Poll: Looking at your workload this week, how "balanced" did you feel? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Looking at your workload this week, how "balanced" did you feel?".
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I had almost no work until the 11th May, but I haven’t stopped since… Is this a last gasp, or a genuine recovery?
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 02:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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My translation business experienced a massive slump between 2022 and this year. Last year my turnover was the worst that it had been for 20 years (not even adjusting for inflation), and my turnover for the 3-4 years before that were the lowest in 15 years. Every now and I then I got lucky with a massive job, but then I got weeks where practically nothing happened.
This year has seen a slight uptick in work. I still have whole days without work, but some days are hectic. I'm genu... See more My translation business experienced a massive slump between 2022 and this year. Last year my turnover was the worst that it had been for 20 years (not even adjusting for inflation), and my turnover for the 3-4 years before that were the lowest in 15 years. Every now and I then I got lucky with a massive job, but then I got weeks where practically nothing happened.
This year has seen a slight uptick in work. I still have whole days without work, but some days are hectic. I'm genuinely curious what other translators' workload looks like, so to kick this off, here's what I had to endure in the past 7 days:
1.400 words editing; 2 hours video call with client; 15 minutes editing; 700 words editing; 15 minutes feedback; 2 hours editing; 15 minutes editing; 2 hours video call with client; 400 words MTPE; 1 hour survey checking; 3.000 words editing; 20 minutes translation; 1 hour screenshot review; 1 hour migration; 15 minutes translation; 15 minutes translation; 15 minutes translation; 15 minutes glossary creation; 15 minutes LQA arbitration; 15 minutes translation; 3 hours translation.
This was a very unusual week, though. In the past few months I've had full weeks with no work at all, so if this poll had taken place then, the list would have been shorter (-: So far, in 2026, I have done 220 individual jobs (so, an average of 7 per week), and most of them were small or medium-sized gigs. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Luca Adie
Germany
Local time: 02:14
German to English
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I certainly felt overworked, even working today although it's a holiday here in Bavaria.
What I've been working on this week:
- finishing a long book translation from French about crochet.
- translation from German about a jewellery prize and exhibition.
- translation from Catalan on a prehistoric site in Valencia.
Had a request to do a very icky medical translation from one of my most important agencies - working from hard copy, lots of form... See more I certainly felt overworked, even working today although it's a holiday here in Bavaria.
What I've been working on this week:
- finishing a long book translation from French about crochet.
- translation from German about a jewellery prize and exhibition.
- translation from Catalan on a prehistoric site in Valencia.
Had a request to do a very icky medical translation from one of my most important agencies - working from hard copy, lots of formatting and even handwriting. I decided to pass. I used to get a lot of large translations from this agency, but now it's mostly same-day deliveries from a new office in India.
What's very unusual is that I've only worked for direct clients this week, all gained through personal contacts. I would be very much happy to continue this trend, but you just never know what's going to happen.
This isn't a normal week - last year was disastrous but this year is one of the best so far. ▲ Collapse
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Either overloaded, so much so that I had to refuse certain work and certain pressure or almost no work at all. Both are strangely worrying in their own ways. If I am overloaded to the point that my eyes are smarting and I am forced to refuse work, well, that's not a good thing either but when day after day, I get no work offers, that is unsettling too though I try and remember it's a rest period after a hectic period. I know that working independently means periods of famine or feasts, but not l... See more Either overloaded, so much so that I had to refuse certain work and certain pressure or almost no work at all. Both are strangely worrying in their own ways. If I am overloaded to the point that my eyes are smarting and I am forced to refuse work, well, that's not a good thing either but when day after day, I get no work offers, that is unsettling too though I try and remember it's a rest period after a hectic period. I know that working independently means periods of famine or feasts, but not like this, ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jessica Weiss
Local time: 02:14
Member (2006)
German to English
+ ...
| Rather irregular, declining | May 14 |
This week only small jobs so far.
In 2025, my billing was down 30% on my best years. It is too early to say, but it appears that 2026 will be lower still. By 2023, many of the agencies that I had worked with for more than 10 years had ceased to send projects as frequently, and I have had to concentrate in more AI-resistant fields such as German medical translation and other technical projects. IT projects also seem to be coming back.
I get fewer legal translations, in g... See more This week only small jobs so far.
In 2025, my billing was down 30% on my best years. It is too early to say, but it appears that 2026 will be lower still. By 2023, many of the agencies that I had worked with for more than 10 years had ceased to send projects as frequently, and I have had to concentrate in more AI-resistant fields such as German medical translation and other technical projects. IT projects also seem to be coming back.
I get fewer legal translations, in general, except for some EU legal projects in the summer, several big ones a year from law firms. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 02:14
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
A little work, a lot of appointments. I couldn't ask for more.
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