Poll: In general, do you take on smaller projects while working on larger ones? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In general, do you take on smaller projects while working on larger ones?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 00:25
Spanish to English
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In general, I make an effort to service all my clients, great and small. Sometimes I have two or three different jobs from the same client on the go at the same time, so I usually try to do the small ones ASAP to get them out of the way, as long as it's okay with the client.
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I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,000 words per day, leaving a couple of hours for smallish jobs from those regular clients that keep me working all year-round. This strategy has been working fine. I very rarely turn jobs down from my regulars (I do turn down a lot of jobs from potential clients for other reasons: tight deadlines, low rates, bad ... See more I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,000 words per day, leaving a couple of hours for smallish jobs from those regular clients that keep me working all year-round. This strategy has been working fine. I very rarely turn jobs down from my regulars (I do turn down a lot of jobs from potential clients for other reasons: tight deadlines, low rates, bad BB entries, etc.). Sometimes while working on a big project, small ones are even very welcome when boredom shows up on the horizon and a little distraction is needed… ▲ Collapse
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If I have to, I take on larger projects while I am working on the smaller ones.
Small jobs are generally my bread and butter - for me, 5000 words is quite a large job. I have not had a job larger than that this year. (I did have a big one in December, around 9000 words.) That suits me, and I have to keep all my clients happy as far as possible.
Now and then I have taken on really large jobs, but always on condition that there was time for smaller jobs in between sectio... See more If I have to, I take on larger projects while I am working on the smaller ones.
Small jobs are generally my bread and butter - for me, 5000 words is quite a large job. I have not had a job larger than that this year. (I did have a big one in December, around 9000 words.) That suits me, and I have to keep all my clients happy as far as possible.
Now and then I have taken on really large jobs, but always on condition that there was time for smaller jobs in between sections. ▲ Collapse
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Ventnai 
Spain
Local time: 00:25
German to English
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I usually factor in extra time for short jobs from my regular clients when I have a larger project.
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
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Re-prioritizing and urgency: it's very client who decides when collateral and irrelevant jobs should come and go.
I can multitask my workflow within reasonable limits, so if the client has assessed the biz risks, I don't mind working under a couple of parallel rush jobs too.
| | | | | Almost Never | Mar 21, 2019 |
As a literary translator, any project that I'm currently working on can be quite voluminous, and I do not like to disrupt my train of thought as I go along.
However, I, just very recently, did a 3-pager from French, because the Italian to English book project I have been working on for a couple of months has an open-ended deadline, which makes life a lot easier, no matter how I look at it!
[Edited at 2019-03-21 18:12 GMT]
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As long as I can fit them in. I also tell people that my maximum long-term output is 2,000 words, not including weekends. That leaves me enough time to work in other clients if they have short jobs.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 19:25
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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I always suggest the terms for delivery considering 3000 words per day and only business days. That way, there is always space to fit in jobs from other regular clients. You cannot and should not ever tell a client you are not available for their job (although we have to do it sometimes). The client will find another translator, of course. Not good.
I have worked for up to five clients in the same day, just to make sure I reatain all my regular clients, and I do. I have 18 regular clients ... See more I always suggest the terms for delivery considering 3000 words per day and only business days. That way, there is always space to fit in jobs from other regular clients. You cannot and should not ever tell a client you are not available for their job (although we have to do it sometimes). The client will find another translator, of course. Not good.
I have worked for up to five clients in the same day, just to make sure I reatain all my regular clients, and I do. I have 18 regular clients since 2014 that I never let down. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 00:25
French to English
And I find that it's how I achieve maximum productivity. I usually try to get at least my daily quota done of the larger project, which is calculated to make sure I can fit in other smaller jobs from my direct clients. As the larger project progresses, I usually manage to get ahead, meaning I can accept even more other projects.
(Maximum productivity isn't always my goal though... as you would understand if you saw the state of my house after a month of working like that!)
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