Poll: Have you ever fallen into a slump or suffered from "translator's block"? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever fallen into a slump or suffered from "translator's block"?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Tim Drayton 
Cyprus
Local time: 22:59
Turkish to English
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Yes, frequently; in fact usually every day when I start work until I get into the swing.
It is happening now and that is why I have come here for a few minutes.
| | | | Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:59
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
Battle fatigue occasionally besets me after long stints in the interlinguistic trenches. Sleep, exercise and/or tea normally solve the problem.
| | | | Nicola Wood
Austria
Local time: 21:59
Member (2010)
German to English
Simon Bruni wrote:
Sleep, exercise and/or tea normally solve the problem.
Definitely the tea! Just off to make a cup now
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Carmen Grabs
Germany
Local time: 21:59
Member (2012)
English to German
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| and a good hearty breakfast, | Dec 3, 2012 |
a coffee, and the thought that I could be sitting in an office instead, with a bad-tempered boss 
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Nothing that a good espresso can't fix!
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Tim Drayton wrote:
Yes, frequently; in fact usually every day when I start work until I get into the swing.
It is happening now and that is why I have come here for a few minutes.
Same here - I often do more than half of my work in the last 2, 3 hours of my worktime.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 04:59
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Simon Bruni wrote:
Battle fatigue occasionally besets me after long stints in the interlinguistic trenches. Sleep, exercise and/or tea normally solve the problem.
Yep, with you on the sleep front, Simon!
I'm not exactly sure how to answer regarding "slump" or "translator's block" whatever these are referring to here.
However, I can say from experience gained from almost 30 years of translating that the worst thing that will kill a translator's will to work and creativity in long-term projects is continued sleep deprivation coupled with unhealthy doses of stress which just seem to get exponentially unbearable as the days go on and on and on.
However...
A few beers, a refreshing soak in the bath -- Japanese baths, especially, hot springs are excellent! -- and a good night's sleep combined have an amazingly invigorating and recuperative effect on you and leave you ready to confront what's coming at you the following morning. 
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Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 20:59
This summer my disabled partner broke her leg. I became exhausted from the three months of "extra duty" that entailed. I did not stop translating; I just seemed to get incredibly slow, and my level concentration suffered. I accepted less work because I simply could not muster the energy, so our income has suffered a bit too. I think I have recovered now, but I am very wary of exerting myself too much until I feel like Superwoman again. ... See more This summer my disabled partner broke her leg. I became exhausted from the three months of "extra duty" that entailed. I did not stop translating; I just seemed to get incredibly slow, and my level concentration suffered. I accepted less work because I simply could not muster the energy, so our income has suffered a bit too. I think I have recovered now, but I am very wary of exerting myself too much until I feel like Superwoman again. ▲ Collapse
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Yes, quite often. But other days I do double work without blinking. That allows me always being in time.
| | | | | Bill Tilman.. | Dec 3, 2012 |
...once described "mountaineer's foot" as the inability to put one foot in front of another. And yes, sometimes I reach a stage where I can no longer put one word in front of another!
The cure for me is to pop down to the seaside (only a couple of miles) and have an invigorating walk on the prom or the beach at Filey. When I get back, my brain is invariably firing on all cylinders again!
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 15:59
Spanish to English
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| Extensive projects that go on for weeks... | Dec 3, 2012 |
...that involve uninteresting material, and on which I know that I won't be able to do my very best work: These can be a real nightmare for me.
Like Carmen, I try to focus on the positive, and plough on as best I can. Sometimes setting small and modest daily output goals in such circumstances has worked well for me. If I set too high a daily goal with these kinds of projects, I find that I can easily feel overwhelmed, and start to become upset and unmotivated when it becomes eviden... See more ...that involve uninteresting material, and on which I know that I won't be able to do my very best work: These can be a real nightmare for me.
Like Carmen, I try to focus on the positive, and plough on as best I can. Sometimes setting small and modest daily output goals in such circumstances has worked well for me. If I set too high a daily goal with these kinds of projects, I find that I can easily feel overwhelmed, and start to become upset and unmotivated when it becomes evident that I will either be unable to meet an overly ambitious target page count--or that doing so will entail spending 16 hours in front of the computer (day after day after day).
My strategy in these particular circumstances goes against my more typical approach of completing each project as quickly as possible.
[Edited at 2012-12-03 16:56 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 15:59
English to Spanish
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Finally, our own translators therapy group!
| | | | Erzsébet Czopyk
Hungary
Local time: 21:59
Member (2006)
Russian to Hungarian
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SITE LOCALIZER | a cup of coffee | Dec 3, 2012 |
Carmen Grabs wrote: a coffee, and the thought that I could be sitting in an office instead, with a bad-tempered boss
As my nickname is little owl, I received a T-shirt fom my colleague Adrienn with a sleepy old owl, holding in the wings a coffee mug with the following text "with enough coffee anything is possible"
So I received mine from my assistant a couple of minutes ago...
| | | | | Not sure how to answer this | Dec 4, 2012 |
I went through a period of "brain fog" that lasted about a year. When I was tired I would get so I couldn't put one word after another and find myself falling asleep at my desk. But I never stopped translating, and I didn't lose my interest or commitment to my profession. It turned out I had a health problem, which has been treated.
"Translator's block," however, can happen quite often. I run into constructions that I can't figure out how to handle, so I end up taking a break, and w... See more I went through a period of "brain fog" that lasted about a year. When I was tired I would get so I couldn't put one word after another and find myself falling asleep at my desk. But I never stopped translating, and I didn't lose my interest or commitment to my profession. It turned out I had a health problem, which has been treated.
"Translator's block," however, can happen quite often. I run into constructions that I can't figure out how to handle, so I end up taking a break, and when I get back to work, the answer is usually there. I am sharper at night than during the day. ▲ Collapse
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