You’ll find this post interesting because unlike my usual ‘how to find more work’, I’m going to advocate for finding time off work. This year I worked flat out until the 15th of July and I planned a longer period of downtime right through until the end of September to concentrate on writing the book, developing a new course (stay tuned!) and finishing off my cloud computing research project (you’ll hear more about it, too). Not even two weeks in this downtime, I’m already experiencing the benefits, so I thought you’d like to hear how to make the most from a ‘break’.

Rest

I kid you not, take a few days off and just rest. I thought making sure you take weekends off regularly is enough to keep your brain rested, but I only realised how tired I was when I went to the mountains for a few days and I just switched off.

Learn, study, read

As translators, we are privileged already and we’re learning almost with every project. But when was the last time you learned something for yourself, something that sparked interest? I’m enjoying that a lot today, it feels almost like a study break.

Work on a personal project

I’m sure you have this idea, this project you wanted to work on since forever but you never had enough time to do it. I’ve just started working on a little personal project with my family that we’ve been putting off for years, and I can tell you it’s very rewarding.

Update CV, portfolio, marketing collateral

Downtime periods are great for all sorts of reflections and updates. In August, I’ll be going through my marketing materials and tweaking little bits. The best approach is to first carry out an audit (analyse your current situation) and then decide what and how to improve. More.

See: WantWords

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