Poll: What is the worst time-waster when working?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jul 24, 2024

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What is the worst time-waster when working?".

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Michele Fauble
Michele Fauble  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:43
Norwegian to English
+ ...
Social media Jul 24, 2024

I have better things to do with my time.

[Edited at 2024-07-25 19:04 GMT]


expressisverbis
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:43
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Phone calls Jul 24, 2024

There’s a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the word freelance! Some of my friends and family members seem to not understand that the fact that I’m not obliged to keep a strict schedule doesn’t mean having no obligations at all and so being always free to talk at whatever time they want.

Antonio Contreras
ipv
Zea_Mays
Elaine Ruby
Christine Andersen
Rachel Waddington
Nuno Duarte
 
Software issues Jul 25, 2024

Michele Fauble wrote:

I have better things to do with my time.

Yet here you are… 😉😂

I view ProZ/social media breaks as an essential part of the working process. You can’t concentrate indefinitely.

The only time waster I can think of is problems with CAT tools and other software.


Lieven Malaise
Rachel Waddington
Zea_Mays
Christine Andersen
Baran Keki
Peter Simon
Matthias Brombach
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 14:43
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
NDAs Jul 25, 2024

NDAs just prior to an "urgent" job please, especially if these involve multiple clauses and pages to print and scan and re-send. Why don't they think beforehand or issue one in PDF form where an online signature suffices?

Baran Keki
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
WolfgangS
Luis M. Sosa
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
Matthias Brombach
 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 08:43
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
My case Jul 25, 2024

The time spent with LinkedIn has proved itself to be a total waste.

Also, time spent in chatting with strangers who added me out of the blue would lead to nowhere in most cases.

[Edited at 2024-07-25 17:48 GMT]


WolfgangS
Thayenga
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 14:43
French to English
. Jul 25, 2024

If I'm on social media, I'm not working.

The worst time-waster is minor technical hitches.
I recently had to translate a file in a CAT tool there were tags everywhere. Like between every single word.
I struggled for too long, then finally gave in and asked if I could work in the original PowerPoint file.
I realised that the file had been created by someone who didn't know how to change fonts or format files: they had put tabs in between each word because the font
... See more
If I'm on social media, I'm not working.

The worst time-waster is minor technical hitches.
I recently had to translate a file in a CAT tool there were tags everywhere. Like between every single word.
I struggled for too long, then finally gave in and asked if I could work in the original PowerPoint file.
I realised that the file had been created by someone who didn't know how to change fonts or format files: they had put tabs in between each word because the font and size they used made the letters overlap and all run together. No wonder the CAT tool couldn't handle it.
▲ Collapse


Baran Keki
Zea_Mays
Luis M. Sosa
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 14:43
English to French
+ ...
Another one Jul 25, 2024

Another one is a client constantly emailing you to check on the progress. Some clients really behave as if you were their employee and they were your only client, so they can email you as many times as they want, just for the sake of it. This is not all clients, fortunately, just some.

Also the clients who want me to comment on the translation edits done by their $0.01 random proofreaders. Huge time wasters.

[Edited at 2024-07-25 07:40 GMT]


Luis M. Sosa
 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 14:43
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Aren't social media and procrastination synonyms? ;) Jul 25, 2024

Oh well, procrastination is probably a hypernym of social media.

Now ... back to work!


The Shredder
Liena V.
Jennifer Levey
Angie Garbarino
Thayenga
 
Jennifer Levey
Jennifer Levey  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 10:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
Clock-watching Jul 25, 2024



 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:43
Italian to English
This Jul 25, 2024

Q. "What is the worst time-waster when working?".
A. This.


Lieven Malaise
Siobhán Fulton
 
Richard Jenkins
Richard Jenkins  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 10:43
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
I see an even split between procrastination and social media Jul 25, 2024

In other words, being distracted, which is no-one's fault but your own, or by being pinged by others and, as a massive book reader and a regular user of goodreads.com - one of my favourite sites - getting constant pop-ups telling me that person X likes your status update. I excuse goodreads as a 'professional' luxury linked to my role as a linguist.

 


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Poll: What is the worst time-waster when working?






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