MTatHome Medical Transcription School Online

Tips on Organizing Your Work

As all Medical Transcriptionists know; transcribing dictations can be very time consuming in itself.  When you have the addition to your family life, kids, spouse and even for some a different job if you are just starting out part time in Medical Transcription then you need all the extra time you can spare.This is true with any career especially those that work from home offices.

While most doctors will allow so much time for you to transcribe his /her dr. dictation it is important to stay organized    


Stacks of papers, notes everywhere, pens, staplers and highlighters lying on your desk, phone keeps on ringing every minute, your computer does not seem to perform well and your boss keeps on calling you to find a file for him. The end result a day of DISASTER!

Having an organized workspace is the key to keeping your career on track! Here are some tips to keep in mind.

• Have either 2 seperate filing cabinets or a portable file storage with a handle to keep your files needed more often and those used less frequent seperated. For the ones used more often, try to keep them in a filing cabinet within reach for easy access. Keep those you only need at times in a separate storage space. Build a workable and effective filing system.
  
  
• Keep your work / business files and personal files seperated with both having the same type of filing system for ease of use.
  
  
• Only documents you need for that day should be on your desk. Be sure to identify them before you start working.
  
• Equipment and supplies you frequently use must be within reach as well as fax machine, computer/printer, filing cabinets, pens and papers. Other things you only use at times must be place elsewhere but in an orderly fashion.
  
  
• Use cord wraps as much as possible to avoid tangling cords everywhere. You can find ones that will reel the cord in around the plastic cord holder and will have an easy release for when you need extra length.
  
  
• Keep your upcoming events, appointments, work deadlines, etc writen down in a daily planner.  Calendars and clocks are very important to keep track of the time and your schedules. You can also use your computer to keep track of appointments, bill due dates, etc. Have your computer display a reminder for each important event, appointment and bill in plenty of time for you to be organized for each one.
  
  
• Position your computer directly right in front of you to keep others from distracting you from your work. This can be for both working in an office or at your home office depending on where your computer and desk is positioned at in your home.
  
  
• Place your desk where you can see the person coming to you. This is really more for receptionists and those that have people coming to their desks frequently.
  
  
• Leaving spare chairs around your desk can cause distraction. This can also be an unopen invitation for those passing by to sit down and attemp to chit-chat when you are busy.
  
  
• In establishing a filing system, be sure to label files well and try different ways of marking them such as color-coding your folders or boxes.  Also keeping a list of frequent accounts and the folder name you have them in will save you time until you learn them by repetition of filing over and over.
  
• Have a tray for inbox and outbox documents. The inbox is used for incoming paperwork and the outbox for outgoing documents. You will also want the same for mail.
  
  
•  If you have documents on hand that need to be worked on, read them immediately and highlight important information like deadlines and contact numbers. Work on urgent papers immediately. Set aside papers that are not yet needed and do not hesitate to throw out those that are not important. There is nothing worse then going through the same papers several different times that keep getting put in a not needed pile but never thrown away. Throw away the not needed papers and magazines ASAP so you do not have to go through them again later wasting more of your precious time!
  
  
• Make it a habit to clean your desk before you leave the office or your home office every day. This will make it much easier to get started the next day as well as save time. With uncluttered desks and computer files that are organized well, you can now start organizing your work.
  
  

Summary of the Tips Above:

1. When you are organized you can focus on important tasks.

2. Make a list of things-to-do  for everyday, a week and a month. This can be done in an organizer or planner that you can carry with you; or keep on the computer and backup to any other main computer you use like your home office PC.  Review the list daily before you begin working to see what is top priority and what can be set aside until he important tasks are taken care of.  Be sure to roll over anything not accomplished to the next day in your planner..

3. Have a good time management plan. If you are a person that tends to run late on things then learn to trick your own time clock!  Set clocks ahead 10 or 15 minutes so that you will think it is later then it is!  Use all of the organizing tips above to help you manage your time and save you money. As we all know time is money.

4. Calendars,  planners, and computer organizer software are very important tools to keep your schedule and life organized. Reminders are very helpful.

5. Learn how to delegate tasks. There is nothing wrong with asking others to help with your work load.  If you have someone that is good at a certain task them delegate that task to them to free up more of your time to get other things done.

6. Classify mail according to its level of importance and screen phone calls so that you direct time to the most urgent and important tasks. Take care of the most important mail and phone calls during the first part of the day so that it gets taken care of early and is out of the way to get other things done. Be sure to take care of the less important ones as well, however they can be done anytime during the day. It is the urgent ones that need to be first. So block off time to do these tasks first every day.

7. Make it a habit to clear your workspace to help you organize your thoughts and think well during working hours. Keeping your work area clean and organized will help you be able to find things faster, saving you time as well as getting things done sooner when you are not searching for something forever. Try to clean up things and put them where they go every few hours at the longest, every hour would even be better as there would not be much to put up.

Using the information in this article can help organize your life and work habits.  When you get your work habits more organized you will tend to do the same in your home / personal life as well. 


Some people come by it natural to be organized and others have to work harder at it with more effort.  Yet with anything if you practice and get in the habit of doing it everyday then it become repitition and seems only natural after awhile to keep it organized.

I hope this article has been useful to you, and that you put the advice to use.

Lynn Littlejohn

 � Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved - Lynn Littlejohn Information