Working as a translator is a beautiful job: you can use your creativity, have the freedom to decide when and where to work, bridge language barriers – it is full of advantages! But if you want to be honest, this lifestyle has its difficulties as well. Have you ever experienced being exhausted, feeling unable to find motivation to keep going? Here are 5 tips to help you find your way back to those happy days of work!

Change your location

Of course it is very convenient to work from home: you do not have to go out to the street (which can be a great advantage in winter), you do not have to worry about being late, you can work alone, independently, in full peace. But after a while, it can be really demotivating, so even if you have to give up some comfort, go out! Pick a nice bar or a quiet library to be your temporary workplace. It will make you feel more alive! Also, even if you are at a new place, do not forget to check the job offerings on Babelprojekt!

Participate on translation events

Going out does not only mean that you take your work with you outside of your apartment. Meeting other professionals, sharing ideas or just laughing together on stories and jokes that only translators understand will definitely cheer you up. Experiencing that you are not alone helps you get back to work with more enthusiasm.

Switch. Off. Everything.

Take a day off sometimes. Literally: unplug and switch off all your devices, take a day watching trees, the sky, the birds, or, if it is winter, the snow; if it is raining, grab a cup of tea and stare at an entertaining book instead of staring at the monitor. The next day, you will have a lot more energy to get back to your work.

Try new things

You are a professional in translating legal texts, but also attracted by literature? Do you always translate topics related to agriculture, but you would like to try to translate articles in the field of marketing/PR? Challenge yourself and add these fields to your Babelprojekt profile so that clients can find you!

Set new goals

If you are extremely ambitious and it is not enough for you just to try some new things, you can also set bigger goals to find your unexplored talents. How about learning Chinese? How about translating material related to Japanese pottery, to, let’s say, Icelandic? On of your greatest talents is creativity – you can use it for anything, not only in your everyday work.

Have you ever tried any of these practices or do you have any other ones that helped you and would help other professionals, too? Do not hesitate to let us know by writing us to [email protected] or in a reply below this post!

Babelprojekt Team