Get Productive!

26 Mar 2012 | No Comments | posted by Megan Onions | in Colleagues, The Business of Translation

We all get translation exhaustion from time to time. It’s only to be expected. We’re either putting in the hours building our brand, networking, contacting prospective clients, keeping up with our working languages or working to keep up with client demand. Making the most of our time is one of the freelancer’s main challenges, which gives rise to the myriad of techniques people adopt.

I came across this post by Deidre Rienzo on the Creative Freelancer Blog, which let us in on her personal strategy when her motivation levels take a bit of a nosedive. As Deidre points out, action is the key, even if the action in question is a relatively small thing to kick-start your energy.

Here are a few of my favourite suggestions for picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and getting on with it:

• Find a prospective client who ticks all the points on your ‘perfect client’ checklist. Email or call them to introduce yourself.
• Call an existing client to check on an outstanding project, ask for a testimonial, or just to keep in touch.

These are just two ideas to escape ‘Wallowville’ to use Deidre’s term, but there are a number of other productivity hints and tips out there, including the Pomodoro technique, but that’s a story for another post.

What are your favourite little tasks that help get you motivated?