Poll: When do you find yourself more focused in your work?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Nov 21, 2016

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When do you find yourself more focused in your work?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:46
Spanish to English
+ ...
It depends Nov 21, 2016

Mornings are usually good, as long as I don't get too many interruptions. Evenings and night time are good for me too, although I like to stop at around nine or ten in the evening. The worst time for me would be after lunch, when I like to have a siesta for at least fifteen minutes or half an hour to recharge my batteries. I then tend to use the short gap before nightfall in the winter months for household/garden chores and walking the dog before going back to work again.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:46
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
It depends on many factors Nov 21, 2016

It depends on interruptions, how much sleep I had the night before, how challenging the text is, my mood, etc., etc.

I don't do well in the afternoon, when the circadian cycle reaches its lowest point (or the "sleep urge" is high, as they now say).

[Edited at 2016-11-21 08:34 GMT]


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 21:46
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
It depends (mid-afternoon/evening) Nov 21, 2016

I’m not easily distracted and in general I remain focused on my work the whole day, but it depends first of all on the number of interruptions: telephone, doorbell, outside noise (one of my close neighbors has just started major renovation works!!!), etc. Being a late owl, the most productive time for me in general is mid-afternoon/evening, but it really depends on a lot of factors: quality of my sleep the night before, job deadline, complexity of the document, familiarity with the subject mat... See more
I’m not easily distracted and in general I remain focused on my work the whole day, but it depends first of all on the number of interruptions: telephone, doorbell, outside noise (one of my close neighbors has just started major renovation works!!!), etc. Being a late owl, the most productive time for me in general is mid-afternoon/evening, but it really depends on a lot of factors: quality of my sleep the night before, job deadline, complexity of the document, familiarity with the subject matter. As I’m dealing with a big translation project right now I’m having longer than usual working days for a month…Collapse


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:46
French to English
For information Nov 21, 2016

One of my psychology professors, a certain Mr. Clarisse, works with Mr. Testu and has given us lots of lectures on chronopsychology as it relates to the school day. The idea is to identify the variation in levels of concentration throughout the day/week in order to adapt the activities proposed in a typical school day/week in the most efficient way.

There is a "classic profile", which applies to most adults and older children. Globally, taking into account a number of factors, most
... See more
One of my psychology professors, a certain Mr. Clarisse, works with Mr. Testu and has given us lots of lectures on chronopsychology as it relates to the school day. The idea is to identify the variation in levels of concentration throughout the day/week in order to adapt the activities proposed in a typical school day/week in the most efficient way.

There is a "classic profile", which applies to most adults and older children. Globally, taking into account a number of factors, most people are not at their best first thing in the morning, but towards the end of the morning. After lunch, concentration lulls to increase gradually towards the end of the afternoon.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/-Biological-behavioral-and-intellectual-rhythms-in-Montagner-Testu/f9559a682b5ed1a021f3e46fe1ed16e78c294ee8

From memory, there was a fair bit of research in this field in the 1970-90's and it has been picking up again over the past few years.
Collapse


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:46
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Answering this question for the... what?... fifth time? Nov 21, 2016

Late at night, when there is no noise on the streets, the phone doesn't ring, my family doesn't interrupt me, etc.

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:46
Member (2006)
German to English
No, more than that, and from anonymous again Nov 21, 2016

Mario Freitas wrote:

Late at night, when there is no noise on the streets, the phone doesn't ring, my family doesn't interrupt me, etc.


I do not have a general focused work time phase.
I tend to get stuck into the job at whatever time and when I need a break, just take one - self-employed☺

[Edited at 2016-11-21 16:16 GMT]


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:46
French to English
"Classic" Nov 21, 2016

Teresa Borges wrote:

I’m not easily distracted and in general I remain focused on my work the whole day, but it depends first of all on the number of interruptions: telephone, doorbell, outside noise (one of my close neighbors has just started major renovation works!!!), etc. Being a late owl, the most productive time for me in general is mid-afternoon/evening, but it really depends on a lot of factors: quality of my sleep the night before, job deadline, complexity of the document, familiarity with the subject matter. As I’m dealing with a big translation project right now I’m having longer than usual working days for a month…


Teresa, You fit the "classic" chronopsychological profile when it comes to concentration. Bet that's a life-changing piece of info!


 
Mónica Algazi
Mónica Algazi  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 18:46
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
Early in the morning Nov 21, 2016

Definitely a morning bird here.

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 22:46
English to Italian
Early morning Nov 21, 2016

As I said for the other 5 or 6 times.. early morning

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 21:46
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Thanks, Nikki! Nov 21, 2016

Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:

Teresa Borges wrote:

I’m not easily distracted and in general I remain focused on my work the whole day, but it depends first of all on the number of interruptions: telephone, doorbell, outside noise (one of my close neighbors has just started major renovation works!!!), etc. Being a late owl, the most productive time for me in general is mid-afternoon/evening, but it really depends on a lot of factors: quality of my sleep the night before, job deadline, complexity of the document, familiarity with the subject matter. As I’m dealing with a big translation project right now I’m having longer than usual working days for a month…


Teresa, You fit the "classic" chronopsychological profile when it comes to concentration. Bet that's a life-changing piece of info!


I'm as "classic" as classic can be and though I know from experience that people can change I don't reckon I will now, as I'm too old for that…


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:46
English to Spanish
+ ...
Several options Nov 21, 2016

The “when” may not depend on the time of day but on the timing:

a) After I drink my cup of joe (Portuguese coffee, mind you, not the potato water that passes for coffee in America —I'm American, btw)
b) When I think of the stalking look on a cat's or big cat's eyes.
c) After I get very good news.


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 06:46
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Other Nov 22, 2016

It differs according to lots of various stimuli, one of which is very motivating - reminders from customers.

Small edits

[Edited at 2016-11-22 03:01 GMT]

[Edited at 2016-11-22 07:15 GMT]


 
Aleksandra Romanova
Aleksandra Romanova
Russian Federation
Local time: 06:46
Japanese to English
+ ...
Definitely evening Nov 22, 2016

I'm surprised that so many translators are actually active in the morning. I'm not a morning bird, and none of my friends are, and none of the translators I'm acquainted with are, so I thought that most people in this profession are evening people. Looks like it was a misconseption!

 


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Poll: When do you find yourself more focused in your work?






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