Greater than 2 minutes
Does your typical workday include wearing more than one hat? How to organize so as to avoid that dreadful feeling of not being able to do what was planned
At the beginning of my work day, I meet with my intelligence assessment consultant for a good hour. Together, we read specialized articles via pre-programmed alerts. With the help of my sales director, I prospect customers and send off some emails to chase up or establish contact with the companies I discover through my assessments.
After quickly checking in with my HR manager, I have a look at professional trade shows I could attend or seminars and trainings that would be good for business. We sort through it together to find the most useful ones that fall in line with this year’s strategy. We need to pay special attention to setting off any negative reactions from my head of marketing, who does not fool around with decisions set at the beginning of the year. We don’t budge. Period! That’s her motto. My exclusive travel agency lends a hand when buying a train ticket or reserving a room. Once my PR director arrives, I take the time to read some blogs by fellow translators.
When she leaves, my administrative director stops by to go over the things I’ve accomplished during the day. I absolutely have to keep an eye on my time, so I have adopted David Allen’s Getting Things Done approach. Even though I spend a full day with her at the beginning of each month, my accountant always pops her head in the door at the last minute.
And finally, I’m alone for a few hours. I’ll be able to translate, proofread, and revise my documents or train and mentor a colleague or two. That’s if my IT specialist has done her job and updated all the antivirus programs!
I only open my email box four times a day. All the messages to each member of my team are automatically transferred directly to them through my Outlook filter settings. My inbox is reserved exclusively for translating. All emails I can reply to in under two minutes are done immediately. What remains will be dealt with the next morning. Then I CLOSE my email app so I’m not distracted or tempted to take a peek at the incoming message icon blinking at the bottom of my screen.
End of a typical workday. And that is how I organize myself to avoid that dreadful feeling of not being able to do what I planned.
Olesya Zaytseva 
Ronnie J Rigdon 
Quite a team you got in there, Isabelle! Haha! My Social Media Marketing Manager can totally relate to that post 😀 Thank you so much for sharing it on The Open Mic and congrats on your first article!
Sometimes it gets puzzling in my head, now you understand why… Thanks for your nice comments Dmitri.
I have to say that I’ll have to hire some of those hats once I go back to work full time. Phew! And some people think that being a freelancer is an easy task!
I deeply believe being a freelancer is a GREAT way of NOT working, in the way that Confucius said : “love your work, and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Now, yes, there is a lot to do not to work. Paradoxical.