Poll: In general, do you work less during the summer? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 09:55
Spanish to English
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I tend to GET less work in summer, but I don't go out of my way to avoid it. I am usually quite happy to fit in the odd translation job even when "on holiday".
| | | | | More or less the same... | Jun 21, 2015 |
... but this year June, July and August promise to be my busiest months EVER (in 30 years)!
| | | | | About the same | Jun 21, 2015 |
Two of my main clients have annual meetings in September and a lot of translation is needed in the runup to these meetings.
Basically, I'm booked to the max year-round (January can be slower). The only reason I don't have more work is that I couldn't handle it. I desperately need a vacation.
[Edited at 2015-06-21 08:57 GMT]
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EvaVer (X) 
Local time: 09:55
Czech to French
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| I had to look it up | Jun 21, 2015 |
and yes, it is less. Over the last 3 years, except last July. I think it is because I accept less work, I go on holidays, have my garden to take care of...
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 16:55
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
| I will have to work harder this summer | Jun 21, 2015 |
Because 90% of the promises given to me by my main customer and other customers over here have disappeared into the ether these past three months. I've lost between 2.5 and 3 million yen's worth of projected income - you do the math @125 yen to the US$.
I'm off to Tokyo this coming Thursday and Friday to make contact with and seal some new deals with new clients.
Otherwise, on any other regular year up till now, I would have replied "depending on my customers' generosit... See more Because 90% of the promises given to me by my main customer and other customers over here have disappeared into the ether these past three months. I've lost between 2.5 and 3 million yen's worth of projected income - you do the math @125 yen to the US$.
I'm off to Tokyo this coming Thursday and Friday to make contact with and seal some new deals with new clients.
Otherwise, on any other regular year up till now, I would have replied "depending on my customers' generosity, the economy and my biorhythm."
So, I answered "Other N/A" today because I feel like I'm in Purgatory. ▲ Collapse
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Summer? What's that, precious?
According to my records for the past few years, the volume of work tends to stay the same year round, with a slight spike for Jan-Feb in the past two years.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 16:55
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
TransAfrique wrote:
Summer? What's that, precious?
According to my records for the past few years, the volume of work tends to stay the same year round, with a slight spike for Jan-Feb in the past two years.
We all have different customers with different biorhythms.
I'm glad you're doing OK! 
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David Wright
Austria
Local time: 09:55
German to English
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| YEs, and deliberately so | Jun 21, 2015 |
There's more to life than slaving away over a hot computer! (actually depends on weather - if it's crap, I'll work!)
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It's been totally unpredictable from year to year.
| | | | | Summer is time to work | Jun 21, 2015 |
Summer usually brings higher workloads, which is predicatable because people tend to go on vacation. The worst month workwise is January by a large margin.
| | | | Helen Hagon
Local time: 08:55
Member (2011)
Russian to English
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Yes, because the children are not at school and so juggling work and children gets harder. Unfortunately there always seems to be more work available in the summer (presumably because other translators are on holiday) and I find myself either having to turn down work (which is painful), or accepting work and then having to perform miracles in order to complete it (which is excruciating)!
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Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 13:25
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER | The climatology of it | Jun 22, 2015 |
I wonder why the asker sought this poll. Was it with the assumption that summer, being a time of pleasant weather is meant for enjoyment, and work should take a back seat?
If that is so, then the poll answers would be geography-specific. While summer in the continental parts of the globe can be the most congenial part of the year, weather-wise, in places like India, it is the most uncongenial, with temperatures soaring up to 50 degrees Celsius (water boils at 100 degrees). The disco... See more I wonder why the asker sought this poll. Was it with the assumption that summer, being a time of pleasant weather is meant for enjoyment, and work should take a back seat?
If that is so, then the poll answers would be geography-specific. While summer in the continental parts of the globe can be the most congenial part of the year, weather-wise, in places like India, it is the most uncongenial, with temperatures soaring up to 50 degrees Celsius (water boils at 100 degrees). The discomfort this can cause can only be understood by those who have experienced the Indian summer. Schools close to spare children the risk of getting sun stroke. As the summer progresses and the monsoons approach, the weather can get extremely hot and sultry, and working can become very difficult if not impossible.
So, the Northener may decide to work less because the weather is pleasant and he would like to enjoy, people closer to the equator would do less work because of the physical impossibility or difficulty of doing more work in such a hostile weather.
But does that mean you work less in summer, if you are a freelance translator? I don't think so, for freelancers, contrary to romantic notions, don't work when they choose to, but when they get work. My experience has been that there is not let up in the arrival of work during any part of the year. The work flow is not modulated by the weather of my surroundings. ▲ Collapse
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Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
freelancers, contrary to romantic notions, don't work when they choose to, but when they get work
Speak for yourself; I work when I choose to!
I am offered less work during the summer because Scandinavia kind of shuts down from mid-June to mid-August.
I also have other things I'd rather do.
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