Happy July! Can you believe we’re officially halfway through the year? I always set new years resolutions and this year I set some work specific ones, which you can see here. As we’re halfway through the year now, I thought it was a good time to check in and see how I’m doing on those goals.
- Earn 15k – I earned 10k in 2019 and would like to improve on this!
I’m currently on track to earn about 12k this calendar year. Unfortunately, COVID-19 obviously affected the translation market and the last few months have been hard. I have been focusing on my marketing and reaching out to new agencies to try to compensate for this and also reassessed my rates.
2. Work with 5 direct clients (including an NGO) – I worked with a couple of direct clients last year but would love to expand this area of my business in 2020. I would especially love to work with an NGO because I am passionate about helping others.
I’ve worked with one direct client this year, which was for a short term project. I am working on my marketing and my website in the hopes that in the second half of the year I can encourage more direct clients (hopefully long term ones) to want to work with me. In terms of NGOs, I have done some international development work for agencies and some voluntary work for Moroccan Children’s Trust, but have yet to work directly with an NGO.
3. Write 50 blogposts & complete #ThatTranslatorCanCook – I’m on week 11 of this blogging series and would love to see it through to 52 weeks!
I am definitely on track to write 50 blogposts and have some interesting ideas coming up. (Follow me on instagram or Twitter to see the blogs when they first come out!) However, due to COVID-19, I took a little break from #ThatTranslatorCanCook, because it was (and continues to be) difficult to get certain ingredients from the supermarket. I am also currently taking a break, because I am on the low FODMAP diet (see my last #ThatTranslatorCanCook post and my post on my lifestyle blog for more info), though I hope to find some low FODMAP French recipes to try,
4. Connect with 60 new people on LinkedIn – You can find me here.
I haven’t actually been keeping track of this, but given that I add around 5 new connections on LinkedIn every day, I reckon I’ve already surpassed this!
5. Attend a conference – If you have any recommendations let me know.
Once again, due to COVID-19 and my personal health and financial issues, I doubt this is going to be likely this year. I have, however, attended several online events over the last few months!
6. Complete Deutsche Welle German course
I am still working on this one! It’s very slow going, but I hope to complete the course by the end of the year. It’s actually a really fun course, it’s just difficult to commit to working on it every week.
7. German learning trip? – If I have money and time and am ready, I’d love to go to Germany for two weeks and take a C1 qualification.
This one is definitely not happening this year for several reasons: a) due to COVID-19, travel is limited and it will be difficult to do, b) due to COVID-19, my financial situation will not allow for this, c) due to my personal health issues (detailed on my lifestyle blog), I am not in a position where I am comfortable with travel and d) I haven’t completed the Deutsche Welle course and don’t feel like my German is good enough that I could do a C1 qualification now!
8. Have fortnightly Arabic sessions with my Moroccan friend – I am committed to doing more CPD this year.
This has also been put on the back burner, due to time restraints on both sides. I am currently using Tandem to try to find a new Arabic language partner. If you know someone who speaks Standard Arabic and would like a weekly chat to practise their English, let me know in the comments!
9. Expand Translators in Norfolk with regular monthly sessions – If you work in the translation sector and live in Norfolk, you can join our group here.
I would count this one as a success so far! We have a few new members and have even managed to hold Zoom sessions during lockdown.
10. Work for 5 new agencies.
This one is going okay. I have done tests for a handful of new agencies and had some regular work from one new agency. This, like everything else, has, of course, been slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How is 2020 going for you, both professionally and personally? It’s definitely been a tough ride for all of us and you shouldn’t feel guilty if your goals have been derailed. I think this year, more than any other year, it’s important to take the time to reassess your priorities and goals right now.
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