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Poll: I tend to make long-term plans for my business or career
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
May 12, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I tend to make long-term plans for my business or career".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 19:59
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
False May 12, 2020

Experience has taught me not to make long-term plans. Future is so uncertain in so many ways that I just take one day at a time. I might make short and medium-term plans: my short-term plan is to finish well and on time the project at hand, while my medium-term plan is to stay healthy.

Clement Cheung
Anna Herbst
Josephine Cassar
Michael Harris
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Sabine Braun
Kaisa I
 
Wall planner May 12, 2020

I have a wall planner showing jobs booked in for the next year. Does that count?

Mervyn Henderson (X)
expressisverbis
Becca Resnik
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 20:59
Spanish to English
+ ...
Long term May 12, 2020

Who says there's going to be a long term?

Kevin Fulton
expressisverbis
Magdalena Balibrea Vich
Justine Smith
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 20:59
French to English
. May 12, 2020

I'm only ever chasing up new work just to keep me busy now (although I wouldn't object to a long-term project to be busy on)
I do try to provide the best possible quality with a view to long-term business relationships, does that count?


Liena Vijupe
 
- May 12, 2020

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

Who says there's going to be a long term?


Sounds like the Little Translator could do with a Little Blue Pill...


Mervyn Henderson (X)
expressisverbis
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 20:59
Spanish to English
+ ...
AFAIK ... May 12, 2020

... that pill doesn't make it any longer! Anyway, as everyone knows, it isn't the size that's important - it's the sighs.

[Edited at 2020-05-12 16:13 GMT]


Chris Says Bye
Justine Smith
expressisverbis
Becca Resnik
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:59
Spanish to English
+ ...
False May 12, 2020

“The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley.”... R. Burns.

I never really thought about having a business or career. After graduating as a mature student, I considered doing VSO, but ended up coming to Spain and doing TEFL for several years before eventually drifting into translation. And I'm too old nowadays to be making long-term plans about anything - one day at a time will do me fine


Josephine Cassar
Philip Lees
Jorge Payan
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 16:59
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
False May 12, 2020

I've gone through that phase years ago. Now I'm in a different phase where this is not longer a source of enthusiasm. A more realistic one.

Jorge Payan
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 20:59
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Other May 13, 2020

In general, I could make all the plans I want to, but the future is too unpredictable to hold on to them. What seems to be a good idea or plan today, might become impossible tomorrow as the current pandemic has clearly shown.

Even though I do have some plans, life has taught me that it's much better to take one day at a time.


Liena Vijupe
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Jan Truper
expressisverbis
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:59
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Plan B, Plan C May 13, 2020

ProZ.com Staff wrote:
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I tend to make long-term plans for my business or career".

Having already had an unusually varied career path within my previous life as a sector analyst in equities, I then made a wrenching change to a different career as a freelance translator.

Almost every day I ponder the future of the profession. What happens if the human translation market shrinks dramatically? How do I protect myself? What can I do to increase my attractiveness to clients? If translation is no longer lucrative, what other options are open to me? What, in other words, is my Plan B? (And beyond that, what is my Plan C?)

No, you can't guarantee that things will go according to plan, but if you have made plans then at least you will have already considered a few possibilities, and you might get lucky. After all, as the old saw goes, luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

Regards,
Dan


Becca Resnik
JPMedicalTrans
Jorge Payan
 
Robin LEPLUMEY
Robin LEPLUMEY
France
Local time: 20:59
English to French
+ ...
Nope May 13, 2020

Why make long-term plans for a career when the future of our planet and of our societies is so unpredictable that you cannot even make mid-term plans for your life?

The only long-term plans I have are my house and my vegetable garden


Kirk Jackson
expressisverbis
 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:59
German to English
3-day planning horizon May 13, 2020

The same way I buy green bananas. I can reliably predict only that far in advance, but am sometimes wrong.

Jorge Payan
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 19:59
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
"Carpe diem"! May 13, 2020

Life away from plans is much more fun!
Planning ahead can ruin taking chances in life.
It doesn't work the way we want, and it can lead us to a big disappointment when we waste our valuable time and energy in making plans.
"Seize the day, and put very little trust in tomorrow". Horace's wise words!


Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Becca Resnik
Becca Resnik  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:59
Member
German to English
+ ...
A whole plan *spreadsheet* May 13, 2020

I have a spreadsheet where I track work-related things in general (to-do list broken down by category and priority, agencies applied to and when, rolling business expenses, etc.), one Sheet of which is literally called "The Plan." It's broken down by year and then by quarter and has X's to show what I'll be working on (career-development-wise) and when. A row along the top denotes "revenue sources unlocked," as I refer to it, meaning each new skill I have that can earn me money.

[Edited a
... See more
I have a spreadsheet where I track work-related things in general (to-do list broken down by category and priority, agencies applied to and when, rolling business expenses, etc.), one Sheet of which is literally called "The Plan." It's broken down by year and then by quarter and has X's to show what I'll be working on (career-development-wise) and when. A row along the top denotes "revenue sources unlocked," as I refer to it, meaning each new skill I have that can earn me money.

[Edited at 2020-05-13 23:09 GMT]
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Poll: I tend to make long-term plans for my business or career






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