| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Poll: When I stay up late working on a translation I know it's time to stop when... Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Anne Bohy 
France
Local time: 08:13
English to French
| When I feel sleepy | May 29, 2009 |
.. and I know I shouldn't wait too long, otherwise I might not be able to get asleep anymore.
| | | | | I don't know when to stop! | May 30, 2009 |
But I do stop, so there must be *something* that triggers the stopping. It's different every time.
| | | | | when i start having trouble concentrating... | May 30, 2009 |
and can't translate a simple sentence. at that point, no reason to keep going- time for bed.
Also, in general I find that i stop being able to concentrate when I go too long without eating. WHen i eat something I get back to normal and can keep going for a while.
| | | | Julia Ober
Germany
Local time: 08:13
German to Russian
+ ...
| When it becomes harder to concentrate | May 30, 2009 |
Lawyer-Linguist wrote:
... but, I start work very early -- normally by 5am at the latest -- different strokes for diferent folks, I guess.
A couple of months ago, I realised that this works for me too, so by 5am I'm at my desk typing and sipping coffee.
When I have to stay up late, I stop when it becomes harder to concentrate.
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Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 08:13
English to French
+ ...
Lawyer-Linguist wrote:
... but, I start work very early -- normally by 5am at the latest -- different strokes for diferent folks, I guess. I just prefer to have my late afternoons and evenings to myself.
... to read I am not the only one - except I start around 6.00 am (CET). My evenings are seldom very long though, I need a reasonable amount of sleep
| | | | | At the risk of sounding arrogant... | May 30, 2009 |
...my "other" reply is explained by the fact that I don't. Not any more at least.
Experience showed me that when I was um into the wee small hours, it was generally for one of two reasons :
- a badly organised client
- poor organisation on my behalf.
In either case, it's a terrible way to work. Here's why. If you accept to work that way - and I did for years - you are showing your client that you are prepared to do almost anything to get the job. I... See more ...my "other" reply is explained by the fact that I don't. Not any more at least.
Experience showed me that when I was um into the wee small hours, it was generally for one of two reasons :
- a badly organised client
- poor organisation on my behalf.
In either case, it's a terrible way to work. Here's why. If you accept to work that way - and I did for years - you are showing your client that you are prepared to do almost anything to get the job. In my experience, the clients who bashed out stuff at the last minute, together with a last minute order, is the client who will not hesitate to call you at any time of day or night. They are generally those who do not pay you on time, full of inadequate excuses. I learnt this to my peril. I became the banker for many of these badly organised clients.
Clients like that are not good clients. I only want good clients. If I organise myself in such a way as to end up working at stupid hours, that's my fault, and I have to assume that. If I decide to reorganise my time for something else and decide to work at night, that's a bad idea, but perhaps not bad organisation. Waking up really early is preferable for me anyway. Working very late systematically I now perceive as unprofessional and disrespectful, on behalf of the client towards the translator and the translator of himself.
These are personal views, and general statements. They are never the less the fruit of experience and conditions that over time I refused to accept. My work improved, my state of mind and fatigue did also.
Boils down to matter of respect and professional etiquette. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | sorry to moralize but.. | May 30, 2009 |
"Boils down to matter of respect and professional etiquette". [/quote]
There used to be drivers who boasted about how fast or for how long they could drive...
Like driving, translation is about getting from A to B and the mental alertness it requires is probably the same. A good professional translator should therefore only work when he knows he is capable of doing a good job.
There is no valid reason for taking on too much work, please leave it for other... See more "Boils down to matter of respect and professional etiquette". [/quote]
There used to be drivers who boasted about how fast or for how long they could drive...
Like driving, translation is about getting from A to B and the mental alertness it requires is probably the same. A good professional translator should therefore only work when he knows he is capable of doing a good job.
There is no valid reason for taking on too much work, please leave it for others. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Cecilia Civetta
Italy
Local time: 08:13
Member (2003)
Italian to Spanish
+ ...
| Other: none of the above | May 30, 2009 |
I simply don't stay up late.
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| Agree with NR Stedman | May 30, 2009 |
What was funny about that at the time, it wasn't that I was taking on too much work . I had a constant flow of work which fitted well into (albeit long) working days. The problem was that a significant number did not respect their own deadlines for supplying the work and that if they did not get it back, in time, then it would be useless as for a media deadline.
I felt honour bound to do the job I had accepted. The result was though that I had spent time hanging around waiting for i... See more What was funny about that at the time, it wasn't that I was taking on too much work . I had a constant flow of work which fitted well into (albeit long) working days. The problem was that a significant number did not respect their own deadlines for supplying the work and that if they did not get it back, in time, then it would be useless as for a media deadline.
I felt honour bound to do the job I had accepted. The result was though that I had spent time hanging around waiting for it and had refused other stuff to do theirs! In the eraly days, I was worried that if I said "boo!" to a client, he woudl run away. Some do, that's okay, I didn't want them. Those who didn't, after an incident or two, stayed and accepted, bucking up their ideas. I realised I was the one who was being made fun of otherwise.
I matured professionally and started refusing these sorts of conditions, saying that in order to respect the deadline I had to receive it no later than X. It is just so obvious, but I ended up having to make it more than obvious to the client who chose to ignore it. Those who ignored it, I crossed off my client list! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ahmet Murati
Germany
Local time: 08:13
English to Albanian
+ ...
| Well, sometimes I am forces to stay late | May 30, 2009 |
for example I had a case when the package was delayed three day to be delivered to me but I got only two days to translate.
So, I stopped after I started to make mistakes even I had spell checker. So, I stopped because it is was not possible to translate properly.
| | | | | Multiple reasons .... | May 30, 2009 |
Vision blurred; unable to think proper sentence for sentence, and word for word; increased typos; and got sleepy are signs for time to quit.
Luckily, I seldom run into such a situation that I have to stay up late, or work overnight.
| | | | Nesrin
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:13
English to Arabic
+ ...
| My husband... | May 30, 2009 |
Usually it's when my husband says: "Nesrin, you've been nodding off at the computer for the past half hour..." and I shout: "NO I'm awake I'm awake!!!!", only to find that the last few lines look something like that: fjjjjjjjjjzdiofasfdddddddddddd ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd (etc)
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| Other - when I am unable to correctly translate a complex sentence | May 30, 2009 |
I was going to answer that it is time to go to bed for me when I can't translate a simple sentence correctly, but in fact, that would be too late for me. When you can't translate a simple sentence, chances are you have already messed up the more complex ones. So, I answered 'Other'.
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I become really depressed, angry and feel like strangling the computer
| | | | Textklick
Local time: 07:13
German to English
+ ...
In memoriam | Been there, done that | May 30, 2009 |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:
What was funny about that at the time, it wasn't that I was taking on too much work . I had a constant flow of work which fitted well into (albeit long) working days. The problem was that a significant number did not respect their own deadlines for supplying the work and that if they did not get it back, in time, then it would be useless as for a media deadline.
I felt honour bound to do the job I had accepted. The result was though that I had spent time hanging around waiting for it and had refused other stuff to do theirs! In the eraly days, I was worried that if I said "boo!" to a client, he woudl run away. Some do, that's okay, I didn't want them. Those who didn't, after an incident or two, stayed and accepted, bucking up their ideas. I realised I was the one who was being made fun of otherwise.
I matured professionally and started refusing these sorts of conditions, saying that in order to respect the deadline I had to receive it no later than X. It is just so obvious, but I ended up having to make it more than obvious to the client who chose to ignore it. Those who ignored it, I crossed off my client list!
Nicely put, Nikki, I agree entirely. I'm with 'other'.
I kick in between 7.30 and 8 a.m. Finish about 6.30 to 7 p.m.
After that I get tired, which means that there is a potential quality issue. That's when I stop and private life kicks in.
There is often time later in the day to keep abreast with Kudoz or respond to surveyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
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