August 10, 2010: Washington - Typing for Money

On my first full day back in Washington I stayed in - typing for money! A freelance job to transcribe videos about combating cigarette smoking came my way, so I spent the afternoon listening and typing. It was strangely satisfying to get down the exact words. After a while I worked out my strategy - better to listen to the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next, then pause to type it out, than to listen to a sentence in its entirety. There's something about hearing the complete thought that makes it too easy to just jot down its paraphrased meaning, whereas concentrating on incomplete thoughts makes it easier to retain the exact wording. It's like a realistic drawing - you have to ignore your generic mental image of what you think the object in front of you is, and instead really pay attention to it as a shape, drawing that, with all of its specificity.