I woke up earlier this month to a deluge of alerts on my phone about the news that a milestone of the Trump 2.0 administration was the appointment of Elon Musk to the “Department of Government Efficiency”. Which will be abbreviated to DOGE. Nice one Space Karen. I am currently actively in the eXit process, after discontinuing my active involvement on Musk’s toXic platform in the summer. It was part of a bid to stop doom scrolling. Doom scrolling had resulted in me learning about the tragic circumstances and aftermath of a friend’s untimely death.
I therefore sought solace by retreating more to the pages of books, either as physical editions or Kindle editions. Reading books help you learn – both for and about yourself. They also make you think, whereas much of social media seems to serve little cognitively enriching purpose. Possibly social media remains my vice at the moment (after stopping drinking over a year ago). I’ve not yet extracted myself fully from its clutches, and I am present on bluesky post-eXit.
With my focus on reading, I am now compiling regular posts about my reading list for the respective season. This is my list for the autumn – the summer list is still available here.
And in addition to reading, I am starting journaling – there will be a future post about that too!
Autumn Reading List
Serghei Sadohin, Hiding in Plain Sight: what Language says about being Human
Chip Heath / Dan Heath, Switch (the German book was part of a goodie bag for involvement in a transformation programme)
If you know me well and personally, I’ve probably talked to you about tinnitus management over the last three years. I might well have ducked out of meeting up or taking a phone call. Maybe I advised that I could only take a call over speaker phone. I might even have attended a hybrid meeting that I could have attended in person – to reduce the volume level.
I have probably also changed or shortened a meeting length. Or refused to go from one meeting to the next on the fly. I might also have changed a one-hour meeting slot to a 25 or 50 minute slot on you. I might even have taken time out during the day and logged out for a couple of hours. Guilt-free naps have been essential when tinnitus got too much.
The chances are that you might have noticed I have been less forthcoming in taking on something new recently. I might also have relinquished commitments I previously had. What I might not have mentioned to everyone is about having actively used a coach earlier in the year. I used the sessions to try to address the remit creep affecting my actual work. It is still a work in progress – I ought to get back to my coach for follow-up sessions soon.
So why am I blogging about this? Quite simply because it might maybe help someone else. Social media focuses on “living my best life”, rather the real view when things aren’t quite working out. It seems strange that I seem to notice some friends and connections more by their absence than their repeated posting.
If it isn’t going to plan, come up with a plan
Psychological safety was addressed in the subproject of my employer’s transformation programme I was in the sounding board for. Vacation absence meant limited presence in sessions over the summer. I hope that I still made a contribution. It is good to see that the subject is among many being addressed. Over the last couple of years friends and colleagues have opened up more about the assistance that they have sought. Sadly, I also know of people who did not seek help in time.
I am open that I have sessions with a coach, where one exercise was trying to redesign my typical day. My wife and I have a regular session with a parental therapist about our son’s neurodivergence. If anyone is curious, I’m happy to engage and chat about how coaching sessions help. We are also in a self-help group supports parents of neurodivergent children. I follow quite a lot of blogs by psychologists and coaches. I read them or books that they recommend rather than doom-scrolling through social media while commuting.
Notebooks, which I have long used for mental decluttering, have also been useful for coming up with the plan. I never leave the house without a notebook and pens.
Make time to take time out of the day
October is a busy time with work – the end of the year is approaching, and the days rapidly become shorter. Leaving the office in darkness is a more frequent occurrence. I take vitamin D capsules, and use a phototherapy lamp. I consciously make sure that I get out more during the day. I occasionally even use a calendar entry marked “Take a break”. Breaks have been essential this week – just before the end of summer time. On Monday I went out for a walk and collected lunch with a colleague rather than heading down to the canteen.
On Tuesday I met up for a coffee with a fellow translator visiting from Berlin. We sat outside in a nearby cafe and chatted for a couple of hours. Yesterday, I avoided the direct route to and from my son’s school. We took a longer walk (and a trip to the comic shop!) Today (Thursday) I logged out and grabbed a coffee and the Kindle and had a walk. I then read on a park bench in the sunlight. It is a real bonus having a park about 200 metres walk away (60 metres from our terrace in a straight line). Whenever the weather is good, I’ll be making a regular thing of it.
Take a break!
I try to use natural caesurae in the day to take a break. Coffee and meal breaks are essential in this regard. Resist the temptation of having “al desko” lunches. I tend to punctuate tasks with a walk around the corridor on my floor – a lap with a comfort stop is definitely a good thing. Some regular meetings also lend form to the day, or create certain-sized chunks. I try to remember to raise my desk at lunchtime in the office – and have a standing stint after lunch if possible.
Make positive changes
Last autumn I also stopped drinking – a three day hangover after two beers made me decide to stop drinking alcohol. My wife and I still enjoy an alcohol-free G&T. That is a care routine too. I did drink three glasses of wine over the course of the summer. Sometimes a glass of wine with a meal or to toast a special occasion is needed. Geocaching remains a constant, which takes me out walking usually once a week. I’m currently thinking up a few ideas for new caches. Recently I hid a new one which has been well received by the Vienna geocaching community.
I am also reading more – and with greater substance. I didn’t get through all of my summer reading list, but several other books have also been read in the meantime. A chat with an acquaintance at the British Embassy also reminded me of some books I not started.
Getting back to core business
I am taking a break from the data science courses I had been pursuing for two years. My motivation was flagging, time was also at a premium. I’m focusing on translation-based CPD. I am currently submitting abstracts for translation conferences and getting back to blogging. There are a couple of publications in the pipeline too. Journaling in my change planner has become a daily habit. Best of all it helps me to free up thinking space.
At the same time, I’ve also tried to feel less guilty about not being “perfectly efficient”. I have stopped commoditising my translation work into numbers of words delivered. The only time I really look at the word count is to try to establish how long I might need for a specific translation – and to handle multi-day projects. Slowing down a tiny bit, actually makes me feel more productive. And conciseness seems to be appreciated by colleagues.
If anything in this post has helped you, or made you think “I need to do that!“ please let me know. It’s also very good to talk.
X/Twitter is broken and beyond repair. I’ve decided to stop posting both via the website and the app. I haven’t deleted my profiles, but have ceased posting on Twitter. I am also on Mastodon and BlueSky, but haven’t really found them conducive to engaging on.
It is a pity as I did make some good contacts and learn about some great blogs from the site.
Update January 2025: I have deleted my Twitter/X profile.
A recent comment on LinkedIn mentioned the demise of ATICOM, a professional translators’ and interpreters’ association in Germany. It had been active for 20 years. Late November is the time of year when membership renewals drop onto doormats, into postboxes or into inboxes. When times are hard, memberships of organisations are top of the list for cutting outgoings.
Having worked for a membership-based association, I understand the impact of losing members. After all, it was always a struggle to attract new members, and membership retention was sometimes exhausting. Personal relationships and contacts always helped to convince them to extend their membership. In the corporate world, people move on increasingly frequently. Often with it they leave memberships behind, and don’t convince their previous employer to remain a corporate member.
I’m a member of numerous associations – from an economics association, a cricket club and a football supporters’ club. I have also starting joining translators’ and interpreters’ associations as my commitment to the profession. Most countries may have one or more translators’ associations. They might also have regional or sub-regional chapters, depending on the pool size in a city, region or country.
Translation associations can come across as the reserve of the self-employed. This is unsurprising given market dynamic and the paucity of in-house translation jobs. So why have I only started joining them since going in house?
Why didn’t I join when I was a freelancer?
There were a number of reasons (or maybe excuses). My biggest issue was that my profile didn’t really fit (possibly latent imposter syndrome?). Many members seemed to cover multiple language combinations or pairs, whereas I only offered German-English. Another issue were my very specialist niches. Frequently the membership of such organisations generally had broader area of specialisation, or members were translators and interpreters.
Other associations set the bar very high in terms of the entry procedure. Some require peer references and a durable professional relationship to the referee. For newcomers who are still studying or lack the required experience, there are reduced membership fees, or probationary period. Some stipulated postgraduate studies as a co-requisite, whereas my experience is more practical. One exuded an air of being a glorified alumni association. I prefer a mastery-based approach – I attained mastery via the “10,000 hours route”.
I might have joined associations sooner had agencies demanded membership as a commitment towards CPD. But many agencies don’t and prefer to “keep you mean”. A lot are not members of associations themselves – and in some cases were dismissive. Possibly another case why many translators “love the profession, but hate the industry“. From some translators I follow on LinkedIn, an MITI is held in high esteem with UK-based agencies. Over here I get the impression that agencies seem uninterested in memberships.
Speaking at a BDÜ Conference in Bonn in November 2019 was a pivotal experience – with so much to take on board – not least speaking in the former Bundestag to a auditorium full of hundreds of people. I’ll admit that conference was inspirational and gave me a taste of what translators’ association events can be. And there were so many new contacts made at the event.
Why spend money if you don’t need to?
Since going in-house, and after nearly ten years as a SPLSU translators’ associations have taken on another importance. I value the opportunity to connect with other translators outside working groups and networks I am in through my job. When I outsource, I do ask translators whether they are members. I look through directories of members to find professional translators. I tell them this is how I found them (tip to freelancers: ensure you have an up-to-date website).
Expense can be a factor of course – more often than not, the membership is around EUR 150-200 a year. There are often discounts for events (typically counting as CPD). For work, I often struggle to find translation-related CPD that is reasonably priced. Two such examples are:
the Machine Translation Course through Coursera from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Membership is also a commitment to the purpose of an association. Last winter, I attended numerous meetings about the transformation of one association. I have committed to remaining a member despite the substantial increase in membership fees. In times gone by, I would have actively volunteered, but I have learned gradually to say no.
So many choices, so little time!
It makes sense to weigh up the options you need for yourself. Currently, I can’t commit sufficient time to the ITI, which has excellent networking possibilities. For this reason, I have applied to join the CIOL, based on their offering of webinars, which I can use for CPD. Many offer CPD for resilience and wellbeing – we can all do with some self-love. I also look at associations that accept submissions from non-members for conferences – I am very keen to present in person. Naturally, you don’t get accepted to speak everywhere: as we say in German “Man kann nicht auf alle Hochzeiten tanzen!“
There is also another cerebral reason for joining associations: even their newsletters are an interesting read. They provoke you to also think about the profession, rather than just the act of translation, new working practices, and of course technology. The human element can be a great way to make new acquaintances – particularly if you work alone as a translator.
Remember, if cost is the deterrent, many may let you attend an event as a guest. Give it a go – you have nothing to lose!
I turned off my work laptop after submitting my timesheet and activity record, and set my out of office message. Holiday had felt overdue for at least the last two weeks. August commutes had been punctuated by the slew of articles about “quiet quitting” – this summer’s controversial buzzword. That was until I ditched my smartphone on the tram and bus for my Kindle. “Taking back control” they call it. In another way to those who decided to take back control on holiday by taking stock of their situation and initiating change.
Flagging mask-wearing attitude in Vienna indicated that people consider the Covid-19 pandemic is over. When commuting on public transport, between one-third and one-half of passengers ignored the FFP2 requirement. Although triple-vaccinated and recovered, the final two weeks were in fear of a new infection before my holiday.
I had no thoughts of “quiet quitting”, but what was on my mind in ahead of my holiday to Tyrol, Salzburg and Bavaria?
Before physically setting off on holiday, I powered down and guided my eldest son through his final days at Kindergarten. He clearly also needed a break. Before we left, I packed and loaded the family car, and finished some admin to allow me to relax. A catch-up with a friend from Uni and his family over beers was a perfect wind-down exercise.
As I was leaving for my holidays, freelancer contacts announced their return to the office after theirs. They posted about marketing and customer acquisition work, due to a dread about a lack of work. It was similar when I freelanced, even with a steady set of fixed customers.
So what was/is on my mind?
Years in the same position have reassured me that I can go on holiday, relax as intended and take a third week off that is crucial for regeneration. Focussing on relaxation and regeneration, I downloaded several books for my Kindle, to enjoy while away. In addition, I stocked up on enjoyable podcast episodes (Decades from Home was a shoe-in given our visits to Bavaria). I also dialled down my current affairs intake – so took a break from Today in Focus. And deliberately also didn’t start getting into The News Agents until my return from holidays. My reading list consists of several biographies, some non-fiction reading and a couple of books related to translation.
Sufficient holiday reading has become essential, especially when booking issues mean sharing a room (and large bed) with your sons. My wife shares with our daughter, when requested adjoining rooms are overlooked. The boys flake out early, giving me a couple of hours’ undisturbed reading. Due to their nocturnal thrashing about, I often end up sleep at the bottom of the bed.
Holiday days vs being on holiday
Taking paid leave (holiday days) is vastly different to “going on holiday”. Out of three weeks paid leave for my summer break, only half of that is actually spent on holiday. I assign a day of paid leave at the start to catch up on filed admin tasks. This quick “stock take” clears my mind for relaxing while on holiday. And I make a “before” list. Similarly, I have a “soft return” to the office in that I log on from home the evening before starting back to get the software updates done and come up with my “after” list. It is my way to ensure that I resume “on the ‘B’ of bang“.
Comparing the “before” and “after” lists helps me see whether my pre- and post-holiday thoughts are on the same wavelength. They aren’t always – some “tired” thoughts at the start of my leave period are duly ditched. A third “during list” contain the thoughts that flitted through my mind while away (relaxation inspires!).
I first became aware of the difference between holidays and being on holiday in 1994. It was after my first year of A Levels. My teachers gave me holiday reading in French and German. One explained with a smile that school holidays didn’t mean a holiday from learning. Surely paid leave is a different matter though?
Does switching off the computer mean really switching off?
While I switch off from my work as an in-house translator, I still struggle to switch off completely. I do try and reduce some of the sources of interference. This year, it was actively leaving all Xing groups. The step was to pre-empt their closure. Doing so also gave me instant impulses for my “during list”, which in turn help with my “after” list.
As a translator, I actively avoid looking for mistranslations in restaurant menus on holiday. I know that non-translator friends will supply enough source material to make up for me not looking. And some still think I need to see the culinary howlers. I now untag and delete these kind of posts. I do this to actively stop thoughts wandering to ongoing and future translation projects.
Breaking the (social) media onslaught
One reason I choose active holidays (in terms of going out and doing and seeing things, rather than lying on a beach or a sofa or a bed) is that it helps me reduce my consumption of other social media. It is also good for actively being present for my children, seeing and experiencing the world. I mute Facebook and WhatsApp group chats (in particular WhatsApp parents groups as our three were away from Kindergarten) to reduce distraction.
I also partially mute Twitter (and actively add some words to the block list!) particularly to avoid its toxicity. Instead, I actively reach for the Kindle and read when tempted to doomscroll. As mentioned above, I also limit my news consumption – in desperate times of rolling news, it is necessary to take a break from it all. It also helps avoid the emergence of a holiday fug by removing the everyday stimulus.
Does anything meaningful come out of my lists?
I mentioned having three lists (before, during and after) during my leave period. My “before list” had three to dos that I completed once back from holiday. Satisfyingly, I didn’t think about them once while on holiday. Two work-related items were also handled in my absence.
My “during list” was an interesting one. Thoughts while relaxed on holiday, hastily scribbled on a free postcard from a bar, might develop into tangible projects. I came up with a machine learning use case for a forthcoming course while sat drinking a can of Spezi. Two conferences I want to attend (preferably in person!) flitted through my mind. I had a crazy thought involving regular expressions (RegEx) that could bear fruits. And there was a mental plan how to rearrange the office at home.
My “after list” prepares me for the return to office. I log in once in advance to let my computer update before I go back to the office. I also catch up on calls for papers for conferences. This is a positive sign, as I recently decided not to submit abstracts, nor to attend a couple of conferences. It also contains a very quick list of all the mails from a single session in Outlook that I need to attend to. I usually revise that part of the list to make sure I prioritise what needs dealing with first.
How do hybrid working arrangements optimise returning to work?
As mentioned elsewhere, I work from home on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I therefore try to ensure that my holiday weeks (of five consecutive working days) run from Thursday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Tuesday. This means that I start back from paid leave in my office at home, and can get on with work with less disturbances than if in the office from day one.
Similarly, when preparing to go on holiday, I try to ensure that I finish in the office one day before I have my final working day. It means that I think more carefully about what I need for the final working day, and focus on what needs finishing off. It also means that I can leave my laptop set up in my office at home and also do my “soft return” logon to allow my computer to do all the updates before I start back at work.
Although I am not (yet) a member of the ITI, I follow their content on LinkedIn, and one recent post particularly hit home, to the extent that I felt the need to add some remarks to a post of my own on the issue of “aural health”.
I was recently felled by acute hearing loss and tinnitus, coming at the end of a busy year. The doctors I went to really advised me to try to avoid noise as part of the recovery process. It meant that while off on sick leave I read a lot on my Kindle and avoided noise where possible (easier said than done with three lively children aged three to five). As part of the noise avoidance, I went to the supermarket in noise cancelling headphones, avoided public transport except for going to the doctors. I struggled most on the U-Bahn, particularly with the sound when a train comes out of a tunnel and goes into a station. Masked and with a hood up, I probably looked to all intents and purposes like I was definitely up to no good.
