productivity

Keeping Resolutions in Hectic Times

| alexispernsteiner

One of my 2023 professional resolutions is THIS BLOG! Keeping a regular record of professional experiences/thoughts throughout the year is a way for work-from-home freelancers to take stock of their own practice and connect with others. But when work requests, new collaborations, and public holidays (looking at you, May in France) start to accumulate, blogging, along with networking, professional development, and even personal hygiene (I kid, sort of) are quickly abandoned.

Recently, between springtime strikes and a succession of Gallic long weekends, getting things done–anything–has felt like an Oscar-winning accomplishment. Because, when you are a parent, disruptions to childcare mean Herculean behind-the-scenes efforts to keep things running smoothly. When finalizing a big project with a client last week, I nearly sent along a list of credits to thank everyone from the babysitter (and her last-minute availability) to the nice man at the café where I work on strike days who brought me an extension cord at a critical moment.

How do you stick to resolutions when time is scarce and demands are high? Well, I see it’s been two months since I’ve written a blog post, so part of the answer may be that it’s okay to fall behind on less urgent tasks. I can have a rigid mindset when I set out to accomplish something, but I’m learning to let go of some things when it simply becomes impossible to do it all (this applies to a lot in life). I like to remind myself that, even in the superego-driven world of resolutions, there is space for taking a break, with the idea that I will come back to my goal when things settle down.

Another way to manage resolution expectations is to lower them. I’m not saying that we should be turning in shoddy work. But I would say that not all tasks require the same level of dedication. Blog posts are a good example. I want to put out posts that allow me to connect with others and think through professional questions. My aim here is not to write great literature. Setting aside 15-30 minutes can feel doable, even during a busy week. The prose won’t be Martin Amis (sigh), but I will be able to engage on a question that’s been circling around in my head.

Finally, and this gets back to my fantasy list of credits, I try to seek help when and where I can. This can take the form of technology: I have fully embraced AI as a tool for some types of tasks (see Rachel Pierce’s very practical article on how linguists can leverage AI in their work: https://www.atanet.org/business-strategies/5-tedious-non-translation-tasks-chatgpt-can-do-amazingly-well/). Or it can be human. I’ve taken to asking my toddler to ‘help Mom work’ by playing with his toys. Last week, he even made me a fresh-squeezed OJ while I responded to emails.

organizational tools and the laundry break

| alexispernsteiner

I recently attended a Zoom networking event between other language professionals. The gist of the session was tips, tricks, and tools for getting organized and staying focused. As the conversation unfolded, it dawned on me that my tips and tricks are fairly rudimentary and old-fashioned. I don’t use Pomodoro or special apps. I don’t turn off access to social media. I don’t really have any hacks to share. And while I was really interested to learn about all the gizmos and gadgets people are using these days to boost productivity, I felt a bit sheepish when the moderator called on me to share from my own experiences.

Mostly, I use a notepad and a day planner to jot down my to-do lists, which I organize into levels of urgency over time. When I finish my goals for the day, I cross them off. If anything is remaining at the end of a day, it gets rolled over to the next day’s list.

In terms of productivity, I would say that having a toddler has made me fairly immune to distractions–at least compared to the pre-parent version of myself. I simply don’t have minutes to spare, and that knowledge has drastically reduced the allure of social media and online shopping. I’ll admit, however, that I can fall into mean research rabbit holes, but even those seem much shallower than before.

Of course, there’s the question of how to manage wildly different projects at the same time. Within the space of a workday, the translator’s mind can be taken on divergent journeys: romance fiction, tourist hotspots, marketing for children’s clothing, EU documentation, and more. Here, I found a good deal of convergence with the other Zoomers: to prevent whiplash, best to segment the day, with bouts of fresh air or household chores between each project. One woman spoke of doing the laundry as a well-deserved break from a tedious proofreading project. I could relate!