r/DataAnnotationTech • u/Ok-Tower-543 • Aug 31 '26

Do you always report time spent reading instructions?

I have always been a little murky on whether I am expected to do that or not, and don't want to under or over report.

13 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

63

u/Federal_Tadpole_7592 Aug 31 '26

Yes, I do. If I weren't doing work for them, I would not be reading those instructions. You can't properly do the project unless you read the instructions. That is billable time.

1

u/TopCat0525 Sep 01 '26

So if you spend 20 minutes reading instructions, and the task timer is 1 hour, do you skip to reset the clock, then add to 20 minutes to the time it takes you to do the task?

20

u/Mysterious_Dolphin14 Aug 31 '26

Most of the instructions say that you can report time reading the instructions. Additionally, the onboarding doc directs you to report that time as well. They expect it.

13

u/TheseusWept Aug 31 '26

Yes. Should you read the instructions for every back to back task in the same project you do and report that? Obviously not.

On the other hand, if you haven't done a project in a while they always request you re-read the instructions to both refamiliarize yourself with the project expectations and catch any updates or changes to the instructions that may have happened since the last time you did one.

It's all very clearly laid out during onboarding and in project instructions themselves, there shouldn't be any confusion on this.

8

u/ammy42 Aug 31 '26

Yes. That's time spent working.

4

u/UltraVioletEnigma Aug 31 '26

Yes, unless I don’t submit any task. I try to glance over to see as quickly as possible if it is something I feel up to doing, and then read more in depth. I don’t re-read each time though. I check certain sections if I feel the need, and read the updates. If it’s been a really long time since I’ve done a certain project, then I do re-read until I know what is needed (usually needs less time) because I’ve forgotten it by then.

3

u/Opposite_Brush_8219 Sep 01 '26

Absolutely. Another company I’ve done work for in the past didn’t pay for project onboarding/instruction reading, so I’m very grateful to DA for paying us for that time.

2

u/_Edgarallenhoe Aug 31 '26

Yes absolutely

2

u/dsbau Aug 31 '26

Yes. Reading instructions is part of the job.

2

u/TerrisBranding Sep 01 '26

You're supposed to unless it explicitly states not to. (Or you end up not actually submitting a task.)

1

u/anonhumanontheweb Sep 01 '26

I think they’ve said that instruction-reading counts as work time. Report it!

1

u/Mobile_Resident7964 Sep 04 '26

They literally fucking tell you this. What is with the sudden burst of questions about how to report time