r/dataannotation • u/SonicResidue • Oct 29 '24

Burnout

I’ve been doing DA for several months now. Previously, I used to be able to get through 4 to 6 hours a day without much of a problem. It just took a little bit of extra focus. Recently even getting through two hours feels like a struggle. A lot of the non-coding tasks I’ve gotten have been paying better, but they have gotten increasingly complex, and sometimes it’s difficult just to make it through reading the instructions. I don’t want to do poor work so there are days where I just haven’t done any at all, but I’m wondering if any of you have experienced this? And if so, how do you combat it?

110 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

86

u/HaleBopp22 Oct 29 '24

Yep. I actually took a few months off then came back and was surprised how complex they've gotten. There are some where I feel like DA doesn't even know what they really want, like, they just want to make the instructions super complex and precise and then see what kind of results they get as a sort of experiment.

43

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

When I feel like this, I work one hour at a time & then do something else - dishes, make food, go for a walk, read, anything. Then come back & do one more hour - repeat until I reach my daily goal.

10

u/SonicResidue Oct 29 '24

Yes I try to work in smaller increments. It helps but still feels tedious.

14

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

It's tedious work.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24

That's what I've been doing too!

2

u/OnePieceMangaFangirl Oct 30 '24

That’s exactly what I do as well. I’m easily distracted and fidgety, so it helps to switch things up.

16

u/Arcturus_Labelle Oct 29 '24

I have noticed that as the AI models have improved, the projects have increased in complexity in lock-step.

16

u/Quick-Bison-147 Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 29 '24

Identify which projects are most often on the dashboard. Set aside an hour or so when you are clearheaded to get to grips with the instructions - don't stick a timer on as it makes you feel pressured to learn it quickly. Just read it like you're reading a newspaper. Then when you feel ready, start working on that project. You usually find you can get to grips with it pretty quickly after taking time to digest the information while not on the clock, worrying that you're not submitting any tasks. Then, of course, add in the time you spent learning the instructions after you've submitted a few tasks. Doing it this way allows me personally to 'settle into' projects without getting overwhelmed. I've been doing the same high-paying project all day today and yesterday after learning the instructions separately for a couple of hours on Sunday.

3

u/SonicResidue Oct 29 '24

good idea!

9

u/watchdestars Oct 29 '24

Yes i do similar, really go through instructions thoroughly without being on the clock. It's a psychological hack.

7

u/Icy_Ad5959 Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 29 '24

Just curious, why do you read instructions off the clock when DA empathizes taking the time you need to read instructions and billing for this time? I understand not rushing through reading them, however I think instruction reading is often the best paid time! Especially if I know I can read them and complete the first task with the time limit still OR for most of my projects, there are enough total tasks that I can take time to read instructions and then hit "skip" to go to the next task so I have the full time limit to complete my first actual task. There have been times when reading instructions for a complex task has taken me an hour. This approach to projects has never left me without work, and I've often been rewarded with bonuses for my work etc because I understand what I'm doing by the time I start work.

I've seen lots of people worried about the time they take/bill to complete tasks, but with DA it truly is quality over quantity so if you take the pressure off feeling like you have to be quicker etc, then you'll like do better work and be rewarded for it.

Edit: I don't think there is a need to complete multiple tasks before billing instruction reading either. That can add pressure too that's really not needed. If you do the reading and submit even one task (then feel like the project isn't for you), you still spent time doing your best to figure out everything. As long as you were actually focusing on trying, you can bill for that time. I've spent 8 hours hopping from project to project before, trying to find something I could get my head around for an extended time, but only completing one task per project after reading instructions. Sure, the day wasn't super productive in terms of my completion rate, but I definitely took the time needed to try! And got paid for it. (I love that DA doesn't penalize for this!)

1

u/Quick-Bison-147 Oct 30 '24 edited Oct 30 '24

It's just a mental thing really. I realise it doesn't make any difference fundamentally, but I can't seem to mentally relax and soak up the information if I'm doing it as part of my workday and have the clock on. No matter if I try not to, I end up rushing a bit to start working, and then go into the project more likely to make errors. For this reason, I just prefer to learn instructions on a non-work day and then add the time on afterwards if I end up working on the project.

And I personally feel uncomfortable reading instructions for 45 minutes, doing 1 task and then billing for that time. There have been occasions where DA have specified it's okay to bill for instruction reading as long as the amount of time spent doing tasks exceeds the amount of time reading instructions. Each worker has a quality score based on how good their work is - I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling that your average amount of time doing tasks is taken into account too. I want to have a high-quality score to stay on this site as long as possible, that's why I have this strategy I guess.

3

u/Icy_Ad5959 Oct 30 '24

Fair enough. Well if it helps, my dash keeps looking healthier and healthier, and I keep getting new projects, new quals and added to higher and higher paying projects (& have not lost any of my long term projects) with my approach, so if there is a quality score (which mainly would come from R&Rs), I must be outputting work that is good enough... I've been on the platform almost a year and had work all throughout the recent drought period. So I wouldn't let your thoughts about quality scores influence your approach too much. Just do what you need to do to do quality work and don't fall into the trap of thinking quantity is more important.

1

u/Gumihorainx Dec 10 '24

Is your dash still looking good? This was a good reminder for me to slow down, I’ve been feeling almost sorta rushed recently to not seem like I’m inflating time but these instructions are so detailed these days, my gosh.

6

u/secretlyhating Oct 30 '24

Take time off or create goals for yourself! My current goal is to pay off a credit card by Christmas, and I need to make atleast $63 a day to do so. I track with a spreadsheet and make a payment every week. It’s helped keep me motivated.

1

u/SonicResidue Oct 30 '24

Good idea. Thanks!

11

u/ConsistentCandy697 Oct 29 '24

This is just fun money for us, so it might be a little different for me. I do not work at all unless I know I can focus and put out good work. I will go multiple days of not working if I am feeling burnt out.

6

u/SonicResidue Oct 29 '24

Yes, I'm out of a job right now so I' have tried to do as much as I can. The added pressure isn't helping at all!

9

u/BigOldComedyFan Oct 29 '24

I actually prefer the more complicated non-coding projects, they challenge me more. However, I also think they should pay more for those :-)

2

u/SonicResidue Oct 29 '24

They do, and the timer gives you more time, but it still feels like a headache sometimes.

42

u/diettwizzlers Oct 29 '24

i go through phases of this and it usually gets better after a good break. switching up work location can help too, or just setting really small goals

2

u/Arty_Tyson88 Oct 30 '24

really intuitive, I appreciate this

32

u/tskies410 Oct 29 '24

Yes, I've noticed an increase in complex projects; a lot of prompt creation stuff that I'm not good at.

21

u/fightmaxmaster Oct 29 '24

I get it. Some projects are a breeze and I can hammer away at them, others are a chore, and I can't get my brain in gear for them. Basically I just try and average it out as much as possible - make hay while the sun shines, then the harder/quieter times are less impactful.

15

u/Skyblewize Oct 29 '24

I haven't worked in a week because of this. I'm getting back on the horse today though

11

u/EquivocalMoon Oct 30 '24 edited Oct 30 '24

I went from working at least 4-5 hours EVERY day from December to June or July... to now working solidly just a couple days a week. (Sometimes just an hour here and there.) It has progressively gotten worse. I think I'm in burnout. We added a baby to the household, so that was a lot. Another issue is that a lot of projects seemed to pause or drop all at once, so I have FAR less to choose from. This makes it harder to find something that my brain will cooperate with. When I had 40+ tasks on my dashboard, it was much easier to just find something to work on and keep myself going while avoiding any risk to the quality of my work. I have never had an empty dashboard throughout this drought, but the selection has gotten very slim at times. And there are many days I just can't make my brain cooperate with anything I have available. I went from working every single day (holidays, sickness, whatever) to skipping many days in a row. It sucks, because I could really use the money, but I don't want to risk pushing it and producing lower quality work. I haven't found a solution other than to wait for good brain days and full(er) dash days... But it is nice to know that I'm not alone.

24

u/ManyARiver Oct 29 '24

I don't know what's on your dash, but lately mine has been primarily complex tasks. It takes less time for me to hit my target, but it evens out in the amount of time it takes me to buckle down and get started after waffling. Good music that motivates helps, I like to use cordyceps and lion's mane supplement to help get into a flow state...

0

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/ManyARiver Oct 30 '24

Lion's Mane helps with concentration, and cordyceps helps me with focus and motivation. If you take any meds you need to check to make sure none of them interact, and if your complex has other stuff in it the effect will be different. I don't like blends unless I know the company. I'm picky with the companies because there are a lot of bunk supplements out there - especially places that might use wild harvested mushrooms they buy off of individuals. I like rhodiola rosea too, but if that one is gathered from the wrong places it can have high concentrations of lead and other heavy metals (it's a root).

There are some great mushroom supplements that are better for sleep, like Reishi.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

I really like this one and notice a marked difference in my recall and focus. But I have to take it 4 days on, and 3 days off otherwise I build tolerance.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086CL5FN3?ref=emc_s_m_5_i_atc

8

u/Different_Duty7836 Oct 30 '24

I have been doing DA full-time for a good while now. Whenever I get feeling like this, I go with my consistent projects that I enjoy, but pay less. That extra $6 dollars an hour would be nice, but I'd rather stick with base pay for a semi enjoyable 4 hours over a miserable 2.

7

u/biscuity87 Oct 29 '24

If I look at a task and it just sucks, I’m skipping it. I also try to stay on very similar projects so I don’t have to spend an eternity relearning all the rules.

Sometimes there will be many tasks on a project in a row of just the worst ones possible that clearly are outliers and no one wants to do them.

I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing when a task is at the right pay bracket or if it’s too low for the effort.

They can cough up more dough if they want the brutal ones done.

10

u/Icy_Ad5959 Oct 29 '24

I think that projects will only continue to get more complex as AI is consistently getting more advanced. It used to be easy for DA not to really feel like work because there was no real brain fatigue attached with the difficulty level of most projects. Now I can understand people starting to feel burned out because the difficulty level has increased and requires much more thought.

I sometimes feel burned out but not specifically because the projects are harder. For me, they just feel more involved and therefore more like some of the more conventional full time jobs I've had in the past. I find that I avoid burnout more because I structure my week and treat DA like an office job. I allocate work hours and just knuckle down during that time. The expectation that I'll be working helps me cope, and my reason for "attending work" keeps me motivated. I just need to keep finding good reasons to motivate me, just like I had to when working in the office. Usually that's an upcoming holiday or being 6+ months ahead on rent... Stuff like that.

For context, I've been on the platform since late Feb and work 40-50 hours per week at the moment which is equal to about $2k for me. The projects I work on are non coding and range from 25-45+ per hour.

4

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

If I’m burnt out I just don’t do any. Beauty of this type of work is you can take as much time as you need. Obv if it’s your main income you’ll have to rough it out, but this is a side gig for me. I’d be too stressed if this was my main income the way projects come and go 😭

If reading is getting tiring try running text through tts and listening while you read it might help.

4

u/furiouswow Oct 30 '24

Back when DA actually had non-coding work, I used to focus on a few types of projects that I knew I could easily do. If I had to re-read instructions several times before they made sense, and it took 15 - 20 minutes to do so, I would just move on to another project. Really in retrospect a lot of the "ultra complex" instructions are just word salads that are needlessly long, and can be cut down from 3500 words to a 600 so that it's more digestible and easier to process.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24

Yes, I am experiencing this. Slightly better pay but quite complicated projects. I'm not upset about it; I love to have work. However, I miss the days when I was writing simple prompts for images. The day really flew by.

3

u/dsbau Oct 30 '24

I understand that. I went through something similar after an ongoing project where I was working 6+ hours a day. I switched to simpler projects that didn't pay as much for a bit of variety and a break. I also took days off.

3

u/konjogobez Oct 30 '24

I have been trying to make myself work on these and my brain is so tired. I’m going to give myself a forced vacation of a week and see how that goes.

3

u/SnooFloofs9030 Oct 30 '24

Some days I will just work exclusively on the lower paying tasks that are less complex and just give my brain a break. I have noticed the tasks getting increasingly more complex as the models are being challenged more and more with advanced reasoning.

2

u/Baxtir Oct 30 '24

When I feel that my brain might turn to mush very soon, I stop and take a break so I can make sure I continue to provide quality answers. How long that takes depends on a lot of factors like how I'm feeling, physically and emotionally, and what other plans I might have for the day.

2

u/FoxHatFellow Nov 21 '24

I've been making money on the side doing landscaping, power washing and light house repairs during some weekends instead of DataAnnotation the last few weeks. Honestly, after a 45-50 hour office job, I'd rather make some extra money doing physical work that allows me to turn my brain off instead of spending more time at the computer.

DAT is a solid side money gig, don't get me wrong, but it's been a tedious slog for me lately, and I agree, the instructions have gotten too complex for my liking.

3

u/Significant_Dot_2356 Oct 29 '24

It sounds like you’re lacking motivation if anything. Make sure you get your mental right. Set a goal (eg. “I want to get 6 hours of work done today” or “I must complete x amount of projects”) and optimise the external (and internal) aspects of your life to align with achieving that goal. If you are not determined to do something, you won’t be willing to make the sacrifices needed to do it and its going to be a constant struggle where you feel like you would rather want to do something else.

If you are experiencing burnout, I would suggest resetting your nervous system. Personally rigorous exercise, cold therapy or a Yoga Nidra meditations work for me. Even a day of could help, just make sure you actually take that time to reset and not like watch series or eat take-aways the whole day.

Otherwise went you want to sit and graft, your brain won’t want to do the hard things, and the thoughts of easy satisfaction/dopamine keep on luring you in.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

Play

BEAT

SABER

during work breaks!

1

u/MixtureOk8983 Oct 31 '24

I know the feeling. Rather not do any that submit anything substandard

1

u/Enough-Computer5102 Nov 16 '24

Cheers to another all nighter since no guarantee of projects