Poll: How often are you overworked? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Noura Tawil 
Syria
Local time: 13:49
Member (2013)
English to Arabic
.. and it's not just because of translation assignments, but sometimes other duties "home, kids,.." have a hand in this.
I believe that one has to know when to slow down a little in areas that he CAN control, it's just not worth it.
[Edited at 2013-11-10 08:59 GMT]
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| Highs and lows | Nov 10, 2013 |
I tend to work intensely for a few days and then do nothing for a while. This is a habit that I'm trying to break (as I'm sitting at my desk, working, at 2 in the morning) so I can enjoy life a little more while I'm working on larger projects.
Luckily I have my amazing wife and fellow translator who can step in when I'm overworked, take over certain projects, knows the industry and likes handling all the administrative stuff. Like right now as she walked into the office and said "G... See more I tend to work intensely for a few days and then do nothing for a while. This is a habit that I'm trying to break (as I'm sitting at my desk, working, at 2 in the morning) so I can enjoy life a little more while I'm working on larger projects.
Luckily I have my amazing wife and fellow translator who can step in when I'm overworked, take over certain projects, knows the industry and likes handling all the administrative stuff. Like right now as she walked into the office and said "Get off the computer, it's 2 am. Go to bed! And stop eating all those gummy bears!" ▲ Collapse
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Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:49
Hebrew to English
| Sometimes....like right now | Nov 10, 2013 |
No time to comment. Have a great day folks!
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Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 12:49
Member (2006)
German to English
but due to my own fault really. Loads of factors, but it all has to do with time management which I am still working on.
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In 30 years of full-time freelancing I have never understood why translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other. Work is always irregular - it hardly ever comes in a steady flow. Sometimes you may be extremely busy and other times, well... One has to learn how to handle the ups and downs.
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Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 19:49
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Michael Harris wrote:
but due to my own fault really. Loads of factors, but it all has to do with time management which I am still working on.
@Michael
Agree with you here.
But sometimes you can't tell what an actual translation will hold for you until you take a peek inside and actually get to grips with it. 
And, I am NOT going to read through a 100- or 200-page manual from cover to cover to find out about its little quirky intricasies beforehand. Jobs/projects can be complex and time-consuming for a whole lot of unforeseeable reasons.
Added one word
[Edited at 2013-11-11 07:39 GMT]
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I tend to overestimate how much I can handle. Also, I find it hard to say "no" when a client begs me to squeeze in a new job and I already have work on my plate.
I could manage my time a little better, but I do fairly well.
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| And the worst... | Nov 10, 2013 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
In 30 years of full-time freelancing I have never understood why translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other. Work is always irregular - it hardly ever comes in a steady flow. Sometimes you may be extremely busy and other times, well... One has to learn how to handle the ups and downs.
... is that I am absolutely certain that these clients that come to me with large jobs at the same time have never heard of each other.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 12:49
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
There are days when jobs come in from every one of my clients, all at the same time and with mostly tight deadlines.
This is when time management sets in, because I don't particularily like to ask for an extension of the delivery deadline unless it becomes inevitable.
Usually a moment is set aside to remember the days when there was/is no work coming in or needing to be delivered. This usually does the trick. ... See more There are days when jobs come in from every one of my clients, all at the same time and with mostly tight deadlines.
This is when time management sets in, because I don't particularily like to ask for an extension of the delivery deadline unless it becomes inevitable.
Usually a moment is set aside to remember the days when there was/is no work coming in or needing to be delivered. This usually does the trick. And then it's going "full speed ahead" with all required accuracy. I always try my best to pass on the feeling to each one of my clients that she oir he is the only one, because this is exactly what they are entitled to.
[Edited at 2013-11-10 16:01 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Thayenga wrote: I always try my best to pass on the feeling to each one of my clients that she oir he is the only one, because this is exactly what they are entitled to. [Edited at 2013-11-10 16:01 GMT]
Just a question: Why are they entitled to be the only one or feel that way?
Gudrun
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| it's always feast or famine! | Nov 10, 2013 |
right now it's feast but had a famine for a couple of weeks....
i make sure I don't take on too much or more than I can do, because the quality of work will suffer.
But the feast or famine does make it tempting...when a bunch of offers come in, you want to take them all so you can make as much money as you can!
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 06:49
English to Spanish
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| It happens everywhere else | Nov 11, 2013 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
In 30 years of full-time freelancing I have never understood why translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other. Work is always irregular - it hardly ever comes in a steady flow. Sometimes you may be extremely busy and other times, well... One has to learn how to handle the ups and downs.
Actually, corporations go through similar scenarios. Why is it a surprise? Even doctors, dentists, carpenters, home decorators, bakeries and your local home improvement store go through their own ups and downs. It's called a business cycle.
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| the trick is | Nov 11, 2013 |
not to specialise too much, otherwise you really are dependent on the business cycles of your customers. Having a broad customer base in different translation areas means the flow of work is a bit more even.
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