Smart Habits for Translators

Episode 68: Our Favorite Books About Habits

In this episode, we’re chatting about what is probably our favorite topic ever—books! And not just any books… but our favorite books about habits. It’s no secret that we love reading about smart habits and discussing how to adopt them in our businesses and personal lives—so much so that we started this podcast! That's why we thought we should dedicate an entire episode to this topic.

Tune in to hear our conversation about some of our favorite books on creating new habits and how they apply to translators and interpreters.

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

• James Clear’s website and newsletter

• Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

• Marie Forleo’s podcast and MarieTV series

• Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

• Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg

• The Tiny Habits website and mailing list

• No-Fail Habits by Michael Hyatt

• Maintaining Your Second Language: practical and productive strategies for translators, teachers, interpreters, and other language lovers by Eve Bodeux

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/68

Episode 67: Tools for Organization and Follow-Through

As professional translators and business owners, we have to stay organized to make sure our businesses run efficiently. And there are so many things that can be organized: finances, client projects and information, plans for our business, marketing campaigns, and so much more.

Keeping your systems in check by using tools that help you stay organized and follow through on your projects and communications is vital to the overall health of your business. And it can also be vital to your own health!

Being disorganized can cause stress, anxiety, worry, and a general sense of feeling bad about yourself.

So, today we’d like to talk about our favorite tools for organization and follow-through.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• How systems and tools can bring us a sense of calm and peace in our businesses

• Where tools can come in handy for staying organized in your translation or interpreting business

• Examples of what freelancers tend to need to organize and which tools can be helpful

• Tools we use and love and how we use them in our businesses

• Tools we would recommend in everyday life

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Yasmin AlKashef’s LinkedIn post about the one-touch rule

• Episode 57: Smart Habits for Managing Your Inbox

• Asana

• OneTab extension for Chrome

• How to group and arrange tabs in Chrome

• QuickBooks

• How to create email templates in Gmail

• Reading list in Chrome

• OneNote

• Create, view, and edit bookmarks in Chrome

• LastPass password manager

• Genius Scan PDF scanner

• Slack

• Airtable

• Full Focus Planner

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/67

Episode 66: Smart Habits for Maintaining a Sustainable Business with Rafa Lombardino

We are excited to welcome a wonderful colleague to join us in today's episode. She is a translator, teacher, fellow podcaster, and expert on audiovisual translation and tools and technology for translators. She has been working as a translator for over 20 years and has grown and diversified her business during that time. We enjoyed hearing from her about ways to grow a sustainable business while doing what you enjoy.

We’re very happy to welcome Rafa Lombardino to the podcast.

Rafa was born in Brazil and has been living in California since 2002. She became a professional translator in 1997. She is certified by the American Translators Association (ATA) in both English-to-Portuguese and Portuguese-to-English translations and has a Professional Certificate in ES>EN translations from UC San Diego Extension, where she started teaching translation classes in 2010, including “Tools and Technology in Translation,” which was also released in book format. Rafa is the President & CEO of Word Awareness, hosts the Translation Confessional podcast, and specializes in technology, marketing, HR, EH&S, education, health & wellness, audiovisual, and literature.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

When and how Rafa 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 needs more attention and how she sets priorities

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

Rafa’s thoughts on diversification for translators, and what tips she has for translators who are thinking of diversifying

Her thoughts on how to stay up-to-date with tools and technology, issues in our profession, and your clients' needs

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:

Rafa’s website

Rafa’s company: Word Awareness

Rafa’s podcast: Translation Confessional

Rafa’s book: Tools and Technology in Translation

Tools and Technology in Translation at UC San Diego

Translators101

The Audio Technica microphone Rafa uses for teaching, podcasting, and voice-over recording

The wireless Bose headset Rafa uses for audio editing, subtitling, and listening to audiobooks

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/66

Episode 65: Smart Habits for Overcoming an All-or-Nothing Mindset with Nora Díaz

In today’s episode, we are joined by a colleague who is an expert on tools and technology for translators and interpreters. She is one of the organizers of the popular Innovation in Translation and Innovation in Interpreting Summits, and she is very active in our profession. We always enjoy following her work and are in awe of how she handles all her projects and responsibilities. We know she has a lot to share on the topic of smart habits, so we are excited she agreed to join us today!

We’re very excited to welcome Nora Díaz to the podcast.

Nora is a Mexican conference interpreter and translator who enjoys working for clients from around the world on a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, marketing, technical and general texts, and leading teams of linguists, including translators, editors, and proofreaders from Mexico, South America, and Spain working together on large projects. Her interest in productivity has led to a constant exploration of technology to boost productivity, such as CAT tools, speech recognition, computer automation, and custom macros. On her blog, Nora Díaz on Translation, Teaching and Other Stuff, she shares what she has learned with translators and interpreters from around the globe.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

When and how Nora started her freelance career in translation and interpreting and how her business has evolved over time

What smart habits have been crucial in her career

What systems, processes, and habits help her stay organized

Nora’s tips on finding the balance between paid work and professional development

How she accomplishes big goals while working full-time and being a parent

Nora’s advice to colleagues who want to make a big idea happen but feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start

Her thoughts on how to stay up-to-date with technology and pick the best tool for the job

Nora’s top tips on embracing and leveraging technology in your work as a translator or interpreter

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:

Nora’s blog: Nora Díaz on Translation, Teaching, and Other Stuff

Nora’s training courses: Academia CLP

Connect with Nora on LinkedIn and Twitter

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Trados Business Manager

Microsoft OneNote

Google Tasks

Innovation in Translation Summit

Innovation in Interpreting Summit

The Deliberate Freelancer podcast

Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It by Henriette Anne Klauser

Buy audio narration for your Kindle books

How to read and listen to a book in the Kindle app

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/65

Episode 64: Smart Habits for Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

In this episode, we are having a conversation about limiting beliefs—what they are, how they can affect the work that we do as translators and interpreters, and how to challenge or overcome them.

Limiting beliefs are like deeply ingrained stories we tell ourselves about why we can or can't make progress in a given area. We all have limiting beliefs about something in our freelance translation or interpreting businesses. Some are related to how much money we believe we can earn, while others might be related to our professional development, productivity, language skills, or specializations.

It is important to note that limiting beliefs can affect any area of our lives, not just our work. You might have limiting beliefs about a personal goal you want to achieve or your ability to do something you’ve always wanted to do or change.

But today we’re going to focus on those limiting beliefs that rear their ugly heads in our work lives.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• Our own experiences with limiting beliefs that were holding us back

• How limiting beliefs can affect translators and interpreters at various stages of their career

• How to identify limiting beliefs in our professional work

• Ways to overcome or challenge your limiting beliefs

• How to recognize when your limiting beliefs are creeping in and what to do about it

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Book Talk, etc.: A conversational podcast about books and more

• One Line a Day: A Five Year Journal

• The Five-Minute Journal

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/64

Episode 63: Smart Habits for Aligning Your Business With Your Values and Goals with Marina Ilari

In today’s episode, we’re joined by a colleague, fellow podcaster, and fellow working parent, who will help us explore the topic of staying organized and focused when you have a lot on your plate. So many of us can relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed and scattered when we have an endless list of responsibilities, projects, and goals.

We’re very excited to welcome Marina Ilari to the podcast.

Marina is an ATA certified English>Spanish translator with over 16 years of experience in the translation industry. She has worked as a translator, editor, and quality assurance specialist for many companies around the world with a special focus on creative translations and video game localization. She is the chief executive officer of Terra Translations and co-host of the podcast about translation, En Pantuflas.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• When and how Marina started her freelance career, what services she offers, when and how she started her career in translation and localization, and how her business has evolved over time

• What smart habits have been crucial in her career

• How she manages her many tasks and roles, and what systems, processes, and habits help her stay organized

• Her advice for people who juggle several different projects and responsibilities—how to stay focused on what's important right now and overcome the feeling of being scattered

• Her tips on how to find time for the things that make you feel happy and fulfilled

• Her approach to investing in your career while being an engaged parent

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

• Her advice for our listeners about growing their translation or interpreting business

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Marina Ilari on LinkedIn

• The En Pantuflas podcast

• Marina’s company, Terra Translations

• Pocket app

• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

• The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field by Mike Michalowicz

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/63

Episode 62: Smart Habits for Following Up With Clients

It’s been said many times that it’s easier (and less expensive) to retain clients than it is to find new ones. But we know of so many freelance translators and interpreters who say that following up with clients is just really hard for them. They don’t want to bother anyone or come across as annoying or desperate for work.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about the importance of following up with your translation or interpreting clients and how to make this process less awkward and time-consuming than it often seems.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• Our experience of following up with our clients and what works for us

• Some ways in which you could follow up with current clients

• How to prepare yourself ahead of time to make it easier to follow up with clients regularly

• What’s stopping freelancers from following up with clients and why we often make it into a bigger deal (emotionally) than it really is—and how to overcome this feeling

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Registration for our next Virtual Business Retreat on June 21, 2022

• Corinne McKay’s blog post on following up on marketing contacts

• Episode 2: Impostor Syndrome

• Time-tracker: Toggl

• Madalena’s favorite stand-up desk and under-desk treadmill

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/62

Episode 61: Smart Habits for Drumming Up New Business with Melanie Padgett Powers

So many of us have experienced the ups and downs of freelancing, which have felt magnified over the last two years as a result of the pandemic. We’ve heard from many of you that you’d like more ideas for ways to grow your business and get more recurring work from clients. Well, our guest today happens to have some excellent advice on this topic, and we’re thrilled she agreed to join us.

In today’s episode, we get to talk to a fellow freelancer, podcaster, and word person! We think you’ll love hearing her insights on a topic we all want to learn more about: drumming up new business! We’re happy to welcome Melanie Padgett Powers to the podcast.

Melanie is the owner of MelEdits and lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. She is a freelance writer and managing editor for health care membership associations and regularly writes about public health, COVID-19, health care, and issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has a journalism degree and was previously a newspaper reporter in her home state of Indiana. Melanie is also the creator and host of the Deliberate Freelancer podcast and the new Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group, which focuses on the business side of freelancing.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

When and how Melanie started her freelance career, what services she offers, and how her business has evolved over time

What smart habits have been crucial in her career

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

How she drums up new business and what’s worked well for her

Her tips for navigating the feast/famine cycle and finding long-term ways to overcome it

What marketing methods work best for her, and how she finds time to fit them into her schedule

Melanie’s smart habit tips on how to create more times of feast than famine while avoiding burnout

How a regular business audit helps her as a professional and what she would suggest to people who want to start doing regular business audits

What kinds of tasks her virtual assistant (VA) does for her and how working with a VA benefits her business

Melanie’s tips on growing your freelance business deliberately

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

Registration for our Asana workshop on March 24, 2022

Registration for our next Virtual Business Retreat on March 17, 2022

Melanie’s podcast: The Deliberate Freelancer

The Facebook group for Deliberate Freelancer listeners: please listen to the podcast first and then join!

Subscribe to the free Deliberate Freelancer newsletter and receive two email templates Melanie used to secure $30,000 (per email!) in new work

Follow Melanie on Twitter

One of Melanie’s favorites: Book tracker: Reading List

 See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/61

Smart Habits for Taking Time Off

We all know that time off is important, yet it’s not something independent translators and interpreters allow themselves to do very often—or consistently.

Freelancers often feel guilty about taking time off because they feel like they’re neglecting their businesses.

• “What if an important client needs something?”

• “What if there’s no work when I return?”

• “I can’t afford to take time off!”

Sound familiar?

We think it’s important to discuss the topic of taking time off, so we're dedicating this episode to doing just that. You'll hear us talk about how we do it as freelance translators, how you can prepare for time off, how to come back to work without feeling overwhelmed, and most importantly, why it sometimes feels so difficult to take time off (and how to change that).

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

• Whether we generally succeed with taking time off and whether the pandemic or other factors have made it more or less difficult for us to take time off

• How time off affects your energy, mood, creativity, and other aspects of your work and personal life

• How often we take time off and how we plan for it

• Our tips, dos, and don’ts when it comes to sticking to the plan and not working during your scheduled time off

• Our tips for coming back to work after a break

• Why it can be difficult to allow yourself to take time off and some ideas for how to overcome those barriers

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

• Registration for our Asana workshop on March 24, 2022

• Registration for our Virtual Business Retreat on March 17, 2022

• Madalena’s master class on Google Ads for Training for Translators

• Madalena’s Copywriting course for Training for Translators

• Madalena’s blog posts on email signatures:

o How to Maximize Your Email Signature As a Professional Translator or Interpreter

o How to Maximize Your Email Signature - Updated with More Strategies

o 8 More Ways to Maximize Your Email Signature As a Professional Translator or Interpreter

• Corinne McKay’s blog post: How to take a vacation

• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

• A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/60

Smart Habits for Maintaining Your Website

Maintaining a website is something so many freelancers find overwhelming. We get it. There’s a lot to think about, which can leave you feeling like you don't know where to start.

Our goal with this episode is to dispel the myth that maintaining your website is as tedious, hard, or time-consuming as so many people think.

Your website is the only digital asset you can really control, one that gives clients a better idea of who you are, what makes you unique, and what it’s like to work with you. Few people talk about the importance of maintaining your site once you have one, so we wanted to share some tips and smart habits that help us keep our websites up-to-date.

Tune in to hear our conversation on:

- Why it’s important to maintain your website and what some benefits of doing this are for your freelance business

- What you need to consider about your website design

- What to consider when you update your website copy

- What to consider when you update content on the individual pages of your site

- What website sections need to be updated regularly

- What other elements of your website you might need to update behind the scenes

- Some dos/don’ts for leading clients to your website

- Our tips for those who feel overwhelmed about maintaining their website

Resources we mentioned in this episode:

- Registration for our Virtual Business Retreat on March 17, 2022

- Madalena’s master class on Google Ads for Training for Translators

- Madalena’s Copywriting course for Training for Translators

- MICATA Annual Conference

- ITI Conference 2022

- Madalena’s T&I Website Blueprint Course

- Broken Link Checker

- Page Speed Checker

- Madalena’s blog post: 10 Simple Ways to Boost Your Translation or Interpreting Website's SEO

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

- Dorothee Racette’s coaching practice and blog: Take Back My Day

- Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

- Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/59