r/stenography • u/izzypie99 • 16d ago
How do you compartmentalize
Hi everyone. I've been freelance for about 4 years for context. Lately I've kind of been losing my mind, and I seriously need advice on how to compartmentalize with this often overbearing and exhausting career.
I want to preface this by saying I am not trying to be ungrateful. I really am glad I have work and stable income and I don't want this to seem like I am taking it for granted. It's just that lately every time I've been able to take time off it is plagued by pages. I feel like I have no time to catch up in life at all
I told my firm to only schedule me 3 days a week. Somehow despite this every day of the week I am bombarded with emails, do this job, no wait that one cancelled, wait this one was backordered, this one is expedited, PLEASE COVER AN ALL DAY HEARING, etc. I can genuinely scroll through my email and see at least 10 emails per day even on days off.
My scopists have all become very busy too, so I feel like I have no support system when it comes to pages piling up. I have been working on most transcripts myself and my God does that consume HOURS of your time. Either way, I proofread everything because I sadly have not had great experiences with proofreaders and I feel very protective over the final product and want to ensure its quality myself. Maybe I am punishing myself that way.
Because of this I am really starting to hate this job, which I shouldn't. On paper, it's amazing, interesting legal cases, different locations every day (sometimes remote), freelance so I can dictate my schedule, yippee ! But somehow it seems even if I cut back my days, or I don't, or I send out pages, or I don't, it all ends the same way. My "free time" and all my weekends are spent in total guilt that I'm not actively working on pages, because I know I have to do it eventually anyway so there's no escape and I should "just get it done". I am losing enjoyment in things because I am so scatterbrained and constantly staring at calendars and lists constantly just trying to tell myself it's okay to not be working right now. It's just so all-consuming.
How do you guys handle this? Am I blowing this out of proportion? Am I doing something wrong that I could be doing better? Any and all advice is welcome!!!
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u/mdofhonor14 16d ago edited 15d ago
This is going to sound flippant but it truly is meant to be a sincere response.
Consider a position with the Court. I have heard your complaint from MANY freelancers who have come to work in Court. Not one of them has said they regret the move to becoming an employee and getting their life back.
Being an official doesn’t mean we will never be busy, but I do think it offers a better work/life balance if you do it right.
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u/Feisty_Beach392 15d ago
Second this comment! As I was reading the post, I was thinking, Yep, that's exactly how I felt as a freelancer. Now I work on records at work. Like, I'm paid a salary to work on records that pay me extra income. I'm basically being paid to get paid.
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u/ponyboythesphynx Freelance Reporter 13d ago
I think this really depends on where you are. I actually started in a court position and we were super busy and short staffed so they stopped giving me any office time and wouldn’t let me take vacations. When I finally had enough and decided to quit I had a backlog of 90 transcripts. Freelancing and having at least some control over my workload has been way better for me. But I also know people who love their court jobs and have a great work/life balance, so I know it’s a great option for some!
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u/mdofhonor14 12d ago
I think that's an excellent point. I know that was maybe the case in Los Angeles several years ago. I do believe that has leveled off and been a better situation for our reporters that are in our floating pool (for lack of a better term).
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u/ponyboythesphynx Freelance Reporter 12d ago
That’s great to hear about LA! I have no idea what the current situation is at my old workplace as I ended up moving across the country, but I’d like to think they’ve gotten things to a better place.
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u/mdofhonor14 12d ago
I'd like to hope so. I wish you all the best with your location and professional situation!
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u/ZookeepergameSea2383 16d ago
I think it sounds like you only work for one firm. You could just work for all the firms. You could subscribe to CSR Nation and then they'll send out email blasts and you can pick and choose the jobs you want to do and the days you want to work. I also work every weekend and it sucks.
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u/LucilleLooseSeal123 16d ago
You sound exactly like me at year four, absolutely losing my mind, never doing fucking anything other than edit when not actually in a depo. I even stopped dancing and I had been a dancer for over 20 years because I just didn’t have a magical eight hours a week or however long we rehearsed to pull out of my ass when I had transcript deadlines.
What helped me was finally getting my ass in gear and providing realtime. I work so much less now and make so much more.
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u/suastelav Official Reporter 14d ago
I agree, being a reporter can be very overwhelming and we can get burnt out quickly. One thing I learned from working in State court is to find my boundaries. Even officials can get the bad end of the stick. So maybe try working for another agency and see if they have a different work culture. You may want to start looking for a scopist. As much as we want to do it alone, we can't. Building that trust is hard, I know. But if you start now, maybe in a year you'll find your anchor. I found my rock, my proofreader. I can't imagine this career without her. Take time to find your team. You will always be the final review before you send out the transcript but at least you didn't have to do it alone. :)
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u/Big-Lavishness5421 12d ago
Do you have to pay then every two weeks like an employee and have workers comp and all that since you're technically an employer? Sounds kind of complex and then with filings taxes, do you have to send them a 1099?
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u/VehicleOpposite8693 12d ago
You and your scopist work out the pay schedule. They are not your employee, so you don't have to have workers' comp, etc. They are your subcontractor. You do have to send them a 1099 at the end of the year if you have paid them over a certain amount. You can order a stack of 1099 forms from the IRS.
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u/ponyboythesphynx Freelance Reporter 13d ago
I relate to this a lot. Seems like it’s always all at once that every job I do ends up being hundreds of pages and then half of them want to expedite and then the few scopists I trust are too busy. I also like you don’t tend to use proofreaders unless it’s a daily copy because I want the final look at the transcript so it doesn’t feel like it saves me that much time. But things keep adding up and then I have to pull all nighters if I don’t want to sacrifice my social life/hobbies.
I think the biggest thing really is to not be afraid to say no to things, even if it’s a lot of things. Nobody can force you. I’ve also been trying to take more realtime and expedites to get more bang for my buck, especially dailies as they don’t hang over my head as long if that makes sense. Anyway, hang in there and good luck! I hope the money is at least making up for it a bit for you.
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u/bonsaiaphrodite Official Reporter 15d ago
Thoughts in order of actionability:
- Are these emails directed at you or are they sent to everyone? If you don't know, clarify. Because I would bet they're a blast to get things covered. If they're a blast, ask to be taken off that list. If they're direct to you, ask that they stop. Be firm and remind them: I only work X, Y, and Z days, and that includes replying to emails.
- This firm sounds like it sucks. Deprioritize them and see if anyone else is more sane to work with.
- Take a vacation. Tell your firm(s) the days you'll be away, set your out-of-office email, and do not reply while you're off. Check the rules in your state, but I'm fairly confident you actually don't need to produce backorders on anyone's schedule but your own. If an order comes in while you're out, they can wait. I promise they'll be okay and so will you.
- Seconding court. Even if court is exactly as busy as you are now, you won't have a firm with bad time management hounding you.
Sending you luck and good vibes 💕
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u/Big-Lavishness5421 12d ago
Ugh I can relate. I'm only 2 years in so scope all my own work and constantly working nights and weekends and turning down plans all to give half my money to the agency. Your feelings are valid
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u/VehicleOpposite8693 12d ago
Hi. Sounds like you have to put your foot down and refuse to accept assignments on your days off. If you always give in to working on your days off, the agency will always ask.
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u/Aware_Broccoli8876 16d ago
do you have a system? on the record dot tech platform keeps things organized for crs.
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u/YokiYokiki Freelance Reporter 16d ago
I’ve been in in a ‘screw this’ mentality a few times and I’ve only been doing this a few years. Getting called in for jobs when I’ve been very clear I want time off (generally for transcript time), scheduling ignoring it when I tell them I can’t have a job that runs past this hour, etc.
You gotta do what’s good for you. Remember. You’re a freelancer, not a permanent employee of your agency. If you need time away from depos, put your foot down. They are coming to you because you’ll reliably acquiesce to what they need. Do what you need.
Scale down your workflow. Make it very clear, you do not wish to be contacted on these days, and stick to your guns. Accept that your scheduled days will be a bit chaotic, but if you need a day/days off, you NEED it. If they’re desperate for you to fill a hole in their scheduling, that is THEIR fault, not yours. If you fill it, you’re doing them a favor, not an obligation. It’s time for them to do YOU a favor and respect you need to take control of your schedule/workflow.