{"id":519,"date":"2010-06-29T19:42:03","date_gmt":"2010-06-29T19:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/?p=519"},"modified":"2010-06-29T19:42:03","modified_gmt":"2010-06-29T19:42:03","slug":"getting-the-balance-right-translation-tools-tranfree-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/getting-the-balance-right-translation-tools-tranfree-71\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting the Balance Right & Translation Tools – tranfree 71"},"content":{"rendered":"

tranfree 71 – Avoiding & coping with Staleness. <\/a><\/p>\n

You can also download this edition of tranfree 71<\/em> as a PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

Editorial<\/h3>\n

As I sit and type, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a beautiful sunny day here \u00e2\u20ac\u201c perfect for the second week of Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got two articles for you this time. The first is about getting the balance right between work and other aspects of life. This is an area I have been constantly challenged in \u00e2\u20ac\u201c having spent time at both extremes and in the middle. In the article we explore ways of coping with and avoiding staleness and burnout.<\/p>\n

The second article is by Jost Zetzsche on the theme of translation tools. Jost is well placed to write such an article, as he publishes his own newsletter \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Tool Kit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about software tools for translators.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy and benefit from tranfree <\/em> \"smile\"<\/p>\n

\"Alex\"<\/p>\n

Alex Eames
\n tranfree<\/em> editor, Author –
\n
\nHow to Earn $80,000+ per Year as a Freelance Translator<\/a> and
\nSelling Your Professional Services on the Web<\/a><\/p>\n

Getting the Balance Right \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Preventing & Coping With Staleness<\/p>\n

By Alex Eames<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you ever get stale1<\/sup><\/a>? Do you ever find, when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working on a large project for a long time, that you just get fed up or bored with it? Does that ever happen to you?<\/p>\n

Deadlines Can Help, But They Can Also Push You Over the Edge<\/h3>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s almost impossible to get stale on a job that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153for tomorrow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re only working on it for one day and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got no choice. You have to get the job finished by the deadline date or bye-bye client.<\/p>\n

But when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working intensely on a project for a while – burning the candle at both ends for a sustained period of time – eventually you can find yourself getting \u00e2\u20ac\u0153stale\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. You sit down at your computer and it feels like you are two similar magnetic poles repelling each other. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as if your computer says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153not you again?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the feeling is mutual.<\/p>\n

You think to yourself \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I want my life back\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to sit up and take notice. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been overdoing it!<\/strong> You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve become stale and you need some time off.<\/p>\n

You really need to listen to that, and take some time off. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153deadline junkie\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – going from one adrenaline rush to another, with a string of tight deadlines – one day you might find yourself stale. You sit at your computer and you think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go on\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

So how is it possible to get the balance right? To be really honest with you, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not quite sure. But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s explore a few possible solutions together.<\/p>\n

1. Schedule Slots For Leisure Time (and protect them vigorously but flexibly).<\/em><\/h3>\n

Translation work can be somewhat sporadic \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unless you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re busy ALL the time. (That can be a good problem to have, but not always. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re more likely to get pushed into burnout if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re too busy for too long.) Is there a way that you can schedule in some leisure activities as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Immovable Objects\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?<\/p>\n

Any kind of social, hobby or leisure activity that gets you away from your computer will work. Can you do that? Will it work for you? Can you say…<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Right! Every Friday I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to take the morning
\noff and go and play tennis\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n(or whatever it is that you like to do).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, you need to reserve the right to be flexible about it. If you know a job is coming in on Friday, take the time out earlier in the week. Just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a habit of skipping the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153time out\u00e2\u20ac\u009d altogether.<\/p>\n

2. Negotiate Better Deadlines (a lot of them aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t real anyway).<\/em><\/h3>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sorry I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fit that in as I am fully committed this morning.
\nHow about Friday early afternoon?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OK, so you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fully committed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d going to the gym \"smile\", but they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to know that! Quite often, deadlines are somewhat arbitrary, and if you care to challenge them, there can be a degree of flexibility.<\/p>\n

3. Learn to say No (and resist the call of Mammon).<\/em><\/h3>\n

If a proposed deadline doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t offer any flexibility and threatens to rob you of your sanity…<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just say No\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve deliberately chosen that phrase from Nancy Reagan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign against drugs in the 1980s. You see, I think you can get addicted and trapped in a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153continuous earning cycle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, which can lead you to ignore other needs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c both yours and others\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a dangerous place to be.<\/strong> Adrenaline addiction is real and there are several different types. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just people who jump out of planes and do crazy things. See adrenalineaddicts.org<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n

4. Improve Your Productivity (but share the extra spare time with yourself).<\/em><\/h3>\n

Productivity enhancing methods and tools can be a great help. But instead of always using them to earn more and more money, use them to work less hours and fit in some refreshing non-business activities. I bet you never thought you would hear me say that!
\n\"eek\"<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

5. Increase Your Rates and Work Less (yes you can).<\/em><\/h3>\n

This one might ruffle a few feathers. \"razz\" Increase rates? Impossible! You must be mad!<\/p>\n

A big hint here is that if you want to charge more, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need some (more) direct clients.<\/p>\n

6. Predict Your Working Time Realistically.<\/h3>\n

Everyone hates wasting time looking through a document to either count words or estimate how long it will take. It needn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take a long time. A few minutes spent really looking at a sample of the text might stop you from grossly underestimating how long a job will take you. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all done it! You work on a job that looked great for the first ten pages, but the next five were a complete nightmare, taking twice as long as the first ten. Having a proper look at the job in advance can save you having to pull an all-nighter and tiring yourself out.<\/p>\n

7. Sub-contract work and start an agency. (That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a joke by the way).<\/em><\/h3>\n

We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re after less stress here, not more. \"big<\/p>\n

What To Do If You Do Get Stale<\/h3>\n

Despite the above preventative ideas, there is still a likelihood that staleness will appear at some point. There is a tendency to take all the work you can get because of uncertainty over the future.<\/p>\n

When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stale, you may try to force yourself to carry on regardless. Or, you can accept that you are stale and say…<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to get anything useful done sitting at my
\ncomputer today. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to take the day off and do
\nsomething fun; something I want to do; something I enjoy;
\nsomething for somebody else.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As long as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that changes your focus, away from your work and earning money, it will be refreshing. (Preferably something not involving your computer.)<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to be prescriptive about this, so I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even try. What is refreshing to one person will be a burden to another. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a change is as good as a rest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. It really can be. Just find something that suits and refreshes you.<\/p>\n

One of the main advantages of being a freelance is the total freedom. But, as I said in tranfree<\/em> 69<\/a>, you have to use it wisely. You also have total freedom to mess yourself up physically and mentally, if you abuse that freedom by working 24\/7.<\/p>\n

When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re busy, there can be a very strong temptation not to have an abundance mentality but to be locked into the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153feast or famine\u00e2\u20ac\u009d mentality…<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got this glut of jobs right now so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to work
\nmy tail off, get all of this lot done, and then<\/strong> have a rest.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But, the thing is, that your rest doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually materialise unless you schedule it in and stick to it. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll keep saying YES or agreeing to artificial deadlines to get your next adrenaline rush.<\/p>\n

Most religious faiths recognise the Sabbath principle, which means having one day in seven free from work. I believe the underlying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153earthly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reason for that is that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simply not good for you to work all the time.<\/strong> Yes you can get away with it for a while, but it will catch up with you at some point – and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll pay for it later!<\/p>\n

Even if you aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a workaholic, adrenaline junkie (and not everyone is) I expect you know someone who is. I hope you found this useful and thought-provoking.<\/p>\n

Alex Eames is the founder of translatortips.com<\/a>,
\neditor of tranfree<\/em> and author of the eBooks…<\/p>\n

How to Earn $80,000+ Per Year as a
\nFreelance Translator<\/a>
\nand
\nSelling Your Professional Services on the Web<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

1<\/a> Stale: having lost freshness, vigour, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit: He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation. (dictionary.com)\n<\/div>\n

For the second article visit http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/?p=533<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

tranfree 71 – Avoiding & coping with Staleness. You can also download this edition of tranfree 71 as a PDF Editorial As I sit and type, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a beautiful sunny day here \u00e2\u20ac\u201c perfect for the second week of Wimbledon. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got two articles for you this time. The first is about getting the balance […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,7,8],"tags":[21,51,52,96,114,115],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alexeames.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}