Flat-pack translation office

Don’t get me wrong, I love translating but, when I don’t need to be glued to my desk, I really enjoy switching off: switching off mentally by going and doing something totally different and switching off physically by packing up my office. Living in a cottage with two others and a cat doesn’t leave much room for a dedicated office space so, as well as being my translation office, the room currently doubles up as a Shiatsu treatment room, yoga practice area and a chill-out space. It may sound a bit drastic and, I admit, I don’t pack up my office every day but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to ease the whole process.

Here are just a few of my tips. Let me know if you have any to add!

Trick one: a fold down desk. It’s important this is at the right height for you and is big enough to fit all of your translation gadgets on. It’s something you can easily build yourself with a few bits of wood and a knack for carpentry.

Trick two: a kneeling chair. Much more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion that a hulking great director’s chair, a kneeling, backless chair is not only easy to pack away but apparently has health benefits too, such as improved circulation and posture. They are on the expensive end of the scale if you go for the Varier variety but you can pick up cheaper replicas on eBay. It takes a little while to get used to but I assure you it’s worth the effort. http://www.backinaction.co.uk/kneeling?gclid=CMr_prDy-6oCFQcNtAodzyOSzg#anc_variable

Trick three: laptop and stand. With little difference these days between the specification of laptops and desktops, as a translator it makes so much more sense to work from a laptop for their portability and adaptability. Of course, you’ll need a separate keyboard, mouse and possibly an external hard drive. Make them wireless and you’ll have even less to pack up. Again, make sure your workstation is set up correctly for you. The last thing you need is back pain, eye pain, RSI or any of the other nasties us computer-users are susceptible to. See the following link for some recommendations on how to do this:http://www.openerg.com/dse/setup.html

Trick four: last but not least, tidiness is key. The great thing about translation is that it doesn’t require much paraphernalia, so keeping a tidy office should be fairly easy. Packing up encourages you to keep on top of things and not let piles of paperwork build up.

Right that’s me for the day. Time to pack up!

POST MADE: 1 Sep 2011