Distractions happen in all jobs, especially in the home-based ones. However, a distracted medical transcriptionist can spoil a patient’s health record, thereby impacting even the safety of a patient. Both the productivity and quality are severely affected by a loss of focus caused by distractions.

As a home-based medical transcriptionist, how can you avoid being distracted? Let’s find out.

Disconnect from the household

Do not let domestic worries trouble you at work. If you have small children at home, you cannot expect to take care of them and work at the same time. Ask another member of the family to take care of them, or get a baby-sitter. If you have a household job pending, don’t tend to it until you have finished your official work.
Tip: Treat your home-office as an actual office from where you cannot attend to your household responsibilities.

Inform others of your work hours

Let family and friends know that you are at work, and they should call on you or call you only if there is an emergency. Let your children know that you are working, and inform them of the time you plan to take breaks.

Switch off the television

Some people work with the television on, irrespective of whether they are watching it or not. It may work for some professions but when it comes to medical transcription, it is a complete no-no. You cannot let other sounds distract you while you are transcribing.

Close all e-mail clients and networking websites

As a home-based professional, you may be tempted to check your e-mails every few minutes or log on to a networking website to connect with friends. However, these temptations are most likely to become major distractions, from a minute stretching to hours and you losing the continuity in work.
Tip: Access the social networking sites for a few minutes as a reward after you have completed a certain number of tasks.

Avoid arbitrary breaks

While it is important that you take breaks between work in order to avoid back pain, stress, and fatigue, getting up too often can ruin your work. Stick to taking logical breaks only. Avoid getting up in the middle of a task.
Tip:Take logical breaks compulsorily so that you are not tempted to take breaks arbitrarily.

Keep watching this space for more such useful tips on handling medical transcription work.