Poll: Are you capable of working on two or more projects at the same time?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Dec 21, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Are you capable of working on two or more projects at the same time?".

This poll was originally submitted by Paola Giardina. View the poll results »



 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 01:55
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes, I like to Dec 21, 2017

Good question.

So far, I've enjoyed situations in which I was working on two projects at once, sometimes even three. It usually happens when I have a large job with a relaxed deadline, so I can sandwich in smaller jobs.

When I come to an impasse in one job, I switch to the other, and sometimes that relaxes me enough to think of a solution for the first job.


 
Alexandra Speirs
Alexandra Speirs  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:55
Italian to English
+ ...
I do it all the time Dec 21, 2017

Projects are usually never so big that they demand 100% of my time.
Besides, we can't abandon our regular customers when a big job comes along.
It also helps to have a bit of variety, instead of concentrating on one subject all the time.
Keeps the little grey cells lively.


 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:55
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
It depends on the project Dec 21, 2017

For literary projects, which extend over a long period, I like working this way.
But for difficult technical texts, I only do one at a time.


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 09:55
French to English
yes Dec 21, 2017

I find I work best when I have one big project, and fit in smaller ones as I go once I have the big one going ahead smoothly.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 08:55
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Dec 21, 2017

It happens quite often when I’m working on a longer project with a comfortable deadline and a regular client comes up with a smaller job. From time to time I do have a few projects with different deadlines all lined up like ducklings in a row…

Make_way_for_ducklings_statue


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 09:55
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Depends what you mean Dec 21, 2017

Like others, I alternate sometimes between projects.

I even open multiple files in a project in Trados and cross-reference them where appropriate, but I voted no in the poll. One job at a time, that's what my Granny taught me!

She had twins, and she knew where multitasking was unavoidable. She would never have used that term, but she knew that it IS normally quicker to concentrate on the job in hand, then move on to the next - she tried all the variations!

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Like others, I alternate sometimes between projects.

I even open multiple files in a project in Trados and cross-reference them where appropriate, but I voted no in the poll. One job at a time, that's what my Granny taught me!

She had twins, and she knew where multitasking was unavoidable. She would never have used that term, but she knew that it IS normally quicker to concentrate on the job in hand, then move on to the next - she tried all the variations!

Most of my jobs are small, so it would be meaningless to work on more than one at a time.
'Give it your full attention!' - I can still hear her.
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Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 09:55
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Yes Dec 21, 2017

I usually have 5 - 6 going. Many projects in the pharmaceutical field are more than translatimg. Right now I am the LVC on 4 projects.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 05:55
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Capable = able or willing? Dec 21, 2017

Everyone is 'capable' of working in multiple projects at once. I believe the question is "are you able to do it without harm" or "are you willing to".
I regularly work on multiple projects at once. I always agree on 3000 words per day for large projects, so I have a good margin for other projects. If you don't accept jobs from regular clients, they will surely find another translator, and you don't want that to happen, really. It's a matter of planning and being organized.


 
Gitte Hoveds (X)
Gitte Hoveds (X)
Denmark
Local time: 09:55
Danish to English
+ ...
No, not really Dec 21, 2017

I can only do one thing at a time.

I may have more than one project booked for overlapping deadlines, but I can only work on one of them at a time. I may alternate between them, but with just one head and two typing hands, there is a logical limit to my dexterity.


 
Juan Pablo Sans
Juan Pablo Sans  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 04:55
English to Spanish
+ ...
4 projects at the same time Dec 21, 2017

Even 4 or 5.

 
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Barbara Cochran, MFA  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:55
Spanish to English
+ ...
I've Done It, But Hopefully Never Again Dec 21, 2017

In 2016, I was, all at the same time, translating one historical novel that was almost 900 pages long, an autobiography that was almost 400 pages long, at the same time that I was a full-time graduate student and working on my thesis, which was an almost 200-page literary translation.

I'll never do such a thing again, with perhaps the exception of working on two literary translations at the same time, because I came down with the shingles from all the stress and ended up suffering w
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In 2016, I was, all at the same time, translating one historical novel that was almost 900 pages long, an autobiography that was almost 400 pages long, at the same time that I was a full-time graduate student and working on my thesis, which was an almost 200-page literary translation.

I'll never do such a thing again, with perhaps the exception of working on two literary translations at the same time, because I came down with the shingles from all the stress and ended up suffering with lingering symptoms from that for about a year.

[Edited at 2017-12-21 18:55 GMT]
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Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:55
English to Spanish
+ ...
Define “at the same time” Dec 21, 2017

I'm glad the discussion is not being degraded into the so-called merits of multitasking. Multitasking is a myth.

I fail to see the utility of the question, though. It'd be like asking a 9-year-old if they can laugh, smile and think of funny things while watching a cartoon or kiddie movie. Of course they can! The topic is so pedestrian as to merit no further serious discussion.

Or maybe we can run a survey among grizzly bears: can they breathe, move all four legs, scan t
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I'm glad the discussion is not being degraded into the so-called merits of multitasking. Multitasking is a myth.

I fail to see the utility of the question, though. It'd be like asking a 9-year-old if they can laugh, smile and think of funny things while watching a cartoon or kiddie movie. Of course they can! The topic is so pedestrian as to merit no further serious discussion.

Or maybe we can run a survey among grizzly bears: can they breathe, move all four legs, scan the horizon with their eyes and let their nose scan for scents of possible prey all at the same time?
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Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:55
English to Spanish
+ ...
Voice of Danish reason Dec 21, 2017

Gitte Hovedskov wrote:

I can only do one thing at a time.

I may have more than one project booked for overlapping deadlines, but I can only work on one of them at a time. I may alternate between them, but with just one head and two typing hands, there is a logical limit to my dexterity.


Yes! That's a different and more sensible description of what us translators do: one thing at a time just like every other sane and intelligent human being.

A better question would have been: Are you able to alternate two or more projects simultaneously?



 


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Poll: Are you capable of working on two or more projects at the same time?






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