2021 Work Goals

As the year is drawing to a close, I thought it was high time to set my goals for next year. I do this every year to give myself an idea of what I want to achieve in the next year, but these goals are not rigid and can be changed. So without any further ado, here are my business goals for 2021!

1. Earn 15k
Money can be such a difficult topic to talk about, although I have seen lots of translators opening up this year about fees and how much they earn. While it might not seem like a lot, I will finish this year with having earned around £13k, which is a little under what I was hoping for this year, but given we experienced a pandemic this year, I’m amazed that I managed to get it up this much. I’d like to beat this next year, but also want to be realistic!

2. Make 6 YouTube videos
I have loved watching YouTube since I was a teenager and, as someone who has been performing since the age of 7, I would love to give YouTube a go, especially as I know it can be so lucrative. However, I’ve been waiting for inspiration to hit as to what I would put in my YouTube videos. At the beginning of this year, I’d like to spend sometime planning some videos and really think about what I’d like to put online, probably relating to languages and literature.

3. Write 6 Veritea blogs
You might not know that I have a lifestyle instagram focusing on books (Veritea.blog) that I have been trying to build this year. I love reading and I would love this hobby to turn into part of my job, as a book reviewer. I’m also trying to expand my accompanying blog and would like to write more regular content next year.

4. Do one hour of voluntary work per week
I am on a committee for a charity called Moroccan Children’s Trust, who I volunteered in-country with in 2016. I love the work I do for them, but often find that I don’t make enough time to work on their projects during the week. I’d love to regularly schedule some pro bono work into my working week.

5. Stick to work routines
In the last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with a morning work routine, lunchtime work routine and end of day work routine. They’ve really helped keep my grounded and plugging away at work and CPD and I would like to continue them into next year. If you’d like to know more about them, let me know in the comments and I’ll write a blogpost on them!

6. Make plans for doing a PhD
I’ve been harbouring a secret…*whispers* I would love to do a PhD in French literature…I think I’ve found the perfect programme and would like to get started on it part-time in the next few years, so I’d like to spend some time planning it next year.

7. Write 24 blogposts
When I started this blog, I wanted to write weekly, but work commitments haven’t allowed this. Instead, I would like to write fortnightly blogposts for 2021.

8. Finish the Deutsche Welle A1 and A2 courses
I would love to eventually add German into the rosta of languages I translate from, having studied it to ‘A’ level, but I have to admit my German is now very rusty. As such, one of my CPD goals for next year is to complete Nicos Weg on Deutsche Welle.

9. Finish Spanish textbook
I recently bought myself a Spanish textbook after becoming interested having watched Money Heist. This one is really just for fun, as I don’t see myself using Spanish in my career.

10. Finish reviewing al-Kitaab 1
It might seem very basic, but at the moment I’m working through the first textbook I used to study Arabic at university. A lot of it I have retained, but I want to make sure I have a perfect grasp of the basics before moving on.

11. Finish the book translation in the first quarter
I am currently working on a mammoth project – a 140k word novel – and it is taking longer than expected. I am hoping to finish it within the first quarter of the year to allow me time to take on other projects throughout the year.

What are your goals for 2021, either personal or work-related? I’d love to hear them in the comments! If you want to get in touch with me about translation projects, my email is verity.roat@cantab.net