Last night, Eve Bodeux and I hosted a Speaking of Translation conference call entitled “The freelance juggling act: balancing work, family and the rest of life.” We had the pleasure of interviewing three freelancers: Andy Bell (Scandinavian translator and dad of 3), Marianne Reiner (English to French translator and mom of 2) and Karen Tkaczyk (French to English translator and mom of 3), all of whom have thriving businesses, young families and significant non-work interests and commitments. We asked them three main questions: how they combat the fear of losing clients or not earning enough money if they take time off, how they set boundaries with their families and the outside world so that they can get enough work done, and what their tips and goals are for a better work/life balance in 2014. It was a very informative and enjoyable hour, and we’ve created a podcast recording of it. Here you go:
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Work/Life Balance
And if you’d like to listen to more Speaking of Translation podcasts (international payment methods, finding direct clients through industry conferences, and more!), hop on over to our recordings page. Thanks to Karen, Marianne and Andy for taking the time to talk to us!
I really enjoyed this podcast. It’s nice to hear from others who have successfully managed to achieve the work/life balance. Though it sounds like they key, really, is having kids who are in school for much of the day so you get long stretches of uninterrupted work hours on a regular basis. Right now, I have to make do with four hours of preschool time in the morning. It won’t be long until my littlest one is in elementary school, however, at which point I’ll be sure to remember your tips!
You are right Marion. Having kids who spend more hours at school really helps but maintaining a balance depends on other things too that sometimes are far more important. To my view, it’s not what you can do while kid is at school but what you can and can’t do while your kids are at home.
Also, can you delegate some of your mommy and housework responsibilities to others? (your own mom or your kid’s dad, a baby-sitter etc).
Is there another kid to play with yours? It could be your own or your sister’s, a friend’s, a neighbour’s. Having more kids might be to be too much to handle if you are already challenged by having just one kid but kids are happy to play all day. This could help moms focus on work 🙂
Good luck!
Try to make the best of it! Patience, perseverance, calm and being in a constant good mood is key!
Thanks Marion! I do agree that everything gets easier as your kids get older and more independent; my daughter is now in 6th grade and I definitely have more chunks of “found” time: for example she has 1-2 hours of homework every night, and I work while she’s working. However, I do think that it all depends on what you’re willing to give up. For example before my daughter was in school, I worked from about 7:30-10:30 almost every night, including weekends. I figured I was home anyway, so why not use the time. It wasn’t great for my social life, but my husband tolerated it and it only lasted for a few years. But yes, a full day of school is a wonderful thing!
“It’s not what you can do while kid is at school but what you can and can’t do while your kids are at home.” I like that. 🙂
Also, I think it’s helpful to look at how other people “fit it all in,” even in ways that you never would. For example Andy mentioned on the podcast that he gets up at 4:30 (!!!) to ride his bike so that his exercise for the day is done before his kids even get up. For me (a devoted sleeper!), even getting up at 6:30 is kind of excruciating, but I always enjoy hearing about how other people get it all done!
I’m going to make time to listen to this 🙂
My wife and I were already working from home, as freelance translators, when we had our son. He is 16 now, but I remember translating with him asleep in a sling on my chest, while my wife slept (we took turns, the first few months!). That was tough, but the alternative was for one of us to have an office job, and leave the other one to do the child-minding full time: not a good solution for any of us! I turned down a contract in Frankfurt because of that fact, and I don’t regret staying at home with my family. When our son was 3, he started going to a local nursery (kindergarten) for 5 hours a day, which was good for his social skills, and meant we could both work during that time. We’ve always worked from home, and he’s seen that, so the unexpected benefit is that he’s learnt to work at home too: he’s well-motivated to study, and studies independently, without us having to nag him. I truly believe it’s because he’s always had our example to follow. On the other hand, when he has a school holiday, we usually go away, and take a laptop with us to keep on top of incoming work that can’t wait.
So, the work/life balance to some extent comes down to working at the times that are available – we often translated in the evenings, when he was asleep, for example. Mind you, TV was rubbish, so we weren’t missing anything!
Duncan
Thanks Duncan! I agree, I do think that having freelancing parents helps kids develop good study habits! And we don’t have TV either, maybe that’s a shared characteristic of successful freelancers 🙂
I have finally listened to the audio! I am so glad it was so interesting and brief!
I particularly loved it when one of the contributors said that she dresses professionally to take her kids to school. Something that I don’t do but will pay attention to. I think it’s not just for the kids but for the impression we give out to other people. Sometimes the teachers and other moms are sometimes puzzled by how tired and shabby I look. 🙂
I do agree with you Corinne that having a partner who who has fewer career ambitions or more free time (willing to give away..) or who helps around the house, is vital and – why not – crucial to a freelance mom’s success.
I was very impressed with Andy’s comments and ideas. I could picture him waking up early, taking his bike and doing all those things. He is an incredible guy. Kudoz to him.
I think Andy said something that’s key to the whole balance act. About choosing and keeping clients that understand your family situation. This is something I have always been afraid of. I don’t tell my clients about my family situation (only one project manager knows who is also a mom). I think that people would never believe that freelancing under circumstances like mine (or others’) is doable.
It feels really good to know I am not alone. I am not talking just for the translation but also of all the interests and hobbies you don’t want to give up.
With small kids, what it takes is not just time management but knowing how to educate them from when they are very small, finding ways to show you don’t ignore them while you are working and of course being proactive and making arrangements for day care. When day care or baby-sitting or daddy’s help isn’t available, well..that is when you really need to be creative and that’s when you learn how precious every second is and setting priorities becomes something you do by instinct.
Oops, I think I said too much. 🙂
Magda, thanks for your comment! So glad you enjoyed the podcast!
Thanks for the comment Magda. I think the secret, particularly in the context of a relationship, is about “taking up the slack” when your partner’s workload is high. If I have a large project, or get a little behind the eight ball (this can happen to all of us, even with perfect planning!), she steps up and can organize dinner or sort the kids out while I finish my work in the quiet of the study – although fortunately that’s rare :), but we’ve all had situations where documents crash, where OCR hasn’t gone as planned, or where our schedule otherwise gets skewed.
A passing thought I had about the “fear” of losing clients if we take a break, was that if we make ourselves the “go to guy” – the person PMs know will take the call within two rings, who will answer emails within half an hour, or who is always friendly, accessible and solution-focused, then yours will be the name that springs to mind when they’re looking to allocate projects 🙂 I have a favorite quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson – “If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.”, and I guess if we can be that person – even 70% of the time, then we can take breaks during vacations without being fearful our clients will move on 🙂
Finding the right-for-yourself work/life balance is indeed a work in progress, in adjusting to whatever tasks your schedule allows and factoring in unforeseen situations, etc. Thanks for your post/podcast.