Any place, any time…

👍The best thing about being a freelance translator is being able to work at any place at any time.
👎The worst thing about being a freelancer translator is being able to work at any place at any time.

This is something I say all the time 😏

🌏 In this globalised and accessible world, it’s never been easier to contact or be contacted by others. Add to this the ability to work from a laptop 💻 and having a reliable internet connection ᯤ, then many of us can do our jobs almost anywhere.

🔁 This brings the freedom of flexibility, but also the brutal expectation that anything can be done regardless of the time and/or circumstances.

✴️ With this in mind, whenever I’m on holiday or away from home for more than a day, rather than let my clients know, I’ve found it easier to continue being contactable as usual and deciding whether I can do a job on on a case-by-case basis. Being as seamless as possible with clients provides a sense of consistency and reliability in service. But this is not possible all the time.

✈️ Changing time zones can mix up things, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. For example, Australia 🦘 during the southern summer can be up to 11 hours ahead of my clients in Europe 🌍 and up to 18 hours ahead of North America 🌎. Careful timing and planning are then key for my travels. As much as I want to be there for my clients, I do still want to be able to sleep at a decent hour💤

❓How about you? What do you when you’re on holidays or away from your usual workplace? Is it business as usual, the OOO message is up or something in between?

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