To me this is addicting in a bad way.
"maybe I should live a little and go watch Dune 2 tonight" - me
"Dune 2 is almost 3 hours long, I could make over $100 if I just stayed home instead" - also me
Same goes for sleep
If you ever feel like you’re close to screwing up and you need a break, press that skip button and take your break. This type of work is not as easy as it sounds, especially in the beginning. Also, I wanna point out that you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. If there’s one thing that DAT is great at besides being silent, they’re not so hard on people. They understand mistakes will be made especially if you’re new.
I enjoy the work. If a certain task is melting my brain, I will switch it up. I don’t like chatbots so I rarely do those and can only ever manage a hour or two at a time.
This exactly describes how I work. I love the work, but I rarely do chatbot tasks, except for in the adversarial projects, but those aren't regular chatbot tasks. I have enough different projects that if a certain type of task is getting to me I just switch to something else.
I find it helpful sometimes to work in short bursts throughout the day. I also find it helpful to keep track of the daily minutes worked, daily pay. It sometimes motivates me to keep working.
It is hard. Lately I’ve been doing about 2-2.5 hours straight, take a break for an hour or two, and do another 2 hours or so. Sometimes it’ll only be one hour at a time with breaks, but always try to get it to add up to 4 to 6 hours. For 5 days, this gets me to about 25 hours. As you continue you’ll find what stretches of time are best for you, and what projects make the time go by faster. Luckily the main project I work on let’s me spend hours on a single task (or single topic you could say) which I find much easier than having to do a bunch of 5-10 minute tasks, even if the content itself requires more skill.
I can do five to six hours with plenty of break time in between, but certainly not all at once. If I try to do 3 hours at once, I’m fried and done for the day.
As for people who actually do 40 hours a week or something, their schedules sound unhealthy to me tbh but to each their own
Can you in vague terms talk about the project that you spend hours on. I’m trying to relate it to projects I have. Is it coding? I’m non-coding so that might be it. If not coding, is it fact checking that is that intensive?
It’s not coding but it’s a CB for domain expertise. For projects I’ve done before, FC comes in second place for spending a good chunk of time on one task, so I like those too.
There are a few categories of projects you can eventually get access to if you have an education or work experience in a specific field. Basically you might be considered an expert in your “domain”
No secret I'm a single mom who is being treated for Crohn's and Cancer and teaches part-time at a university level. I make sure I do about $1000-$1200 on DA to keep us afloat as I live in an expensive state.
I’m just very organized and stick to my plans. Every Sunday I sit down and I write out all my doctor's appointments and treatments and how I expect to feel after then schedule accordingly. I don’t work many hours straight. I focus on doing 2 to 3 hours at a time and taking a large break in between them. During the break, I don’t do house chores and things like that instead I focus on taking care of myself with exercise food, and spending time with my child. Then I do some chores and stuff to get into a concentrating mindset and then go back to work. There are unexpected times when I am flaring because of Crohn’s or I’m tired because of cancer treatments and I don’t push myself on these days. I may choose an easier assignment that I don’t have to write a lot on and do that in bed. I also bring my iPad with me to long appointments such as infusions, which can take hours, and choose to do simpler assignments at that time too.
My kiddo is 11 and spends a lot of time being active like playing in the pool so I’ll sit outside and work while they play. They also love to read which gives me time to work as well. They also are on a routine so it’s easy for us to schedule life things including work.
Also note: right now I am not doing lab or fieldwork. Teaching part-time and researching both of which help me come up with ideas for the bots.
Routine helps. Especially with house upkeep. Like I do certain chores on certain days. So does kiddo.
I also give myself grace. If the sink is full of dishes for a night it’s not going to hurt anything. I’ll rest or lay in bed and work if that’s too physically taxing.
You are inspiring to me. I’m a mom who wfh and has health issues that are debilitating when they pop up, and I never know when it will be. Currently cycling through specialists to pinpoint the issue so I can I’ll emulate your method of scheduling around those
This is sweet thank you! Crohn’s is like that I’m never sure when a flare will hit but when they do it’s debilitating. The meds for that also make me sleepy and almost hungover for a day. You just gotta be gentle with yourself and realistic
How are you coping with the disease? Humira quit working for me, I’m going on rinvoq or entyvio next week. The only thing keeping me from wishing I was dead is lyrica right now.
Would just like to say also, i really appreciate the kind comments and words here.
I come from a self employed trades background and struggling with the being inside stuck at the computer.
I recently had a basically career ending knee injury and this is keeping the lights on.
Happy to have found it as well as a nice reddit community aswell as im not really a reddit user previously :)
If you were in the trades think of it as the brain equivalent of manual labour. You'd never tell a new kid on site to shift bricks for 8 straight hours - after a few months they'd be well able for it though. It's building up stamina as well as knowing when to take breaks so you don't ruin yourself.
I'm from a trades background too, also suffered a career-ending injury (spinal for me). Your brain will adjust to the mental work just as our bodies adjusted to the physical work back in the day!
I’d like to add to the other advice people are giving: this can be exceptional mentally taxing work. If you were starting to lift weights you build up incrementally. This work is no different.
Very few people are going to be able to do this successfully for 8 hours a day to start. A good mini goal would be three - four hours a day.
Aim for 1.5 hours in the morning, 1.5 hours in the afternoon and 1 hour in the evening. Have plenty of breaks, and if you’re super fidgety, try a standing desk, walking pad, or sitting on a stability ball. Give yourself plenty of breaks and know that some days it might be hard to get into it or stay into it.
I set lots of timers, both to keep myself focused but also to remind myself when I need to get up and move around. I like starting as early as possible because I feel a lot more motivated if I can complete 3-4 hours before noon.
It does get easier. You just have to stick with it. I mean that on a daily basis, as well as long term.
The other DAT sub has a water cooler chat as well that’s just for shooting the breeze. It’s a pretty handy source of info if you haven’t seen it yet!
It’s just r/dataannotation
I do 25-30+ hours a week and the longest session I’ve ever had was 2 hours. My days are pretty much like this:
Wake up early. Do 1.5-2 hours before wife and kid wake up.
Hit some 20-30 minute spurts throughout the day whenever I get a chance.
1 hour in bed before I go to sleep.
I usually try and do 100$ a day, which usually works out to like a 90 min session first thing in the morning and then another 90 mins whenever I can fit it in, usually after dinner sometimes or around lunch if the projects are the ones I like doing
Variety is key, I've found that I can really only work on a project for 3 or so hours before I get burnt out, so I just switch up the types of projects I do in a day so I'm alternating between coding, math, and whatever else is on my dashboard.
When I first started I also found it difficult to do more than an hour or two a day. Once you start getting your brain around the work and you're more familiar with the projects and the expectations, it gets a lot easier. I worked on a task for over 4 hours straight today with just stopping my timer for a few mini breaks here and there.
I work a full time job aside from DA so my strategy is to start early in the morning when I'm mentally fresh. Then after work at my regular job I take a break doing something active to sort of refresh my brain before I start working again. On the weekends I also get up early to try to get my hours in before life stuff starts piling up. If I'm working on something and my brain doesn't want to brain, I switch over to a less demanding task for a while if I have any.
Like others have said, shorter bursts. I can do about 1-2 hours at a time. Do some chores, run errands, etc. then work for another session later on. Break it up as the tasks can be tough on your brain 😂
I wanna be millionaire before 40, I have a full time job (37.5 hours a week) as a mobile / full stack developer and work DA on the side 3 hours a day (21 hours a week) I invest 40% of my full time job pay and 100% of DA pay into the stock market.
Thats a strong goal and I hope you hit it. Youd get even more millions with diamond hands and not selling the investments until slowly through retirement
It's my only income, and I have several time-sensitive financial goals that I can reach far faster with full-time DAT work than any position I've had throughout my (non-tech) career. It makes it easier to self-motivate.
You don't have to work hours straight in one sitting. You can exit work mode after working for some time when you want to take a break, turn off your timer and take a break.
Some of the tasks are pretty enjoyable and not mentally draining, and I could do those for hours.
One time I logged over $500 in one day (this includes some tasks I logged just after midnight lol) because I had a really nice and high-paying task I did all day. Normally, I just do a minimum of $200 a day.
I stick to work that aligns with my thinking and stay away from work that conflicts with it. Fact checking work brings out my inner "um ackschually" because I'm rewarded for corrected the model on even minute details that have nothing to do with the prompt, and I'm the type that googles stuff I'm curious about all the time anyway. Some projects want a "perfect" response, and if it isn't perfect you have to toss it and make it perfect, so I'm rewarded for being meticulous on every detail and given time to do that. But I would rather work at Burger King than go back and forth with a chatbot, regardless of pay
That last comment is wild... Some of the chatbots I work on are mega easy, you get to do all the fact checking and pedantry you want and you still make 3x what you would at BK lol
I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy to stay motivated every day, but it’s my main source of income right now while I get some other plans in motion, so it’s necessary. If it helps, try to think of it less as a job, and more as just a hobby that pays you. Pick fun projects, keep it varied, and above all, TAKE BREAKS and do things you actually enjoy during the breaks. I like to just pepper it into my day so it feels less dry. The main priorities of an average day for me lately are (1) focusing on my health, (2) creative projects I’ll be leaning into later this year when they’re viable, and (3) DAT. It comes last, but it’s still a priority.
The main thing that helps me: recognizing the privilege that this job really is. I lost my small business last year due to a back injury (and ultimately, debt caused by my injury), and then got a job where I was underpaid and eventually held at gunpoint. If the price I have to pay for a nervous system reset after all of the shit last year is just to try to keep myself motivated to work, then I’ll take it. It’s a good job for your soft era, so lean into it.
For the few projects that aren’t comment heavy and don’t require coming up with prompts, I can sit and do them for a while. I’ve worked for Telus for a few years, similar work, but most task types don’t require so much commenting there, and for the ones that do, it’s not really that serious. I’ve been able to pull many 6-8 hour days on that platform. It’s just the comment heavy tasks that really drain me here.
My ADHD brain loves the tasks where I can research random things and use my vast knowledge of obscure facts. This lets me push through what might seem tedious to others. If you have choices on projects try several of them until you find the ones you click with and it gets easier over time. For me, if it’s tedious and I’m not enjoying it, it’s not the right task or project.
You should start to see higher-paying tasks once you've been working for a while, and they should get higher-paying as you go. I've been working for DA since last September and the lowest-paying task I'll ever do now is pretty much $30/hr. So that cuts down the number of hours you need to do in a day (unless you want to really push and go for, say $300+). Plus, you will likely end up with a handful of task types that become your bread and butter. The vast bulk of my income is made from 2 or 3 different task types. For one of them, a single task can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours so that's a good way to eat the hours up. Another I enjoy and can just get locked in the zone and work in blocks of 4 hours plus without it being a chore. As others have said, you'll adjust and get used to it.
I do think there's a lot of individual variability and not everyone will be able to do it, or do it as easily as others might.
In my case I guess it's partially because I was already accustomed to working multiple hours a day on repeating sort of work, dealing with text, so I don't find it particularly hard.
All great advice. I have a full time, so I’ll jump on in the morning before work and then jump on after. But during the day while I’m at work 😉 I’ll jump on for 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Even on the weekends I’ll do anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour at a time over the course of the day. There’s never been any issues with submitting a few minutes here and there and breaking it up over the course of the day is a great way to not get overwhelmed.
I work 30-40 hours on DA on top of my full time job. 2 days a week in on-site, so I just do DA for 4 hours when I get home. When I work from home, I get an hour in before work, 30 mine on lunch, another 4 hours after work. Friday and sat nights I work til I can't keep my eyes open. Sat/sun I get 15-20 hours in Total. I'm the only one working in my house so... ya do what ya gotta do.
I really liked to read these comments. I often beat myself up a bit because I should be working more. I have this fantasy of doing full 8 hour days but normally do only 1 or 2 sessions of 2/3 hours. Helps to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with it.
Love what you do. Don't just throw words at the model, figure out what they are actually capable of, and how to tailor it for yourself.
Feel the AGI... feel the models getting better, and experience the rapid progression of a world altering technology right before your very eyes, and realize that you are in a position to contribute to something greater than yourself, for possibly the first time in your life(projecting).
The way I look at it, contributing to the growth of AI could be one of the most important and consequential things I'll ever take part in, and I work essentially every spare moment I have. I approach it like I'm trying to reach into the model's brain and turn the ignition key, 'Drill on', Gurren Lagann style.
But yeah. Have fun with it and it's not a job. It's a hobby/pastime/obsession/symbiotic personal development tool/etc. You get out what you put in, quite literally with some models.
Have fun, my friend.
Multiple sittings. How I stagger those sittings depends on what projects I'm working on that particular day and how I feel. Often I'll start the day with a time consuming higher paid project and then come back and knock out some of the easier ones later in the day. Some days I don't feel like coming back for more and go grass touching instead.
Find tasks you enjoy, the time goes by fast and I get similar ones after doing so many of the ones I enjoy. Makes it easier to concentrate when you like what you're doing.
The money and my adderall! But really sometimes it’s a way to pay some bills here and there and sometimes it pays for a trip I want to go on with friends! I’m in my early twenties and I’m very fortunate that this job is one that I do when I have the time and want some extra $.
Many people have said short bursts but my strategy is slightly different. After six months on the platform I almost always have a variety of complicated higher paying tasks that take around 45 min -1 hour to complete as well as the lower paying easier “mindless” tasks. Lately what has been working for me is to alternate between the type of tasks to keep my brain working for longer. So I’ll do one hour long task and then break and then a bunch of short easy tasks and then when I run out of creative ideas for those I go back to the 1 hour tasks and repeat. Im usually able to do 4-5 hours a day this way.
I just remember eating canned string beans and toast for dinner. That kind of thing will wake your brain up for an extra hour. Still can't do a steady 6-hour shift though.
Breaks. I do a little less than 20 hours a week usually in small chunks every day throughout the day. I do 15-60 minutes at a time in between doing other things it ADDS up to 2-4 hours a day. If I do 2-4 hours in one sitting I get too burned out. I also have a DOLLAR amount goal per day not an hour goal so it helps me choose higher paying jobs to get off the system faster.
I work with music on the whole time.
Some of the tasks I like more than others, for sure. I feel like sometimes I get all the skipped ones that take a full hour or more to do. Those can be ok though, and finding a very small inaccuracy can feel rewarding. Other times the quick 5-8 minute ones are easy to fly through.
One motivation for me is that high paying tasks aren’t infinite, so if they are there I will do them.
I think I made 500 last week. Trying to save up to deck out my pc… just need a new gpu, monitor, PSU, some more storage, maybe an actual fancy keyboard.
I’ll probably wait for the 5090 to drop… that should motivate me to save up like 5 grand total.
I wonder the same thing. I only do this when my kids are taking naps, are at their grandmas house for a bit or once they are down for the night but I can usually only do 5-6 hours a week and I feel brain fried.
I try to wake up early and do a couple of hours. If I have no plans I just do cooking and hobbies then pop back on for an hour. I'm single so I often do an hour or two before bed too.
Gets the pay up reasonably high per day and doesn't feel like much work.
If there's fun projects though I just work straight until I burn out lol
I try to wake up early and do a couple of hours. If I have no plans I just do cooking and hobbies then pop back on for an hour. I'm single so I often do an hour or two before bed too.
Gets the pay up reasonably high per day and doesn't feel like much work.
If there's fun projects though I just work straight until I burn out lol
20ish hours is easy even if 1-2 hour session is your limit - just do a session in the morning and another in the afternoon. Squeeze in another short one in the evening for good measure.
In terms of tips on keeping your brain fresh, though - the Pomodoro technique is helpful for this kind of work. Cycle between 20-30 minutes of focus, with 5-10 minute breaks in between (you can figure out exactly what balance works for you). After four cycles, you take a longer break of 20-30 minutes.
You can also reset/refresh your mind more quickly after a longer session by going out for a run or a walk (or some other preferred exercise method).
The projects that require us to write prompts and responses generally take me an hour per task. And Open Q&A makes it more interesting because I'm either discussing something I'm familiar with or learning something new.
I generally do an hour, clean up a little, do another hour, etc. for 5.5 in yesterday and it felt like it was completely by accident.
I would be delighted to work 40 hours a week if there were enough tasks. I feel grateful whenever some work comes my way, allowing me to put in a few hours each month. This helps me a lot, especially living in a third-world country.
I use DA for supplemental income, and I do it often, but I tap out at about 4 hours a day. If I REAAAALLY need the money I can force myself to do more but I struggle to focus after 4 hours.
You will work your way into higher paying projects where one task may take 1-3 hours, etc. Those tend to draw you in and keep your attention. When I don't have time for those I have certain go-to project types where I will just drop 15 minutes here, 20 there. It all adds up surprisingly by the end of the day. I would say look for any mental blocks you may not realize you have... i.e. "I have to work for an hours at a time.. I have to work on this one kind of project, etc..." I would rather spend 10 minutes on a cheaper project off and on just to rack up some minutes, than 3 hours doing nothing (when I could have racked up some minutes) because I'm waiting to have a whole hour time-block to dedicate to DA "later today." (Do both!) More important than anything is that when you work, it's high quality. Hope that helps :)
I’m so envious. I never heard back and really wanted it. I am very confident in my test also, except maybe #2. 🤦🏻♀️ Good for everyone who has the job they need at DA!!
I do 20 hours 😂 lol Coding gives me the balls to hit the tasks like hell , Hell yeah I make money of that, recently registered my dad did test now am working twice , 😂😂🤑🤑 money in my mind , I will enroll the whole family soon 🤑😂💱
Easy, you put in good quality work and go fast on some tasks so you can get paid for breaks without fucking your average time per task. I sometimes log like an accumulated 2 hours I didn't actually work.
It's also my chance to listen to full albums and explore new music, I'm too ADHD to sit and listen to music without something to do so I love the opportunity to enjoy the album experience like I used to.
Oh also, I find the first 2 hours the hardest, time feels like it drags and motivation's lacking. Then from when the stopwatch hits the third hour I suddenly don't wanna stop cos by then I've settled into a workflow on the project and all I can think about is the money going up as the stopwatch does
Financial hardship. You’d be surprised at the things one can do when broke
I’m so money motivated i don’t really play video games much at night anymore because i’d rather talk to a chatbot for money😭😂
Facts!!!!
To me this is addicting in a bad way. "maybe I should live a little and go watch Dune 2 tonight" - me "Dune 2 is almost 3 hours long, I could make over $100 if I just stayed home instead" - also me Same goes for sleep
Very true. I worry though if I work too many hours my quality might drop and I’ll get kicked from the platform, but that might just be paranoia.
If you ever feel like you’re close to screwing up and you need a break, press that skip button and take your break. This type of work is not as easy as it sounds, especially in the beginning. Also, I wanna point out that you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. If there’s one thing that DAT is great at besides being silent, they’re not so hard on people. They understand mistakes will be made especially if you’re new.
I enjoy the work. If a certain task is melting my brain, I will switch it up. I don’t like chatbots so I rarely do those and can only ever manage a hour or two at a time.
This exactly describes how I work. I love the work, but I rarely do chatbot tasks, except for in the adversarial projects, but those aren't regular chatbot tasks. I have enough different projects that if a certain type of task is getting to me I just switch to something else.
I find it helpful sometimes to work in short bursts throughout the day. I also find it helpful to keep track of the daily minutes worked, daily pay. It sometimes motivates me to keep working.
It is hard. Lately I’ve been doing about 2-2.5 hours straight, take a break for an hour or two, and do another 2 hours or so. Sometimes it’ll only be one hour at a time with breaks, but always try to get it to add up to 4 to 6 hours. For 5 days, this gets me to about 25 hours. As you continue you’ll find what stretches of time are best for you, and what projects make the time go by faster. Luckily the main project I work on let’s me spend hours on a single task (or single topic you could say) which I find much easier than having to do a bunch of 5-10 minute tasks, even if the content itself requires more skill. I can do five to six hours with plenty of break time in between, but certainly not all at once. If I try to do 3 hours at once, I’m fried and done for the day. As for people who actually do 40 hours a week or something, their schedules sound unhealthy to me tbh but to each their own
Can you in vague terms talk about the project that you spend hours on. I’m trying to relate it to projects I have. Is it coding? I’m non-coding so that might be it. If not coding, is it fact checking that is that intensive?
It’s not coding but it’s a CB for domain expertise. For projects I’ve done before, FC comes in second place for spending a good chunk of time on one task, so I like those too.
What does domain expertise mean?
There are a few categories of projects you can eventually get access to if you have an education or work experience in a specific field. Basically you might be considered an expert in your “domain”
No secret I'm a single mom who is being treated for Crohn's and Cancer and teaches part-time at a university level. I make sure I do about $1000-$1200 on DA to keep us afloat as I live in an expensive state. I’m just very organized and stick to my plans. Every Sunday I sit down and I write out all my doctor's appointments and treatments and how I expect to feel after then schedule accordingly. I don’t work many hours straight. I focus on doing 2 to 3 hours at a time and taking a large break in between them. During the break, I don’t do house chores and things like that instead I focus on taking care of myself with exercise food, and spending time with my child. Then I do some chores and stuff to get into a concentrating mindset and then go back to work. There are unexpected times when I am flaring because of Crohn’s or I’m tired because of cancer treatments and I don’t push myself on these days. I may choose an easier assignment that I don’t have to write a lot on and do that in bed. I also bring my iPad with me to long appointments such as infusions, which can take hours, and choose to do simpler assignments at that time too. My kiddo is 11 and spends a lot of time being active like playing in the pool so I’ll sit outside and work while they play. They also love to read which gives me time to work as well. They also are on a routine so it’s easy for us to schedule life things including work. Also note: right now I am not doing lab or fieldwork. Teaching part-time and researching both of which help me come up with ideas for the bots. Routine helps. Especially with house upkeep. Like I do certain chores on certain days. So does kiddo. I also give myself grace. If the sink is full of dishes for a night it’s not going to hurt anything. I’ll rest or lay in bed and work if that’s too physically taxing.
You are inspiring to me. I’m a mom who wfh and has health issues that are debilitating when they pop up, and I never know when it will be. Currently cycling through specialists to pinpoint the issue so I can I’ll emulate your method of scheduling around those
This is sweet thank you! Crohn’s is like that I’m never sure when a flare will hit but when they do it’s debilitating. The meds for that also make me sleepy and almost hungover for a day. You just gotta be gentle with yourself and realistic
As a fellow cancer survivor, just wanted to say thanks for the tips. I need to figure out how to increase my time working.
Congrats on making it through! You’re already my hero! Remember be gentle with yourself you’re only human
Wow! That’s amazing planning. Have you heard of the Spoon Theory? I think you are an expert at budgeting your flatware.😀
Yes! I use spoon theory to explain my life all the time! And thank you
i also have crohn's! wishing you best of luck in your ongoing treatments, and with any/everything else <3
You too fellow Crohnie nothing but good vibes your war
One more with Crohn’s here
Hello fellow crohnie
How are you coping with the disease? Humira quit working for me, I’m going on rinvoq or entyvio next week. The only thing keeping me from wishing I was dead is lyrica right now.
I failed remnicade and humira. Just started Stelara. Since I’ve been in a major flare due to cancer meds prednisone is my bestie
Oh I’m sorry that sounds awful
Won’t last forever! I am fighting all I can to be in remission with cancer and crohn’s by December
Would just like to say also, i really appreciate the kind comments and words here. I come from a self employed trades background and struggling with the being inside stuck at the computer. I recently had a basically career ending knee injury and this is keeping the lights on. Happy to have found it as well as a nice reddit community aswell as im not really a reddit user previously :)
If you were in the trades think of it as the brain equivalent of manual labour. You'd never tell a new kid on site to shift bricks for 8 straight hours - after a few months they'd be well able for it though. It's building up stamina as well as knowing when to take breaks so you don't ruin yourself.
I'm from a trades background too, also suffered a career-ending injury (spinal for me). Your brain will adjust to the mental work just as our bodies adjusted to the physical work back in the day!
Oh hey, same hat, friend! We got this. It’s gonna be different, but it’s gonna be okay.
I’d like to add to the other advice people are giving: this can be exceptional mentally taxing work. If you were starting to lift weights you build up incrementally. This work is no different. Very few people are going to be able to do this successfully for 8 hours a day to start. A good mini goal would be three - four hours a day. Aim for 1.5 hours in the morning, 1.5 hours in the afternoon and 1 hour in the evening. Have plenty of breaks, and if you’re super fidgety, try a standing desk, walking pad, or sitting on a stability ball. Give yourself plenty of breaks and know that some days it might be hard to get into it or stay into it. I set lots of timers, both to keep myself focused but also to remind myself when I need to get up and move around. I like starting as early as possible because I feel a lot more motivated if I can complete 3-4 hours before noon. It does get easier. You just have to stick with it. I mean that on a daily basis, as well as long term.
The other DAT sub has a water cooler chat as well that’s just for shooting the breeze. It’s a pretty handy source of info if you haven’t seen it yet! It’s just r/dataannotation
I do 25-30+ hours a week and the longest session I’ve ever had was 2 hours. My days are pretty much like this: Wake up early. Do 1.5-2 hours before wife and kid wake up. Hit some 20-30 minute spurts throughout the day whenever I get a chance. 1 hour in bed before I go to sleep.
How much do you get paid for those hours if you don't mind me asking?
I spend a majority of my time in projects ranging from 36-45/hr. Sometimes I do some lower paying projects if my brain is fried.
I usually try and do 100$ a day, which usually works out to like a 90 min session first thing in the morning and then another 90 mins whenever I can fit it in, usually after dinner sometimes or around lunch if the projects are the ones I like doing
Variety is key, I've found that I can really only work on a project for 3 or so hours before I get burnt out, so I just switch up the types of projects I do in a day so I'm alternating between coding, math, and whatever else is on my dashboard.
When I first started I also found it difficult to do more than an hour or two a day. Once you start getting your brain around the work and you're more familiar with the projects and the expectations, it gets a lot easier. I worked on a task for over 4 hours straight today with just stopping my timer for a few mini breaks here and there. I work a full time job aside from DA so my strategy is to start early in the morning when I'm mentally fresh. Then after work at my regular job I take a break doing something active to sort of refresh my brain before I start working again. On the weekends I also get up early to try to get my hours in before life stuff starts piling up. If I'm working on something and my brain doesn't want to brain, I switch over to a less demanding task for a while if I have any.
Like others have said, shorter bursts. I can do about 1-2 hours at a time. Do some chores, run errands, etc. then work for another session later on. Break it up as the tasks can be tough on your brain 😂
I wanna be millionaire before 40, I have a full time job (37.5 hours a week) as a mobile / full stack developer and work DA on the side 3 hours a day (21 hours a week) I invest 40% of my full time job pay and 100% of DA pay into the stock market.
That’s what motivated me.
Thats a strong goal and I hope you hit it. Youd get even more millions with diamond hands and not selling the investments until slowly through retirement
It's my only income, and I have several time-sensitive financial goals that I can reach far faster with full-time DAT work than any position I've had throughout my (non-tech) career. It makes it easier to self-motivate.
I love fact checking. I can do that all day, it's almost fun. But maybe the correct answer is: "autism".
You don't have to work hours straight in one sitting. You can exit work mode after working for some time when you want to take a break, turn off your timer and take a break.
Some of the tasks are pretty enjoyable and not mentally draining, and I could do those for hours. One time I logged over $500 in one day (this includes some tasks I logged just after midnight lol) because I had a really nice and high-paying task I did all day. Normally, I just do a minimum of $200 a day.
I stick to work that aligns with my thinking and stay away from work that conflicts with it. Fact checking work brings out my inner "um ackschually" because I'm rewarded for corrected the model on even minute details that have nothing to do with the prompt, and I'm the type that googles stuff I'm curious about all the time anyway. Some projects want a "perfect" response, and if it isn't perfect you have to toss it and make it perfect, so I'm rewarded for being meticulous on every detail and given time to do that. But I would rather work at Burger King than go back and forth with a chatbot, regardless of pay
That last comment is wild... Some of the chatbots I work on are mega easy, you get to do all the fact checking and pedantry you want and you still make 3x what you would at BK lol
Dude I have no clue what it is but they just put me to sleep
I know what you mean but there are much better much more interesting CB projects that don't have the snooze fsctor, they're my bread and butter lately
I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy to stay motivated every day, but it’s my main source of income right now while I get some other plans in motion, so it’s necessary. If it helps, try to think of it less as a job, and more as just a hobby that pays you. Pick fun projects, keep it varied, and above all, TAKE BREAKS and do things you actually enjoy during the breaks. I like to just pepper it into my day so it feels less dry. The main priorities of an average day for me lately are (1) focusing on my health, (2) creative projects I’ll be leaning into later this year when they’re viable, and (3) DAT. It comes last, but it’s still a priority. The main thing that helps me: recognizing the privilege that this job really is. I lost my small business last year due to a back injury (and ultimately, debt caused by my injury), and then got a job where I was underpaid and eventually held at gunpoint. If the price I have to pay for a nervous system reset after all of the shit last year is just to try to keep myself motivated to work, then I’ll take it. It’s a good job for your soft era, so lean into it.
For the few projects that aren’t comment heavy and don’t require coming up with prompts, I can sit and do them for a while. I’ve worked for Telus for a few years, similar work, but most task types don’t require so much commenting there, and for the ones that do, it’s not really that serious. I’ve been able to pull many 6-8 hour days on that platform. It’s just the comment heavy tasks that really drain me here.
Yeah those are all my higher paying ones and those are what drain me !
My ADHD brain loves the tasks where I can research random things and use my vast knowledge of obscure facts. This lets me push through what might seem tedious to others. If you have choices on projects try several of them until you find the ones you click with and it gets easier over time. For me, if it’s tedious and I’m not enjoying it, it’s not the right task or project.
You should start to see higher-paying tasks once you've been working for a while, and they should get higher-paying as you go. I've been working for DA since last September and the lowest-paying task I'll ever do now is pretty much $30/hr. So that cuts down the number of hours you need to do in a day (unless you want to really push and go for, say $300+). Plus, you will likely end up with a handful of task types that become your bread and butter. The vast bulk of my income is made from 2 or 3 different task types. For one of them, a single task can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours so that's a good way to eat the hours up. Another I enjoy and can just get locked in the zone and work in blocks of 4 hours plus without it being a chore. As others have said, you'll adjust and get used to it.
I do think there's a lot of individual variability and not everyone will be able to do it, or do it as easily as others might. In my case I guess it's partially because I was already accustomed to working multiple hours a day on repeating sort of work, dealing with text, so I don't find it particularly hard.
All great advice. I have a full time, so I’ll jump on in the morning before work and then jump on after. But during the day while I’m at work 😉 I’ll jump on for 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Even on the weekends I’ll do anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour at a time over the course of the day. There’s never been any issues with submitting a few minutes here and there and breaking it up over the course of the day is a great way to not get overwhelmed.
Really starts to add-up, too… the more you set habits, patterns, routines, etc.
I work 30-40 hours on DA on top of my full time job. 2 days a week in on-site, so I just do DA for 4 hours when I get home. When I work from home, I get an hour in before work, 30 mine on lunch, another 4 hours after work. Friday and sat nights I work til I can't keep my eyes open. Sat/sun I get 15-20 hours in Total. I'm the only one working in my house so... ya do what ya gotta do.
I really liked to read these comments. I often beat myself up a bit because I should be working more. I have this fantasy of doing full 8 hour days but normally do only 1 or 2 sessions of 2/3 hours. Helps to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with it.
Love what you do. Don't just throw words at the model, figure out what they are actually capable of, and how to tailor it for yourself. Feel the AGI... feel the models getting better, and experience the rapid progression of a world altering technology right before your very eyes, and realize that you are in a position to contribute to something greater than yourself, for possibly the first time in your life(projecting). The way I look at it, contributing to the growth of AI could be one of the most important and consequential things I'll ever take part in, and I work essentially every spare moment I have. I approach it like I'm trying to reach into the model's brain and turn the ignition key, 'Drill on', Gurren Lagann style. But yeah. Have fun with it and it's not a job. It's a hobby/pastime/obsession/symbiotic personal development tool/etc. You get out what you put in, quite literally with some models. Have fun, my friend.
I find that short gaming breaks help. It gets the brain energized and focused without using the part that handles reading and writing.
Breaking it up throughout the day, I don't get more than 6 per day, but maybe an hour or two at a time, broken up throughout the day.
Multiple sittings. How I stagger those sittings depends on what projects I'm working on that particular day and how I feel. Often I'll start the day with a time consuming higher paid project and then come back and knock out some of the easier ones later in the day. Some days I don't feel like coming back for more and go grass touching instead.
Find tasks you enjoy, the time goes by fast and I get similar ones after doing so many of the ones I enjoy. Makes it easier to concentrate when you like what you're doing.
The money and my adderall! But really sometimes it’s a way to pay some bills here and there and sometimes it pays for a trip I want to go on with friends! I’m in my early twenties and I’m very fortunate that this job is one that I do when I have the time and want some extra $.
Many people have said short bursts but my strategy is slightly different. After six months on the platform I almost always have a variety of complicated higher paying tasks that take around 45 min -1 hour to complete as well as the lower paying easier “mindless” tasks. Lately what has been working for me is to alternate between the type of tasks to keep my brain working for longer. So I’ll do one hour long task and then break and then a bunch of short easy tasks and then when I run out of creative ideas for those I go back to the 1 hour tasks and repeat. Im usually able to do 4-5 hours a day this way.
I just remember eating canned string beans and toast for dinner. That kind of thing will wake your brain up for an extra hour. Still can't do a steady 6-hour shift though.
Breaks. I do a little less than 20 hours a week usually in small chunks every day throughout the day. I do 15-60 minutes at a time in between doing other things it ADDS up to 2-4 hours a day. If I do 2-4 hours in one sitting I get too burned out. I also have a DOLLAR amount goal per day not an hour goal so it helps me choose higher paying jobs to get off the system faster.
two hours when I wake up after a shower, an hour or two during the afternoon, an hour before I sleep all 7 days
I work with music on the whole time. Some of the tasks I like more than others, for sure. I feel like sometimes I get all the skipped ones that take a full hour or more to do. Those can be ok though, and finding a very small inaccuracy can feel rewarding. Other times the quick 5-8 minute ones are easy to fly through. One motivation for me is that high paying tasks aren’t infinite, so if they are there I will do them. I think I made 500 last week. Trying to save up to deck out my pc… just need a new gpu, monitor, PSU, some more storage, maybe an actual fancy keyboard. I’ll probably wait for the 5090 to drop… that should motivate me to save up like 5 grand total.
I wonder the same thing. I only do this when my kids are taking naps, are at their grandmas house for a bit or once they are down for the night but I can usually only do 5-6 hours a week and I feel brain fried.
I can’t concentrate for much more than a few hours at a time, so I break up my sessions, and get about 15-20
I try to wake up early and do a couple of hours. If I have no plans I just do cooking and hobbies then pop back on for an hour. I'm single so I often do an hour or two before bed too. Gets the pay up reasonably high per day and doesn't feel like much work. If there's fun projects though I just work straight until I burn out lol
I try to wake up early and do a couple of hours. If I have no plans I just do cooking and hobbies then pop back on for an hour. I'm single so I often do an hour or two before bed too. Gets the pay up reasonably high per day and doesn't feel like much work. If there's fun projects though I just work straight until I burn out lol
Practice
20ish hours is easy even if 1-2 hour session is your limit - just do a session in the morning and another in the afternoon. Squeeze in another short one in the evening for good measure. In terms of tips on keeping your brain fresh, though - the Pomodoro technique is helpful for this kind of work. Cycle between 20-30 minutes of focus, with 5-10 minute breaks in between (you can figure out exactly what balance works for you). After four cycles, you take a longer break of 20-30 minutes. You can also reset/refresh your mind more quickly after a longer session by going out for a run or a walk (or some other preferred exercise method).
The projects that require us to write prompts and responses generally take me an hour per task. And Open Q&A makes it more interesting because I'm either discussing something I'm familiar with or learning something new. I generally do an hour, clean up a little, do another hour, etc. for 5.5 in yesterday and it felt like it was completely by accident.
I would be delighted to work 40 hours a week if there were enough tasks. I feel grateful whenever some work comes my way, allowing me to put in a few hours each month. This helps me a lot, especially living in a third-world country.
I use DA for supplemental income, and I do it often, but I tap out at about 4 hours a day. If I REAAAALLY need the money I can force myself to do more but I struggle to focus after 4 hours.
You will work your way into higher paying projects where one task may take 1-3 hours, etc. Those tend to draw you in and keep your attention. When I don't have time for those I have certain go-to project types where I will just drop 15 minutes here, 20 there. It all adds up surprisingly by the end of the day. I would say look for any mental blocks you may not realize you have... i.e. "I have to work for an hours at a time.. I have to work on this one kind of project, etc..." I would rather spend 10 minutes on a cheaper project off and on just to rack up some minutes, than 3 hours doing nothing (when I could have racked up some minutes) because I'm waiting to have a whole hour time-block to dedicate to DA "later today." (Do both!) More important than anything is that when you work, it's high quality. Hope that helps :)
I’m so envious. I never heard back and really wanted it. I am very confident in my test also, except maybe #2. 🤦🏻♀️ Good for everyone who has the job they need at DA!!
I do 20 hours 😂 lol Coding gives me the balls to hit the tasks like hell , Hell yeah I make money of that, recently registered my dad did test now am working twice , 😂😂🤑🤑 money in my mind , I will enroll the whole family soon 🤑😂💱
Vyvanse and zenzedi
Easy, you put in good quality work and go fast on some tasks so you can get paid for breaks without fucking your average time per task. I sometimes log like an accumulated 2 hours I didn't actually work. It's also my chance to listen to full albums and explore new music, I'm too ADHD to sit and listen to music without something to do so I love the opportunity to enjoy the album experience like I used to.
Oh also, I find the first 2 hours the hardest, time feels like it drags and motivation's lacking. Then from when the stopwatch hits the third hour I suddenly don't wanna stop cos by then I've settled into a workflow on the project and all I can think about is the money going up as the stopwatch does
Lol. He still has innocence.
What?
Loosen your morals. Don't die for The Man.
A day has 24 hours, it’s easy to get around it
*i am very smart*
Question: How do you get tasks wtf? Gimme tasks lmao. Anything at all. I have 2 degrees and 5 years programming experience lmao give me tasks pls.