the energy

I agree, too. I'm just so tired of it all, don't have the energy left to argue with 'em any
x
My son loves Monster drinks before football/basketball practice. I think they are nasty.
I don't drink coffee, but I have to have my Coca Cola first thing in the morning and one more halfway through day.  So I guess I am a little dependent on caffeine!
After years of drinking diet drinks, I am off Nutrisweet, Splenda, etc. due to health reasons..sm
but I really don't want to drink sugar drinks/juices and cannot stand water!  Does anyone have any drink suggestions?  I am at a loss.  TIA
Not me. I'm staying. NM
..
Staying with IC definitely. Thanks.
I make 700.00 a week 4 days a week at my IC job. I turned the job down. Thanks again.
STAYING AWAY FROM TRANS.
A. I strongly discouraged anyone I meet who has signed up for any kind of program at the community colleges or elsewhere who wants to learn transcription. It's really distressing to see people pay their hard earned money for training in a field that is virtually in the toilet. I find myself making 1/2 of what I was making 10 years ago as an MT with no benefits and 50% more grief.
In staying with this man for as long as you have,

having his children, and allowing him to verbally and emotionally abuse those children, you're setting the example to your children that this is how a relationship works.  Now that your 16 y.o. daughter is reaching the age where she will begin dating, she has learned from home life that men call women names and expect women to clean up after them.  She's going to wind up in some lousy dysfunctional relationships herself.  Where is her bioDad?  I'll bet he wouldn't be happy to hear from her how stepfather dearest treats her.  Is he a positive role model in her life?  Probably not, or he wouldn't be your ex.  Teach her to have respect for herself and never tolerate mistreatment.


Anyway, off the soapbox now.  You go, go quickly, and never look back.  Get out of there! 


I am staying at the Stratosphere
for the first time in May.  We had booked the Stardust, but its being torn down to build a new hotel :(  Stardust was our favorite.  I have also stayed at Fitzgerald's downtown a couple years ago and it was really reasonable and nice, no complaints, but it is downtown.         
Those situations different than STAYING in bad
Robbery or scamming are an in and out situation that you have little control over.  Staying in a bad job is usually a long term situation that you CAN control.  It is hard to change jobs.  However, the longer you put off starting the process, the longer you are allowing yourself to stay in a bad situation. It is sad to think you would give someone else such control over your life that you let yourself be abused. And the only one that can change something like that is YOU.  The buck stops with you when it comes to who has control of your life.  
Staying in MT for the "perks" - sm

Is not a good enough reason to do this job.  period, end of story.


The money is out there, but you have to look for it and you really have to want it.  You are looking for "everything" and you cannot have it - it's just not possible or reasonable.  You have to like the job to make it worth your while or to push yourself to achieve what you are looking for.  Chances are, you are probably make good money doing editing at 5cpl, but its your lack of desire that takes you so long to get the job done thus driving down your hourly wage.  You're in love with  staying home and getting a paycheck and not the job.


If you do not like your job, your performance is going to suffer no matter what field you are in and when your performance suffers, so does your wage especially in a production based job like this. 


staying away from message boards
Two years into MT I found message boards.  I had some small complaints about my job and was kind of in a love/hate stage of my relationship with MT.  Reading the boards with people complaining so much really put me more in that frame of mind to the point where I started hating my company and hating transcription in general.  When I left the job I had at the time and started a new one I vowed no more message boards because I felt they had poisoned my attitude, which was easily influenced at that time.  I stayed completely off message boards for the next five years and now am back (obviously), but that gave me enough time to get more established with my company and actually know and like my career enough that reading a lot of MT complaints doesn't bother me now.
It'll flame. I'm staying out of it.

staying home w/teenagers
Can not agree with you more.  Where my preteen & teen hated that I was at home all the time, their friends loved it...duh, guess which mom was there to haul them around before they got their drivers lisc.  Still think they should be 30 before they can drive
Just ignore this poster! Obviously staying on
subject and reading comprehension must not be a strong point in their skills list! Of course we all care more about children. This poster just doesn't know how to stay on topic and obviously wants a fight.
Help staying awake and productive
I have real problems staying awake, focused and productive.  I am alone all day, I think I get enough sleep, and I keep the TV on in the other room for another voice, but I get bored and can't keep my concentration and then I start web surfing and my productivity goes in the hopper.  Any suggestions on staying awake and focused?
If the meeting consists of her staying

and listening to dictation, yes, it should be paid and she as an IC should set the amount she should be paid.


I pick-up and deliver, and that's in my line charge.  I also do that at my convenience, not theirs.  A real office is fine with that and understands the meaning of IC.  Lisa is a vendor like any other contractor.


If I had to sit and listen and sort patient lists, etc. and spend more than 5-10 minutes tops at an office, then I would charge for that time spent at that office sorting through their mess.


Let's face it.  The office is a mess and Lisa is their scape goat.  Since now they know she's bending over backwards, they will take advantage. 


Again, Lisa should not spend her time sorting out their mess.  Furthermore, if they can't figure out what to give her and "don't have time", then Lisa's response should be that she doesn't have the time either unless she charges them for that time. 


It just sounds like a real mess of a deal.  I can't wait to hear if they actually pay her at all! 


Okay, I'll shut up now!  Just the fact that she's posting again is hysterical.  I guess I'll keep my mouth shut after saying from the last thread regarding this "I told ya'' so." 


You all thought "oh just this one time."  Why do you think the other girl quit?  Hello?  Can you say doormat?


Staying at home with the kids, yeh, right
Your message just said it all. That is why the field is looked down on so much now. Staying at home and go broke, no one really cares anymore. I had heard it all now. You get asked reasonable questions and you say in a little wifey-mamma talk, "can't we all just stay at home with Junior." I guess it will be important when the employer starts charging you just to work, will it still be that important. Get real.
does anyone have a problem staying awake while typing?
even when I dont feel tired, I sit down to type and my eyes start dropping.  HELP. SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!