14.09.2007
Interesting...
By accident today, I came across WordCount.org and spent at least half an hour wading through words. The results of this fascinating analysis can be found below.
language = 510
translation = 5443
communication = 1683
recrossed = 86799
the = 1
If you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, take a look here.
22:45 Publié dans English language posts | Lien permanent | Commentaires (2) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : traduction, word count
22.05.2007
Delete / Deal / Defer
My Outlook Inbox contains 534 messages!! I know, for someone as organised as me (!), emails have takes over, got on top of me and are creating clutter.
One simple rule is all you need to organize your emails so that your Inbox is empty every evening when you switch off the computer (well that's the plan anyway):
Delete / Deal / Defer
By applying these actions to your emails immediately, you will be able to manage your Inbox more efficiently.
- Decide if the email is for Information or for Action.
- If it is for Information, decide whether to keep it (DEAL = archive it) or DELETE it.
- If it is for Action, decide if the action is needed now (DEAL) or later (DEFER).
When you have dealt with the email, DELETE or archive it. It is best to keep a structure of files in your Inbox that resembles your My Documents structure (which you have organised properly, right?).
If you have to DEFER action, drag and drop the email to the Tasks button in the navigation pane on the left. This will create a Task to remind you what needs to be done later on.
Now, it's going to take me half a day to plough through my 534 messages, but hopefully once that mamouth task is complete, it will only take 30 - 40 minutes a day to sort through my emails and end the day with a clean slate...
I'll keep you posted!
(Article similaire en français)
14:30 Publié dans English language posts | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : traduction, organizing emails, inbox
26.04.2007
The only Politics to discuss...
I have been listening over the last couple of weeks to the Reith lectures on BBC Radio 4. The guest speaker for 2007 is Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned economist. His series of lectures is entitled "Bursting at the Seams", and presents a highly intelligent and optimistic view of the challenges facing the world of globalisation; climate change, war, extreme poverty, bad governance, etc.
I urge everyone to listen to this man's views, and the debate that follows each lecture. In this time of elections in France, if there is only one set of "politics" to adhere to, it is the politics of peace, fair distribution of wealth, respect for "others" and a sense of shared pride in our planet.
Neither right nor left, it is straight-down-the-middle common sense.
10:00 Publié dans English language posts | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : jeffrey sachs, globalization, reith lectures
25.02.2007
Holidays
I've just had a week's holiday - granted, at home with the kids, but with no translations, no clients calling (surprise...) and no deadlines - bliss! Spring feels very close and the energy levels are rising...
Result, the hydrangeas have been pruned, I'm up to date with the washing and my desk is clean and tidy, ready for a fresh start Monday morning. Things will have to be kept tidier, now I have hired an "assistante commerciale" for one day a week, to come and work on The Project.
Not including the summer months, there are only six months to go until the Grand Opening of my new Training Centre near Lorient. This list of things to organise is long... market studies, prospecting, advertising, decoration, opening event, etc. There just aren"t enough hours in the day to do it all myself, so Jenny will become my right hand person, one day a week, to do the marketing and preparation.
I'm beginning to get quite excited about it!
19:26 Publié dans English language posts | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note
26.01.2007
Welcome to English speakers!
Having a look at the statistics of visitors to my blog, I have come to the conclusion that I need to post an article in English from time to time, just to keep these valued visitors for more than just a few seconds!
So welcome to all you English speakers. Please don't hesitate to post your comments or questions about the translation business - I will do my best to answer them.
Maintaining an interesting and living blog is a constant job - a few minutes every few days, just to get away from the nasty technical document in progress, or between jobs. Maintaining a fully bilingual blog is even harder. Céline does a very good job of it in her wonderful translation blog here in English and in French.
Over the coming weeks, I will try to return to some of my previous articles in French and post an English version.
For the moment though, suffice it so say that I started this blog on translation after receiving several emails from budding translators, eager to pick the brains of a "pro": how to get started, how to get organised, how to find and keep clients, the tools of the job, etc.
I look forward to receiving your comments!
22:45 Publié dans English language posts | Lien permanent | Commentaires (0) | Envoyer cette note | Tags : translation, technical translation