What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll use Otter.ai as a running spoken log during your active shift — capturing every exception, decision, and notable event by voice so that your end-of-day report writes itself from real data instead of memory.
What you'll need
- Otter.ai installed on your phone (see Level 3 guide: "Transcribe Your Driver Briefings")
- A free Otter.ai account
- Time needed: 10 minutes to set up the habit; no extra time during the shift
- Cost: Free for up to 300 minutes/month
How-To Guide: Use Otter.ai as Your Real-Time Exception Log
Step 1: Start an Otter recording at the beginning of your shift
At the start of your active shift window (when exceptions start coming in), open Otter and tap the red microphone button. Leave the recording running in your pocket or on your desk throughout the shift.
What you should see: Otter is actively transcribing in the background while your phone screen is off. Troubleshooting: Make sure your phone's battery saver mode doesn't kill background apps. On iPhone: Settings → Otter.ai → Background App Refresh → On.