Inconstant Day-to-Day
Posted in November 26th, 2007 by GuestWe never know what tomorrow may bring. Cliché? Perhaps, but in the world of translation, this sentence is perfectly applicable. I have perceived this inconstancy when I worked as a project manager for Ccaps, but it certainly reflects on the translator’s job as well.
The variations in project volumes and deadlines are quite intriguing and sometimes even frightening. It may be that you have no project due today, or some 200 words to translate and to handle within the next two days. And during these two days, you may not receive yet another project. Or you might have five projects happening at the same time, with the most varied characteristics, deadlines, etc.
It’s crazy when you have an urgent translation project that you need to allocate and are looking for suppliers, all of whom are busy. At the same time, you are preparing a second project with some technical problems and discussing a third “pain-in-the-butt” project with a co-worker. At the same time, you could be waiting for feedback from a client while negotiating the deadline of a fourth project because you won’t be able to handle it all, while you examine the fifth project in order to begin the translation process. Meanwhile, other projects are still flooding in!
Two days go by, the projects have all been taken care of… Done! During the next three days, nothing else comes in.
It’s obvious that there are times when things happen sort of smoothly, neither too much work nor too little. This is great! However, this inability to tell what the future holds is an aspect that truly demands a very high sense of organization and willingness in order to effectively manage the projects.
What about you, project managers out there? Do you agree?
Natália Botelho
Natália Botelho worked as Project Manager at Ccaps and today is a freelance translator. She decided to work from home to be closer to her husband and their dog Mel.
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