Semi-OT: Concentrating on translation -- any advice?
adam...@gmail.com
I have recently taken an in-house J>E job at a Japanese financial
company after about a year of freelancing. Now that I am back working
full time I have found it difficult to stay focused. When I was home I
had no dress code, no fixed hours, etc., so I could do things at my
own pace, but now I have a solid 7.5 hours of work per day, and it's
tough not to get distracted. So far, it has not had any effect on my
required job performance or evaluation (in part because the deadlines
are so often surprisingly lenient), but improved concentration could
certainly improve my output and overall quality.
I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and if so,
what did you do about it? Does anyone else have any tips to try and
stay focused? I find it is especially tough after lunch when my
stomach is full and my eyes and fingers (and mind frankly) start
getting a little tired from the non-stop action.
Thanks in advance,
Adam Richards
Edward Lipsett
> Now that I am back working
> full time I have found it difficult to stay focused.
I hate to say it, but it sounds like you had pretty sloppy work habits to
start with... Just because you work at home doesn't mean you should goof off
instead of working.
Advice? Grit your teeth.
The above is a statement of my personal beliefs and should be taken FWIW.
YMMV. Beliefs subject to change at whim.
--
Edward Lipsett
Intercom, Ltd.
Fukuoka, Japan
Tel: 092-712-9120
Fax: 092-712-9220
trans...@intercomltd.com
http://www.intercomltd.com
Kirill Sereda
Then stop it! Every hour, for five minutes, do something like autogenic
training (AT):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogenic_training
I don't know if this is at all possible in your situation, but if you do it
with proper technique, I guarantee your productivity will not decline
throughout the day, and in the evening you will feel as fresh and full of
energy as in the morning.
I've known people (e.g. one extremely successful psychiatrist) who only
needed about 3 minutes to completely recharge.
K
Kevin Kirton
> Does anyone else have any tips to try and
> stay focused? I find it is especially tough after lunch when my
> stomach is full and my eyes and fingers (and mind frankly) start
> getting a little tired from the non-stop action.
As a freelancer, I value being able to take a 30 minute nap sometimes
after lunch. I'm positive it's more efficient in the long run, but...
But here are some ideas you could try:
- Make a point of eating a small lunch and make sure not to skip
drinking water (dehydration has a tiring effect)
- Take regular breaks and do something active (eg. walking up stairs,
stretches).
- If you're working from a printout, when you begin a paragraph, write
the current time there. It tends to have a motivating effect.
- If you use Firefox, try this extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1887
It'll let you know how much time you're spending online (excluding any
sites specified by you, eg, Kenkyusha site). This also has a focusing
effect.
- Itemize the tasks required for the current job and switch between
these if you begin to lose focus (Make sure not to include "sharpen
pencils" on this list)
I'd probably do things like that if I ever worked in-house again. But
I'd miss my current breaks (juggling, playing guitar, napping, throwing
sticks for the dog).
Kevin Kirton
Australia
Benjamin Barrett
hours after drinking a cup of coffee, and conversely, stay stimulated
for several hours after a double latte or three cups of French press. On
days when I'm feeling pretty good, I try to time the coffee a little
later. When I'm dragging, I start the caffeine IV earlier and sometimes
take a midday catnap. BB
Jacob Dunlap
> For me, my coffee timing is everything.
Actually, I've found that cutting coffee out of my diet and replacing
it with veggie juices and the appropriate amount of water has had a
very positive effect on my energy. Ultimately I think the best way to
improve your concentration is to improve your overall health.
In the meantime, as others have said, take breaks (I take three or
four 5-minute breaks a day, usually every two hours). I also set
little goals (for example, I'll force myself to finish a page or a
section before, say, checking my e-mail).
Post-lunch lethargy is tough to beat. Being a drummer, I have stashed
a practice pad in my desk, which I take out to the stairwell after
lunch for a fifteen-minute rudiment session. Not only does this
refresh me and get me ready for the afternoon, but it's a good way to
keep my chops up, too. If you have any "transportable" hobbies, they
might be a good way to balance out your workday.
Jacob Dunlap
Michael Hendry
> Advice? Grit your teeth.
Good advice. Adam's back in unfamiliar territory and the best way to get
used to something unfamiliar is to just do it and give it time to get used
to. Actually, I found my in-house time to be full of distractions that took
me away from translating - ラジオ体操, QC サークル, meetings for this and
that, morning tea and lunch for and at set times, client visits, cleaning
and tidying other people's messes as part of the "office group." All that
irrelevant stuff has gone out the window and as a freelancer I can now work
when and where I like. In this respect, I disagree with Edward's comment
about "sloppy work habits" and "goof[ing] off" though. Adam's post does not
necessarily indicate either of these problems.
Adam, take whatever regular breaks you need and don't stress about
distractions. You're obviously meeting targets. Just enjoy the situation...
Michael Hendry, in Newcastle Australia
Edward Lipsett
> All that
> irrelevant stuff has gone out the window and as a freelancer I can now work
> when and where I like.
Yes and no.
I was having a drink with a novelist and personal friend years ago in
Georgetown, and he was ranting about people who say they can't write but
want to become authors. They always asked him for advice.
His comments basically boiled down to, "Look, people who work at companies
work nine to five, with an hour for lunch, and don't waste time playing
solitaire. Why should authors be any different? If that's what you do for a
living, DO IT, and don't waste time gazing out the window or thinking about
football. Make a schedule, say, work 10 to 12 and 1 to 4 every day, and
STICK TO IT."
Naturally, breaks are a Good Thing?, and are essential. But you also have to
train yourself to pay attention to what you're doing -- which is making a
living.
Marc Adler
> Then stop it! Every hour, for five minutes, do something like autogenic
> training (AT):
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogenic_training
Doing zazen is good too. It's amazing how cluttered your mind gets. 20
minutes in the morning can go a long way to keeping it clear of all the
mental flotsam and jetsam.
(And, contrary to the sotto voce diss in the Wikipedia article above,
meditation isn't necessarily mystical nonsense.)
--
Marc Adler
Austin, TX
Christopher Girsch
Adam:
Why did you leave the freelance world? Somehow, as Ed pointed out,
I inferred from your message that you did not have a very good work ethic
when you were on your own.
I am freelance, and only rarely am I able "to work at my own pace,"
although I will admit to catnaps. In fact, until I learned to take weekends
off, I once began to consider days when I could "work at my own pace" to be
equivalent to a day off. Not anymore, I should add. I take weekends off now,
no matter what.
My father was a dentist and I watched him get up every morning at 6:30
and go out the door at 7:15 to prep for the day's work, then come
home for a light lunch
(because he said a big lunch made him sleepy in the afternoon).
He was back home at 5:15 every day, and had a cold beer by 5:30. That taught
me the regimen, or diligence or stick-to-itiveness required to make a
living on my own.
You have to sit down and do it and train yourself to ignore distractions.
Now having said that, I would set goals to attain throughout the work
day, if you are having trouble concentrating. Keep chit-chat to a minimum.
I would also suggest exercising or getting up periodically to move about and get
the blood flowing to your brain.
Another thing to remember is that you really have to force yourself
to overcome distractions
by just shutting it all off, and just focusing on your work.
It should get easier the more you do it.
Like my dad, I am up at 6:30 or 7:00, get a good 4 km walk in before work and
am front and center to begin my work day, and I stay until lunch, then work
until I have finished what I need to finish - could be early, could
be late, but I do it.
Regular exercise is also essential to get a good night's sleep so you
are mentally
alert and able to ignore the angels of distraction.
Chris Girsch
Fred Uleman
my concentration.
If people won't set them for you, set them for yourself.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Fred Uleman
Jean-Christophe Helary
This part is gone (at least for now). Thank you for noticing.
Jean-Christophe
Karen Sandness
Before I left academia and went free-lance, I talked with a free-lance
musician, one of whose gigs was giving individual lessons to students
at my institution.
In comparing notes with his friends who had 9 to 5 jobs, he came away
with the impression that despite his apparently shorter work hours, he
actually *worked* just as much as his colleagues who had to be at a
certain desk for a set number of hours per week. He said that his
friends seemed to spend a lot of their office "face time" socializing,
playing games on their computers, looking out the window, and being
forced to attend meetings that really had nothing to do with their job
descriptions.
He said that he was normally scheduled for between three and six hours
a day with a mixture of teaching, rehearsing, and performing, and that
while this seemed like a cushy schedule, it was actually several hours
of concentrated attention.
Free-lancedly yours,
Karen Sandness
tok...@gmail.com
can't help myself though!
James Phillips
David J. Littleboy
To: "Honyaku E<>J translation list" <hon...@googlegroups.com>
>
> I try to avoid posting on mailing lists too often. Sometimes I just
> can't help myself though!
Drat! You beat me to it.
David J. Littleboy
dav...@I.email.therefore.I.am.com
Tokyo, Japan
Alfred S Chamass
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Right on the point, and I would like to add that a professional translator should always create a sort of scalable benchmark for improving the accuracy, speed, and quality of his/her translation, which requires us to remain always extremely focused. I am must admit it is always easy to find a spike in the eye of my fellows than to pull out the log from my own eye and to give advice than to practise but at least I try to follow my own dictum as hard as I can.
Alfred S. Chamass
schamass@gmail
Evan Emswiler
>
> In comparing notes with his friends who had 9 to 5 jobs, he came away
> with the impression that despite his apparently shorter work hours, he
> actually *worked* just as much as his colleagues who had to be at a
> certain desk for a set number of hours per week. He said that his
> friends seemed to spend a lot of their office "face time" socializing,
> playing games on their computers, looking out the window, and being
> forced to attend meetings that really had nothing to do with their job
> descriptions.
I tend to agree with this. While to someone looking in from the
outside, it might look like I don't spend very much time working
compared to someone doing a 9-to-5 job, I actually get quite a lot
done in the period that I am working. I also think that the main
benefit of freelancing is being able to have a flexible schedule that
allows me to work at my own pace (at least so far as deadlines allow)
and spend more time with my family when they need it. Does this make
me lazy?
I do think that I could probably triple my income if I could use my
full powers of concentration for the entire day, every day (assuming I
could get deadlines to mesh perfectly, which is an impossibility). But
I also think I'd be miserable if I tried. I'm sure some people need
the structure that comes from a set schedule ("I work from 9 to 5,
Monday through Friday, no matter what"), but I am not one of those
people.
Evan Emswiler
Pamela Ikegami
the risk of being accused of thread-jacking, would other freelancers
be willing to chime in with info about how they structure their
working days?
I've recently found that I like to get up around 6:30 or 7, make a
cup of tea and then sit down to work for a couple of hours. Then I
break for a light breakfast and shower and head back to the desk for
2-3 more hours. (Yes, I work in my pjs those first couple of hours
because if that's one of the theoretical benefits of freelancing I'm
going to take advantage of it!) Whenever possible, I try to be done
with working for the day by 2 or 3 pm. Then I can go out and enjoy
the rest of the day, run errands, go to the gym, etc.
I try to take 5 minute breaks every 90 minutes or so and do some
stretches or yoga. I have also been known to do housework during work
breaks, but I have to be reaching a point of some desperation to
suddenly decide vacuuming will help me get over a mental block. (It
may also merely be an advanced procrastination technique, but at
least _something_ is getting accomplished.)
My apologies if this is too far off-topic and/or considered thread-
jacking by anyone out there.
Pam Ikegami
disclaimer: This is my summer schedule. During the academic year I
teach and fit in translation work around that schedule.
Marc Adler
> - If you use Firefox, try this extension:
> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1887
> It'll let you know how much time you're spending online (excluding any
> sites specified by you, eg, Kenkyusha site). This also has a focusing
> effect.
One tool I've found very useful is the "Multitrack Stopwatch" (can be
found on download.com). I set one stopwatch going for the amount of time
I've worked that day, one to measure my per-page speed (if applicable -
long documents with similar wordcount/page), one to measure my time
goofing off (e.g., reading Wikipedia article on Tridentine Mass, etc.,
etc.), and one to measure length of time worked without stopping.
The per-page stopwatch is particularly useful, since you naturally try
to beat your previous time. Ditto the length of time working without
stopping. Since this last one includes external interruptions, it means
disciplining myself to screen phonecalls (caller ID shows up on the LCD
screen), make sure my kids won't interrupt me, and so on.
Marc Adler
tok...@gmail.com wrote:
> I try to avoid posting on mailing lists too often. Sometimes I just
> can't help myself though!
One thing I do is set my personal email account (which I use for mailing
lists) to check for new messages only once an hour (whereas my work
email is checked once a minute). I think most email programs allow you
to set this.
Tenga Wataru
And don't forget the RSS option for Honyaku and other Google groups.
http://groups.google.com/group/honyaku/feed/rss_v2_0_msgs.xml?num=50
A free RSS news reader like GreatNews (from China) lets you set the
update timing individually for each source.
wataru
adam...@gmail.com
I just want to say thanks for all the great responses... "shut up and
get to work" was probably the best advice I could have gotten, but
"take periodic breaks" and "make sure to get exercise" are very good
as well... Since posting I have been able to manage my work schedule
much more efficiently.
Adam Richards