It is said that life is measured in moments, however, the life of a translator as well as the life of any person who works in a translation company is measured in time, hours, seconds; in delivery deadlines. Very little times, can a translator have the possibility to think of deadlines as something long term, and something that provides a feeling of comfort. This is the same for the project manager, who in general delivers five to ten projects daily and therefore is rarely in a state of calmness.
This bring me to thinking about terminology we use in the translation business and that are particular to this business: I have heard that Spanish is more romantic than English, but there are words in Spanish that are not as fitting. For instance, a due date in Spanish is Date of Delivery or “fecha de entrega”, while in English a much more dramatic term such as “Deadline” is used.
A life full of “deadlines” implies a capacity of self-control and management above many other people. A person, whose life revolves around deadlines, develops greater skills of organization and awareness. It’s a constant struggle against time, and it’s true that patience is often tested, and we live in constant anguish, but managing deadlines teaches us to quickly rebound and move on to the next.
To read the original Spanish version of this article:
https://www.trustedtranslations.com/como-convivir-con-las-fechas-de-entregas-2013-06-12.html
