Translation Reflect and Refresh

Well, we did it. We made it to the end of 2020 – the longest year in history. At least that’s how it felt to a lot of people. Since this is probably going to be my last blog post of the year (unless some kind of mad blogging fever sweeps over me in the next couple of days, which seems unlikely) I wanted to take the chance to reflect back on some of the lessons I learned in the last twelve months whilst also looking ahead to the future. 

Now that I’m nearing 30 (hello, big milestone birthday in 2021) I have reluctantly started to embrace the fact that the new year doesn’t have some kind of magical, transformative quality. It doesn’t matter how many times you scream “NEW YEAR, NEW YOU”, you’ll probably wake up on the 1st January pretty much the same person you were the night before (I know, disappointing). Nevertheless, I still think the new year is a great opportunity to take stock of the things that are working and set some goals for the months ahead. As a freelance translator, I’m very aware that it’s up to me to set the course for my career, which means I need to consciously pick a direction to travel in. That’s what I’m doing here today and hopefully it will inspire you to do the same. Let’s start with the lessons learned!

Things don’t always go as planned

The understatement of 2020. Looking back on my goals from this time last year is kind of darkly hilarious. I wrote I wanted to travel more. Lol. I also wrote that I wanted to “experience moments that take my breath away”. In the year of COVID-19. So, yeah. Be careful what you manifest (also be less vague and cheesy when setting goals, past Stephanie). 

Like most people, I spent a lot of this year watching my plans go up in flames and, although that wasn’t always a lot of fun, there is a valuable lesson to be learned here. Basically, while goals might be great for giving you focus and direction, there’s a benefit to being quite flexible. In a business context, the word “pivot” became really popular and, even though it always makes me think of that scene from Friends, I get why everyone likes it so much. If your solution to things going wrong has always been to throw your hands up in the air in despair (I’m not going to lie, I’ve had a lot of these moments in my life) this year was a good reminder that if you stay calm and redirect your energies, it is possible to make the best of a bad situation. I’ve seen a lot of examples of people doing this really well and I find it inspiring. 

Stepping out of your comfort zone helps you grow

This time last year, my freelance work had always involved me working with agencies or companies that are so big they have their own translation teams. I’d always liked the idea of working for smaller direct clients, but it was something I felt quite intimidated by. Without a project manager to act as a mediator, I’d be responsible for liaising directly with my clients, invoicing them, collecting their feedback, etc. It was all a bit unknown and scary.

When the UK went into lockdown, the future suddenly looked uncertain across the board and I decided I didn’t have a lot to lose. I launched my website, took online courses to plug the gaps in my knowledge and started pursuing new and exciting opportunities. I went through a bit of a mindset shift and it’s turned out to be pretty successful. I’ve now had the pleasure of working with quite a few small business owners and it’s been so rewarding. By developing a side of my business that felt a little outside my comfort zone, I’ve created more opportunities for myself and made my job more dynamic and interesting. I’m hoping to do more of that in 2021.

Networking Is Fun

There was a time in my life when I genuinely thought networking was the worst thing in the world. I was extremely against it, because I didn’t really understand what it is. I thought it was all about being fake and over-confident. Prior to this year I didn’t really have a professional social media presence and I didn’t think I was missing out.

It feels strange to think about that now, because my professional network has become so important this year. Since becoming more engaged on Instagram and LinkedIn, I’ve met a lot of lovely people who’ve become a fantastic source of support and inspiration throughout this difficult year. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them. I haven’t always liked to admit it, but freelancing can be pretty lonely and interacting with other language professionals gives me the sense of having virtual colleagues. It’s really nice and definitely something I’ll continue to prioritise in 2021.

So, that’s the reflection part out of the way. Now let’s look ahead to 2021. When I’m making goals, I try to think in terms of the SMART theory. Basically, everything needs to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. That means no “this year is going to take my breath away” (worst goal ever). Bearing that in mind, these are my three main professional goals for the new year:

Translate website into German

This has been on my list of tasks for a while now. Obviously, as a translator I really understand the importance of having a multilingual website, I’ve just been struggling to get the layout the way I want it. In 2021, I really need to just sit down and work out all the kinks. I think it will really be worth the time investment.

Land new Dutch client

Dutch has always been a second source language for me, but I haven’t used it a lot since going freelance. I’d really like to change that in the coming year by expanding the Dutch part of my business. 

Publish creative writing

This one sort of lurks on the boundary between personal and professional. I’ve been doing a lot of creative writing in my spare time for a while now and I’d really like to make it a part of my business by becoming more of a translator/writer. It’s always great to add more strings to your bow and have multiple revenue streams.

So, there you go, that’s it for 2020! I hope this inspires you to do some of your own reflection and goal setting. Even though we don’t know exactly what 2021 will hold (except that sweet sweet vaccine, thank goodness) it’s really helpful to have some focus and direction.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end of this post. It’s people like you who have made my 2020 a much better year than it could have been. I wish you all the best for 2021!