Essential Translators' Tools I: Back to Basics

Essential Translators' Tools I: Back to Basics

For the first entry in this series I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of the simple items it's all too easy to ignore when talking about typical translators' tools. This may be because we take them for granted, or perhaps we think they are too antiquated to be of much use when there are so many technological alternatives out there. Or it might be that we have never thought of them as part of the tools of our trade... but I think there a number of "traditional" desktop items that deserve a place up there alongside smartphone apps, cloud computing and time management software.  Here are a number of things I hate to be without while I'm working... 

1. Notepad and Pen

Okay, so you may ask - why do I need to write anything down by hand when I've got all my clients' details stored safely on my database, I use a computerised diary that synchronises automatically with my phone/tablet, and my glossaries are all arranged in alphabetical order in Excel?

Well, I also do all of the above - and more - but I still use my big A4 notepad every day. It may be a bit old-school, but I find it immensely helpful to list my tasks for the day/week/month, and tremendously therapeutic to cross them out by hand as I finish them off. I use my notepad to jot down important information while I'm on the phone to potential clients, and I even use it to draw up lists of new vocab and/or tricky terms while I'm translating. All this data can then be transferred to my assorted programs and files, but there's nothing like the immediacy of being able to write things down "on the run" and know that your trusty A4 notepad is not at risk of being gobbled up by trojan horses or wiped off the face of the universe for unfathomable reasons understood only by the great Cyber-Gods. Nor will it break into a zillion tiny pieces if your toddler knocks it off your desk by mistake (These things happen - I know from painful personal experience). 

Drawing/sketching out a work plan, or having a brainstorming session complex projects is another invaluable use of your good old pen and paper; and last but not least I have yet to come across a better method of studying/revising/memorising (new vocab or the main points gleaned from your latest training course, even if it's online) than writing it out by hand.

[As a little add-on to this item, and given that we're getting near "that time of year" again, I would like to take this opportunity to champion the handwritten Christmas Card, sent to clients and colleagues via ordinary snail mail. It doesn't have to be fancy or particularly expensive, but a hand-signed, personalised Christmas greeting, sent in an envelope (with a business card, of course) is a really nice thing to receive and in these times of impersonal e-greetings covered with dancing Santas and twinkly Christmas Trees, it actually makes you stand out from the crowd. If you haven't done it before - perhaps this is the year to give it a go?]

2. Your favourite dictionaries

Of course it would be downright idiocy not to make use of all the resources available on the internet to search for terminology... but having said that I have lost count of the times I've pulled down my trusty old Routledge, or even my tatty old OED from my school days and found the exact word I was looking for. Those of us aged over 30 will probably have gone through an "old-fashioned" education (i.e. involving actual books, fountain pens and not a computer in sight) and are bound to have books, dictionaries and even lecture/revision notes from our heyday full of information that can still help us out today. And of course once again there is something rather therapeutic about leafing through a big fat tome to find the word/expression you were looking for - if nothing else it takes your eyes off the screen for a minute or so which is never a bad thing.

3. The telephone

We have become so used to emailing, Tweeting, FB messaging, WhatsApping (etc....) that sometimes we forget the value of picking up the phone and actually talking to people. Negotiations with clients, consulting colleagues, booking travel arrangements... these things are sometimes so much easier over the phone. The personal touch - even though it's not face to face - is still really important on a day to day basis and definitely makes certain professional relationships warmer, friendlier and therefore smoother.

4. Desktop calendar

I don't know why, but try as I might, I just can't get used to using the calendar on my phone/tablet/laptop for quick reference purposes. By that, I mean that I do use them to organise my work schedule and keep track of important appointments and deadlines - but when I'm on the phone to a potential client, for example, I find it so much easier to pick up my calendar and look at the days/weeks ahead to get an idea of timescales or even just to establish that "the 30th" means "two weeks today". 

5. Filing trays

We work online, we shop via our mobiles, we will probably be able to pay bills by blinking at our iPads before long. But we still generate a lot of paperwork. I personally print out all my invoices and receipts and keep a handwritten list of incomings and outgoings as well as doing my accounts on the computer. Not to mention non-disclosure agreements, insurance policies, bank statements, electricity bills, tax certificates, recipts for office sundries...they all build up and you never know when you may need to find them. I'm the first to own up to being a bit of a "filing-phobe", but in the interim I at least have a couple of trays on my desk for incomings, outgoings, pending payment, ready for filing, miscellaneous etc., rather than a mountain of paper balancing on one corner. A system like this means you can find stuff quickly if you need to, and it goes without saying that it makes the dreaded "filing day" a whole lot easier, as you've already sorted it all into different categories.

6. Calculator

Yes, I could use my phone, or Excel, or any of a wide range of "calculator" options. But I like punching the numbers in with my fingertips. I like being able to work out how much I'm going to earn for a job without having dig around in my bag for my phone or waste time minimising several windows and opening a new programme just to work out how many days I'm likely to need to do that massive job someone's about to send me. I know lots of people who do their numbers differently, but personally I find my big, chunky calculator indispensible for everyday business.

What takes pride of place on your desk? What basic tools do you use every day?

And in my next entry I'll be taking a look at the focal point of a freelance translator's office - the computer and all it's paraphernalia... see you then!