Last week we discussed fears and insecurities and to balance things out, I wanted to look at the opposite end of the scale: what motivates us and gives us strength to work as a freelance translator. Because it’s “behind the scenes” series, I’m going to draw on some examples and solutions from my own career, but feel free to chime in and add your points in the comments below.

I’m the first one to say that the passion that we have for the profession works as the best motivator, but between you and me, it’s not a magic pill that sorts everything else out. And sometimes even if this passion was great in the beginning, it becomes tarnished with time and some negative experiences. And on other occasions, no matter how passionate I feel about translation in general, I simply don’t get all that excited in a particular period or on a particular assignment.

Feeling low levels of motivation or strength isn’t necessarily a disaster in itself. We all have ups and downs. But it becomes an issue if it takes longer than usual and starts affecting our work. How do we fix it, then? Take a look at some of my solutions, in no particular order.

Take a day off and away from devices

When I’m feeling down or overwhelmed, what usually helps is getting away from my computer, tablet, smartphone, everything. Just taking a real day off out in a park or a museum, reading a book in a café and eating out in a cosy local restaurant. On days like this (now making it into my weekly routine), I don’t check Facebook, Twitter or Skype, or sometimes I don’t even take any devices with me. More.

See: WantWords

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