Smart Habits for Translators – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode 88: Smart Habits for Better Work/Life Clarity—Our Last Episode!

In this last episode of our podcast, we’re touching on the topic that started Smart Habits for Translators more than four years ago—work/life clarity! If you missed the news, check out our previous episode where we explain why our podcast is coming to an end and what you can expect.

The concept of work/life clarity was what brought us together as co-hosts of Smart Habits for Translators, and it’s a topic we've addressed in many episodes of our podcast. We believe that striving for work/life balance is an unattainable goal while being clear about the priorities in your current season of life and business is a better way of identifying focus areas and setting boundaries.

Tune in to our last episode to hear our conversation on:

• What work/life clarity is and how it’s different from work/life balance

• How our understanding and approach to work/life clarity has evolved since we started our podcast

• What could be some signs to take some time to consider your own work/life clarity

• How to find work/life clarity

• How to set boundaries and priorities in your life and business intentionally

Episode 87: Smart Habits for Building and Changing Habits

In this last episode of 2023, we’re sharing some important news about our podcast. After four years of producing Smart Habits for Translators, we’ve decided it’s time to wrap up the podcast, so this will be our second-to-last episode. Tune in to hear the reasons for our decision (spoiler alert—there’s no drama, and we’re still great friends!) and how you can continue to listen to our previous episodes after January 2024.

We decided to round out the year by discussing the concept of Atomic Habits by James Clear—one of the topics that brought us together and served as a catalyst for starting Smart Habits for Translators! :)

Tune in to hear our conversation on our favorite tips in the Atomic Habits book and how we apply them in our businesses and personal lives!

In our next (and final episode), we will share our thoughts on work/life clarity (just like we did when we launched the podcast in 2019!) and how we apply these principles when setting goals for the new year.

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

• Find Your Why by Simon Sinek

• MasterClass

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/87

Episode 78: Smart Habits for Continuing Your Professional Development with Eman Abdo

We know the beginning of the year is the time when many people set their intentions and aspirations for the year, and this often includes training and development goals.

So, we thought we should dedicate our first episode of the year to professional development. We’re very happy to welcome a guest who takes continuing professional development (CPD) very seriously and openly shares her CPD journey on LinkedIn.

We are excited to be joined by Eman Abdo.

Eman is an English-to-Arabic translator specializing in localization and transcreation with a special focus on marketing, e-learning content, and game localization. She studied translation at the Faculty of Al-Alsun.

With more than five years of experience in the game localization industry, Eman has worked on the localization of AAA games, mobile games, and indie games. She is also the author of the Egypt Localization Guide and the force behind the localization of many apps and games in Arabic. She is a gamer at her core, aspiring to change how Arabic is represented globally.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• What services Eman offers, and how her freelance career has evolved over time

• What values led her to become a freelancer, and how they developed in her business

• What smart habits have been crucial in her career, and what systems, processes, or habits have helped her stay focused and organized

• What habit she had earlier in her career that she no longer practices, and why

• How Eman approaches continuing professional development (CPD): how far in advance she plans the courses or webinars she wants to attend and where she looks for them

• How she chooses which CPD events to sign up for and decides which areas of her business, skills, or services she wants to grow and develop

• How she budgets for CPD

• How she stays on track and makes time to complete the courses she signs up for

• What Eman does after she completes training courses to implement what she learned or incorporate it into her marketing activities

• Eman’s tips on how to approach CPD strategically and consistently

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Follow Eman on LinkedIn

• Eman’s webinar “Game Localization in the Arabic-Speaking World” (register by the end of January 2023 to take advantage of the discount!)

• Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/78

Episode 77: Smart Habits for Kicking Off and Wrapping Up Your Week

In June 2020 (wow, time flies!), we released an episode on delineating your workday in which we talked about some things we like to do at the beginning and end of a workday. So, for our last episode of 2022, we thought it would be good to do a follow-up episode to talk about some smart habits related to kicking off and wrapping up your workweek.

Tune in to hear our conversation on our:

• Why it’s important to kick off and wrap up your workweek in a mindful, deliberate way

• What we like to do at the beginning of the week

• How we choose to wrap up our week

• Our top tips when it comes to getting the week started on the right track and wrapping it up in a way that helps us unplug from work during the weekend

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Our 2022 end-of-year survey—open through January 10, 2023!

• Episode 19: Smart Habits for Delineating Your Workday

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/77

Episode 76: Smart Habits for Preparing for an Exam or Test

December is certainly a busy season for most of us, with so much work to wrap up before the holidays and so many personal and family commitments. It’s also a time when we reflect on the accomplishments we made this year and what goals we’d like to set for the coming year. If one of your objectives next year is to take a certification exam or translation test, we think you’ll find this episode useful.

Several listeners asked us for tips on preparing for exams and tests, so we’re happy to share our experiences and advice on this topic. We both know that getting certified as a translator and/or interpreter and passing a translation test for your dream client can be a big milestone in your career, but they can also be stressful experiences. So, let’s talk about some ways to make these situations less nerve-racking and increase your chances of success.

Tune in to hear our conversation on our:

• Experiences with translation and interpreting certification exams, how we prepared for them, and how these credentials helped our business

• Tips on how to make exam day less stressful

• Approaches to taking translation tests for clients

• Advice on what to take into account when taking translation tests

You'll also get some amazing tips and advice from our colleagues—certified translators and interpreters in different languages—on how to prepare for certification exams!

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• ATA certification exam

• CCHI certification exam for healthcare interpreters

• Some helpful resources on preparing for the ATA certification exam:

o The Ins and Outs of the ATA Certification Exam

o Ergonomics for ATA's Certification Exam: Unspoken Advice with Untold Benefits

o Forming A Peer Study Group to Prepare for ATA’s Certification Exam

o Taking and Preparing for ATA’s Online Certification Exam

o 12 Extra-Linguistic Skills You Need to Master before Taking ATA's Certification Exam

o Who Wants to Fail ATA’s Certification Exam?

o Practical Tips for Taking ATA’S Certification Exam Online

o One Member’s Tips on How to Prepare for ATA’s Certification Exam

• Episode 46: Smart Habits for Finding the Right Clients for You

• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

• Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels by Loretta Graziano Breuning

• The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/76

Episode 75: Smart Habits for Forming and Maintaining a Translator Collective

Today, we’re thrilled to share with you a concept that we know is something our colleagues are interested in. In fact, we have not only one guest, but two here to tell us more about it!

We’re excited to be sharing the microphones today with our colleagues and friends, Jamie Hartz and Nathalie Reis, who are here to chat with us about translation collectives.

Jamie Hartz is an ATA-certified Spanish to English translator who specializes in legal and commercial translation and transcription. She has been a freelancer since 2013, and in 2016 Jamie helped to found the Black Squirrel Translator Collective, which currently consists of herself and three fellow alumni of Kent State University’s master’s in translation program: Mary McKee, Hannah Sampson, and Nancy Cabrera.

And Nathalie Reis is a full-time freelance translator and copywriter specializing in the creative industries (travel & tourism, art & culture, leisure & wellness, and fashion & beauty) as well as the humanitarian field (including human & social rights, women & children’s health). She runs Nathalie Reis Translations in Northwood and works from English into French. She is a Member of the CIoL, an Associate of the ITI, a Member of the Society of Authors, and acts as Publicity Officer for the ITI London Regional Group. Nathalie also co-founded the Creative Translation Hub with Carolina Casado Parras and Adriana Tortoriello, a small collective of translators focused on the creative industries and working mainly from English into French, Spanish and Italian.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• What services Jamie and Nathalie offer and how their translation businesses have evolved over time

• What smart habits have been crucial in their careers

• What systems, processes, and habits help them stay organized, and how they set priorities

• What boundaries they set in their professional lives and how they maintain them

• What translator collectives are and how they work

• Why it can be helpful for freelance translators to work together in this way

• What positive results Nathalie and Jamie have seen as well as some challenges related to being in a translator collective

• Jamie and Nathalie’s tips for freelance translators who want to form and maintain a translator collective

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Our next virtual business retreat with a special guest, Dorothee Racette

• Creative Translation Hub

• Connect with the Creative Translation Hub on LinkedIn and Instagram

• Learn more about Jamie’s translation services and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter

• Black Squirrel Translator Collective

• Pomodoro technique

• Get Fit for the Future of Transcreation: A Handbook on How to Succeed in an Undervalued Market by Nina Sattler-Hovdar

• The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/75

Episode 74: Smart Habits for Your Social Media Presence with Kelsey Frick

In our latest episode, we’re talking about some smart habits related to developing and maintaining a social media presence for your business. Besides coming up with ideas for content, it can be hard to stay consistent when it comes to marketing your business on social media. That’s why we invited a colleague who we think has great insights to share on this topic to join this conversation, and we’re excited to hear her tips.

We are thrilled to be joined by Kelsey Frick.

Kelsey is a freelance translation account manager, French-to-English subtitler, and social media consultant. After working as a project manager in the T&I industry for 5 years, Kelsey went freelance in the middle of the pandemic and found success by marketing herself on LinkedIn with TikTok-style content and outreach to other translators.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• What services Kelsey offers and how her freelance career has evolved over time

• What smart habits have been crucial in her career, and how she decides which aspect of her business needs more attention right now

• What boundaries she sets in her professional life and how she maintains them

• What social media platforms Kelsey focuses on, and how she built her expertise in this field

• Why she thinks it’s important for freelance translators and interpreters to have a social media presence

• How she feels about posting for and connecting with colleagues versus communicating with clients

• How she stays on top of social media marketing without letting it take over her day

• What translators and interpreters tend to do well when it comes to social media, in addition to common mistakes

• The myths or misconceptions about social media presence that Kelsey would like to set straight

• What smart habits freelance translators and interpreters can apply to have a consistent and authentic social media presence

• Kelsey’s top tips for social media presence

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Our next virtual business retreat with a special guest, Dorothee Racette

• Follow Kelsey on LinkedIn and Instagram

• Canva

• To get Kelsey’s downloadable list of 30 social media content ideas for our listeners, sign up for our emails on our website!

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/74

Episode 73: Smart Habits for Setting Boundaries in Your Business

Before we jump into the topic of Episode 73, we want to remind you about our next quarterly virtual business retreat, which will be on December 14. We’re excited that our colleague and podcast guest Dorothee Racette has agreed to be our guest speaker this time! She will kick off our retreat with some tips and wisdom on how to set reasonable and realistic goals for the new year, and then we’ll focus on discussing our business goals for the first quarter of 2023.

If you’d like to join us, you can sign up at smarthabitsfortranslators.com/retreat. Space is limited to 25 participants, so don’t wait!

In today’s episode, we chat about smart habits for setting boundaries in your business. What do we mean by this? Well, setting boundaries in your business could take on a lot of forms, but the main idea is to determine what you will and won’t do based on what is best for your business and what is best for you as the owner. This could look like setting boundaries around the hours you work, the types of projects you take on, and even who you want to work with.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• Why boundaries are important for translators and interpreters

• Our thoughts on helpful boundaries for your business

• What boundaries we set in our professional lives and how we maintain them

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Our next virtual business retreat with a special guest, Dorothee Racette

• Episode 33: Smart Habits for Setting Priorities and Getting Things Done With Dorothee Racette

• Episode 35: Maintaining Healthy Boundaries Between Work and Personal Life: Another Joint Episode With Speaking of Translation

• Episode 69: Smart Habits for Negotiating with Clients with Susie Jackson

• Susie Jackson’s blog on financial habits for freelancers

• Episode 60: Smart Habits for Taking Time Off

• Intelligent Change: Mindful Affirmation Cards

• Anti-Fatigue Cushioned Standing Desk Mat

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/73

Episode 72: Smart Habits for Diversifying in a Niche Specialization with Abigail Dahlberg

Today, we’re really excited to be joined by a colleague we both admire very much. She is a translator, content writer, mom, and expert in environmental issues and sustainability. She has been working as a translator for over 20 years and has grown and diversified her business within a very niche specialization. In fact, her success in this area has even earned her the nickname “Trash Girl,” believe it or not!

We are thrilled to be joined by our colleague and friend, Abigail Dahlberg.

Abigail is a German to English translator and copywriter specializing in sustainability issues. After completing an MA in translation and interpreting at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh in 2001, she worked as a staff translator in Germany for several years before relocating to Kansas City and launching her freelance business in 2005. Over the past 15 years, Abigail has helped dozens of direct clients in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland communicate with an international audience via her business, Greener Words.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• When and how Abigail started her freelance career in translation and how her business has evolved over time

• What smart habits have been crucial in her career

• What systems, processes, and habits she uses to stay organized and how she manages all the tasks on her plate

• How she decides which aspects of her business need more attention at certain times and how she sets priorities

• What boundaries she sets in her professional life and how she maintains them

• Why she decided to diversify her service offerings and how she went about it

• Abigail’s advice for specializing in a niche field or market and diversifying your services

• Her thoughts on work/life clarity for freelancers and how she tries to protect the boundaries between work and personal life

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Abigail’s website

• Follow Abigail on Twitter and LinkedIn

• ATA Inside Specialization podcast episode: Translating Sustainability

• Let the Story Do the Work: The Art of Storytelling for Business Success by Esther K. Choy

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/72

Episode 71: Smart Habits for Attending In-Person Conferences

We’re recording this episode a week after our quarterly virtual business retreat, and we wanted to thank all of our colleagues who participated. We’ve been holding these quarterly business retreats for over a year now, and this was our best one yet—we had great conversations and a guest speaker who we all enjoyed. It’s never easy to find uninterrupted time to sit down and review how various areas of your business are going and what you would like to focus on. Our virtual business retreats are an opportunity to identify areas of improvement and commit to specific actions you will take to achieve your goals—not to mention the perk of brainstorming with colleagues.

We’re really excited about our next retreat, which will be on December 14. We will have a guest speaker again to kick things off, and then we’ll focus on discussing our business goals for the first quarter of 2023.

And now back to the topic of this episode: smart habits for attending a conference after what’s been two years of having very few in-person events to attend.

We have already recorded three episodes about smart conference habits in the past, and they are among some of our most popular episodes. If you haven’t listened to them yet, we recommend that you check them out:

• Episode 3: Conference Habits

• Episode 26: Smart Habits for Attending Online Conferences

• Episode 51: Tips and Tricks for Attending Hybrid Conferences, a Surprise Joint Episode with Speaking of Translation

We recorded the last two episodes to respond to the changes in the conference landscape due to the pandemic. Since the situation is different now and more people are attending in-person conferences again, we figured it was time to discuss what you might want to take into account when attending your next in-person conference.

Of course, we still think that much of the advice we shared in Episode 3 and Episode 26 is still relevant. We’ll also share what we think has changed and some new factors to consider when attending conferences these days.

So, tune in to hear our conversation; we hope this helps you plan for an upcoming translation and interpreting event!

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Our next virtual business retreat on December 14, 2022

• Episode 3: Conference Habits

• Episode 26: Smart Habits for Attending Online Conferences

• Episode 51: Tips and Tricks for Attending Hybrid Conferences, a Surprise Joint Episode with Speaking of Translation

• The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

• An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten

• Eve Bodeux’s Global Reads Book Club

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/71