The world of translation is constantly evolving. The number of orders is increasing, clients are becoming more varied, and deadlines are getting tighter. We have all established ourselves in the realm of immediacy and, therefore, it is necessary that both translation agencies and translators have to be increasingly effective and productive.
However, days still have only 24 hours for all of us, and that has not changed since the beginning of time. So, how can we be more productive within the same time frame?
Luckily, new tools and applications appear every day that allow us to improve productivity in translation, take advantage of and maximize those hours we have, but it is very important to clarify this question: how do I know that I am choosing the best one for me?
In this article we have compiled the 7 (+1) tools that we use daily to improve productivity and communication within the translation team; if you think we have forgotten any, do not hesitate to tell us which one in the comments and we will add it to our next list.
Slack – Communication and Collaboration Tool
Slack is a set of collaboration tools and services especially useful for teams working remotely, since it allows communication between all of them to be very fluid, as if they were actually all in the same office.
In addition, at the level of translation productivity, one of the strengths of this tool is that it allows you to integrate more than a thousand different tools such as Dropbox and Google Drive, which allows you to have all reference materials, glossaries, etc. collected and gathered in one place.
In just a few years, Slack has become our primary communication tool, as it also allows the creation of project-specific or thematic channels for inquiries and storing our Knowledge Base.
Trello – Kanban-based project management tool
Trello works with the boards method. Each board corresponds to a task or project, and you can add a “card” for each of the tasks that make up the translation process.
You can then add users to assign them these tasks or to track progress. In the case of a translation agency, this tool is especially useful for assigning the distinct stages or language combinations to your translators, proofreaders, or quality control experts. This approach is very efficient in projects where the team is not physically in the same space.
Trello can be integrated with Google Calendar and Gmail to further increase the productivity of translation jobs that are developed in the agency.
Toggl – Time Tracking Program
Toggl allows you to track the time you spend working on a project and allows you to analyze your results to gain productivity data as a translator, proofreader, or post editor.
It is a very useful tool also for those projects that you invoice by the hour; since it allows you to issue a fairly complete report of the hours dedicated to the client’s project and you can even send it to the client to check exactly the time you have spent on the task assigned to you.
Dropbox – File Hosting Service
Dropbox is the perfect tool to securely store all your files and content in one place. Documents are stored in the cloud and you have access to them anywhere, anytime.
The tool allows you to create groups of computers, share files, delete them remotely and even recover documents that you have accidentally deleted.
At Tatutrad we have more and more problems sending attachments or project packages to our collaborators or clients by email, as many of the collaborators or clients use Gmail’s free email which applies very restrictive rules regarding the admission of attachments. It is common for Gmail to reject messages that include attachments with extensions unknown to them (such as Trados packages, etc.).
Thanks to tools such as Dropbox, Google Drive or WeTransfer we can solve this problem and make sure that everything arrives perfectly at its destination.
Google Drive – File Sync Service
Google Drive facilitates collaboration between teams and allows you to quickly consult everything related to a project. You can create one folder per project and subfolders such as “Budget”, “Contract”, “Original Files”, “Translated Files”, etc. to have everything organized correctly and be more productive during translation.
Google Calendar – Online Calendar
Google Calendar is a simple online calendar that helps you stay productive in translation by allowing you to create and update a weekly (or project) calendar with just a couple of clicks.
With Google Calendar you can create a calendar for each client and even share it with them so they know exactly when their document is in the translation process.
It also allows you to schedule meetings, organize events, add attachments, and conduct Hangout video conferences with customers.
Freedom – Block Distractions
One of the biggest obstacles we face in improving translation productivity is procrastination.
This application allows you to automatically block specific websites and applications for set time periods.
Assisted Translation Tools
Obviously, if we talk about productivity in translation, we cannot fail to mention assisted translation tools. There are many available on the market today, but they all have one thing in common: improving the productivity of translators and translation agencies.
Tools such as Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast or Smartling make it possible to translate more productively and efficiently thanks to their project management functionalities, translation memories, revision and correction, etc.
These tools also include Apps for productivity management (Qualitivity, for example) or their own tools to measure productivity in a specific project.
Numerous factors can impact productivity during the creative translation process, but these tools help mitigate those challenges and maximize your working hours, whether you are a freelance translator or part of a high-performing translation team, like ours.
