As job stress goes, translators seem to fall somewhere between anesthesiologists and air traffic controllers (most stressed-out) and florists and historians (least stressed-out). Still, dealing with job stress is a big issue because it has a dramatic effect on both your enjoyment of your job and on your longevity in the profession; and the longer you keep your translation business running, the more efficient you get at your work and the more money you earn (hopefully!). So, what are some of your best tips for dealing with job stress? A few of mine are:
- Have confidence in the quality of your work. A few years ago, I decided to start proofreading a hard copy of every document I translated. Interestingly enough, although this step takes time, it has actually decreased my level of job stress because I am more confident that I haven’t skipped a section of the source text or grossly mis-translated something.
- Accept that you’re going to make mistakes. This sounds like the antithesis of point #1, but it’s not. A certain amount of perfectionism is an asset to a freelance translator, but it’s also important to own up to your failures. When a disgruntled client has a point about an error in your work, apologize, offer to make it right, and move on.
- Minimize financial worries by living beneath your means. This is definitely a personal choice, but in this economy, I think it’s an important one. Spending less than what you earn frees you from taking on unpleasant work just because you need the money and reduces your incentive to produce huge volumes of work at low rates. The Thoughts on Translation household is an extreme example, as we have two incomes but live off one (and bank the other), but whatever your financial philosophy, spending *more* than you earn is a road to serious job stress.
- Get out of your head. I really believe that knowledge workers who are at the computer for many hours a day need to unplug when work is over. In addition to getting your body moving, give your brain a little candy especially if the documents you work on are very dense. This can be hard; before I became a translator I was a lifelong voracious reader, and now I find that gardening manuals and cookbooks are about as much as I can handle after translating all day.
- Set objective boundaries around your time. “I’m too busy to take that on” is a subjective statement; maybe you could just stay up later, or work faster, or work more efficiently. “For quality reasons, I translate no more than 2,000 words per day” is an objective statement, and gives you a policy to abide by, which is a lot less stressful than trying to decide if you can squeeze in just one more job.
Feel free to contribute your own thoughts on stress management as well!
These are all excellent tips. I’m trying to incorporate more massages and yoga into my life to lower my stress level.
I second your suggestions. Actually, replace the word “translator” with “interpreter” and I find most of your suggestions still very valuable, especially the first two!
Loving your own job would also help you deal with job stress! It gives you a lot of resilience!
Good tips, Corinne! #1 would have probably been one of my main tips as well. I have always proofed and edited a hard copy of my final translation, and sometimes I do it twice. Makes me feel much more comfortable, and I always find something!
My best stress reliever is to work out, which I do almost every day. Even though I don’t conjugate verbs or really focus on thinking about work while running, for some reason I come back with a clearer hand AND some good ideas. The other way is to leave the house, have lunch, happy hour, etc. with a friend. Sometimes a change of scenery is what I need.
And I am all about living below your means, too. Second-hand stores are awesome! Oh, and about #2: my twin Dagmar, in her general business termss has a clause that says that a low percentage of errors/omissions can ocurr and that the client needs to review the final document; and any corrections will be made promptly. This has never been an issue before, but it’s just good to have the disclaimer in there (might decrease stress).
My last 2 cents: I don’t accept unrealistc deadlines — ever. I listen to my gut and if my first instinct says that I can’t possibly finish the project, then I don’t do it. I am by no means the fastest translator. 😉
With regard to the proofreading, I find that I personally do a better job working on a screen, NOT on hardcopy. It’s a magnification issue mostly. If I scan 50 pages of 8 point type on paper, my eyes really hate me.
“Accept it, fix it, move on” is good advice for someone liable to see a dropped character as a major sin. Heck, in my days as a calligrapher, I would just do a clever ligature or insert a well-formed miniature letter and convince the client it was all deliberate. Like the time the gods were with me and I screwed up the title of a lecture as “When Thnigs Go Wrong”. I wonder if there is a version of St. Francis’ serenity prayer for translators.
You last point is the best I think, for me at least, depending on one’s situation. Whether that point is 1500 words, 2000 or 3000 or some sophisticatedly scaled number based on difficulty factors or the phase of the moon, I think a defined limit with a barbed wire fence around it can be a very healthy thing.
BTW, Judy: thanks for that mention of Dagmar’s disclaimer. I’m terribly tardy in adapting the templates I have for terms and conditions in two languages and ensuring that they are consistent, but that is an excellent clause to include. Little reminders of human limits are useful for all I think.
Good points here. I must admit I used to find it difficult to accept making mistakes. Until the day my partner (who is a math person) calculated that my translation was 99% free of typing and other errors…
As for sports as a way of relieving stress, this is something I still have to work on!
Like Judy I work out to relieve the stress. I started Pilates 2 years ago and yoga 2 months ago and I also walk as much as possible. It helps with my posture and my back and neck problems.
Like you Corinne, I like proofreading my work on paper. I go to another desk/table and if possible I leave a few hours before I do it.
I also enjoy ringing a friend when I find that I’ve been quiet for too long.
Very useful tips. Thanks!
Good ways to avoid getting to stressed out while translating:
1. As was mentioned, don’t accept too much work
2. Don’t accept work that sucks
3. Get a dog. Or a kid. Or both. When a translation gets to be a drag, that’s a great time for a game of fetch or tug of war or hide and seek or whatever’s popular with your pooch/progeny.
4. Do something else for a few minutes. Take a shower. Empty the dishwasher. Go grocery shopping. Bake something. Listen to some music. Get out of the house. Read something. Just do something else with your brain. Meet other stay-at-home freelancers for a tax-deductible “meeting” about the biz.
5. Never update software while you’re in the middle of a big translation project.
6. Back up everything. Especially big projects.
7. Don’t leave untranslated source-language acronyms in the translation because you couldn’t find them anywhere and you’re just hoping they’re the same in the target language.
I like all these ideas on how to lower your stress as a translator.
I personally love diversifying my work flow on the several things that I do. So, I feel my stress of being a translator is balanced with the stress of being a court interpreter, for example.
Of course, you could say it’s all stressful, but they’re different stresses or highs, if you will. I get my adrenaline rush from court or simultaneous and that’s very little stress on my body, compared with the stress of sitting 8 hours a day, stiff neck, as a translator. Granted that I cannot pick and choose when a particular type of project will come, I’ve positioned myself to be able to do them when they come.
@ Judy, I’d love to see Dagmar’s disclaimer on errors and omissions.
Tks,
Cris
What a great thread.
On proofreading: I find different types of errors on screen and on paper so I use both techniques. I proof segment by segment on screen unless, then line by line (two rulers) on paper. If I find more than a couple of errors per page I proof again on paper. I skip the segment by segment step if it was a really easy job.
The ‘get a kid’ idea is the most powerful practical one for me. There’s nothing like a quick game of Connect 4/getting them through a level in the computer game they can’t manage/checking homework to refresh my head when I’m bogged down.
I’d just like to add that I’m not a stressed translator. I hope it’s not the norm to be stressed. Most of us have chosen this lifestyle so one would hope that we manage it well as a rule.
When I do get stressed it is because family life encroaches (e.g. child is off school sick and I have to get to the doctor and the pharmacy. There goes the morning and I still have 2000 words to do by 5pm). Usually though, when I get too close to a deadline it’s self-inflicted and due to doing too much of something other than translation when sitting at my desk.
Karen
Hi Corinne,
I am so happy I found this wonderful article. I like all of your suggestions and plan to adopt them. I think it is very difficult for anyone who has never done this type of work to understand the level of stress and mental wear it imposes on you. I also enjoyed reading everyone’s comments. Terrific input!
Best,
Clarissa Laguardia