| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Poll: How often do you pull an all-nighter to work on a translation assignment? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
| | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:50
German to English
+ ...
I've been translating for 13 years and have never once stayed up all night to work. (To be fair, over that period I've never once stayed up all night for any other reason!). Nor do I ever plan to. If things got that hectic I'd have to rearrange deadlines, or come up with another solution.
I couldn't accept work on the basis it meant staying up all night to do it. The latest I can work is about 11. I have been known to get up ridiculously early, but all night is a complete no-go for ... See more I've been translating for 13 years and have never once stayed up all night to work. (To be fair, over that period I've never once stayed up all night for any other reason!). Nor do I ever plan to. If things got that hectic I'd have to rearrange deadlines, or come up with another solution.
I couldn't accept work on the basis it meant staying up all night to do it. The latest I can work is about 11. I have been known to get up ridiculously early, but all night is a complete no-go for me! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pascale Pluton
Netherlands
Local time: 13:50
Member (2005)
English to French
+ ...
| Never ever. It is not worth it | Nov 9, 2010 |
Personnally I need a proper night sleep to be able to work properly.
Working overnigh, after a full day work, would certainly produce a crapy quality.
Besides I would be so tired by it that I would need a week to recover. This would definitely have a negative impact on my productivity on the short term.
So why should I ?
Pascale
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 13:50
English to French
+ ...
| Remember doing that ... | Nov 9, 2010 |
... twice in 23 years: once for a "revision" (proofreading, editing), where it would have been quicker to start from scratch. The PM called me (right) after 6.00 PM and the translation had to be delivered the next day. I was still teaching in those days (between 8.00 AM and 4.00 PM).
Second time was my own fault: had mixed up dates and delivered texts for which the deadline had been postponed, forgetting about the emergency I was supposed to squeeze in instead.
| | |
|
|
|
Evans (X)
Local time: 12:50
Spanish to English
+ ...
| time of day v quality of work | Nov 9, 2010 |
I'm with Pascale. Even the work I do in the afternoon is of inferior quality to the work I do in the morning, so I always do my editing and rewriting when my mind is fresh after a good night's sleep. Working overnight would be so much to the detriment of quality that I would not consider submitting the result.
I have been known to get up quite early to do editing on a job that I have done a draft for the previous day, in order to meet a 9 o'clock deadline (which can mean an 8 o'cloc... See more I'm with Pascale. Even the work I do in the afternoon is of inferior quality to the work I do in the morning, so I always do my editing and rewriting when my mind is fresh after a good night's sleep. Working overnight would be so much to the detriment of quality that I would not consider submitting the result.
I have been known to get up quite early to do editing on a job that I have done a draft for the previous day, in order to meet a 9 o'clock deadline (which can mean an 8 o'clock deadline if my client is not on the same timeline as I am). But that is quite a different matter, because I know that I can produce work of excellent quality at that time of day. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alison Sabedoria (X)
United Kingdom
French to English
+ ...
I know the effect would be equally bad for the translation and for me.
Genuine emergencies do happen, but I have no intention of losing sleep just because someone else can't get organised to order a translation early enough.
The internet ought to save time and make life easier; instead it usually means that jobs are left to the last minute and become "urgent, urgent!" - WOAH, slow down and get a grip!
| | | | | I agree with Mary and Pascale | Nov 9, 2010 |
completely
| | | | | Practically never | Nov 9, 2010 |
That said, I am an ´owl´, and tend to make a slow start early in the day. If necessary, I sit up half the night to get a job done by eight the next morning. But only an hour or two after my normal bedtime!
Afterwards I need to catch up on sleep. Working too late usually means a migraine attack, and it is simply not worth it. Even with modern drugs that take the misery of migraine very effectively, I cannot work, because I make stupid mistakes and do not find them when proofreading... See more That said, I am an ´owl´, and tend to make a slow start early in the day. If necessary, I sit up half the night to get a job done by eight the next morning. But only an hour or two after my normal bedtime!
Afterwards I need to catch up on sleep. Working too late usually means a migraine attack, and it is simply not worth it. Even with modern drugs that take the misery of migraine very effectively, I cannot work, because I make stupid mistakes and do not find them when proofreading.
It is far better to come clean and tell the client if the job is impossible, and then share it, outsource, postpone the deadline, whatever can be done in the circumstances. ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Karin Usher
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:50
Member (2006)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| A couple of times in the last 12 years... | Nov 9, 2010 |
I run a translation agency, so I check all work that I receive from translators, obviously in the language pair I am qualified as a translator.
Last month I received a very poor job from a translator, incomplete and delivered very late. So I had to stay up all night, until 10am the following day to finish off the missing parts (about half of the whole project) and fix the other bits.
Thankfully, this was in my language pair and I managed to have it done on time for m... See more I run a translation agency, so I check all work that I receive from translators, obviously in the language pair I am qualified as a translator.
Last month I received a very poor job from a translator, incomplete and delivered very late. So I had to stay up all night, until 10am the following day to finish off the missing parts (about half of the whole project) and fix the other bits.
Thankfully, this was in my language pair and I managed to have it done on time for my client.... and thankfully again this happens very very rarely
The translator was really experienced and qualified, so it was a big disappointment...
It took me a few days to recover ▲ Collapse
| | | | Simon Cole
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:50
Member (2008)
French to English
I agree with all those saying "no" or "very rarely". If an agency or end customer presents a job with such a short deadline it requires overnight work, do they stay up all night to answer queries from the translator? I doubt it. I am happy to help a customer meet a deadline, even a tight one, but only within reasonably acceptable boundaries. As a colleague once remarked: "A cock-up on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine".
I have worked all night in the past, but to meet my ... See more I agree with all those saying "no" or "very rarely". If an agency or end customer presents a job with such a short deadline it requires overnight work, do they stay up all night to answer queries from the translator? I doubt it. I am happy to help a customer meet a deadline, even a tight one, but only within reasonably acceptable boundaries. As a colleague once remarked: "A cock-up on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine".
I have worked all night in the past, but to meet my own objectives, not to make up for someone else's failure. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Karin Usher
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:50
Member (2006)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| It can happen! | Nov 9, 2010 |
Simon Cole wrote:
I agree with all those saying "no" or "very rarely". If an agency or end customer presents a job with such a short deadline it requires overnight work, do they stay up all night to answer queries from the translator? I doubt it. I am happy to help a customer meet a deadline, even a tight one, but only within reasonably acceptable boundaries. As a colleague once remarked: "A cock-up on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine".
I have worked all night in the past, but to meet my own objectives, not to make up for someone else's failure.
I had a client who stayed up until 2am once, until I finished the translation.. and he was really helpful to clarify a few bits of the text!
| | | | clairejie
France
Local time: 13:50
French to Chinese
+ ...
| Almost never now!! | Nov 9, 2010 |
When I worked full time as a professional translator in a bank, I stayed up late several times a month.
There was always something urgent or I had to proofread work delivered later than scheduled.
Now as a freelancer, I try my best to avoid work after 8pm so that I can spend more time with my family.
[Edited at 2010-11-09 11:20 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
John Cutler
Spain
Local time: 13:50
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Leave it to others | Nov 9, 2010 |
I'll sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and if I think I'm not going to get back to sleep for awhile, I'll get up and work. That, of course, is my choice; I do so, because that's the way I want to manage my time.
However, the idea of staying up all night to work doesn't appeal to me at all. As far as I'm concerned, nothing is that important or urgent.
I'll leave the all nighters to desperate newbies or happy night owls.
| | | | Rebekka Groß (X)
Local time: 12:50
English to German
The reasons have been stated above by various people.
| | | | inkweaver
Germany
Local time: 13:50
French to German
+ ...
Never since I started freelancing three years ago and I don't intend to in the future. I have got up early though - at around 4.30 am - to finish an urgent project, but since I'm usually up by 6 am anyway that didn't make much difference.
I work best early in the morning and I can really feel my concetration dwindling in the afternoon and I know that I would not be able to produce a quality translation if I stayed up all night, so I just won't do it.
| | | | | Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: How often do you pull an all-nighter to work on a translation assignment? | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
