Transcribing interviews is difficult and time-consuming, but it's worth it. It gives direction and narrows one's focus. The best thing to do is just to plow through it and get it done but at the same time there's a story in there that's slowly unfolding... a story that needs nurturing.
I have been highlighting details that grab me. Here's one I love, and it's straight from the Ms.D:
"... there’s this incredible thrill when you do something that’s that challenging after you’ve done it. There’s a before, there’s a during, and there’s an after. Before feels passionate, during is gruelling, and after is euphoric. In that stage of euphoria where you go “oh my god, i’ve just done something that looked impossible at the outset” it's in that euphoria you say “I want to do it again."