Misty discovered the French language while studying opera during college. Dazzled by its beauty, she took every French course available and then went on to study it on her own. And here began her French adventures. With Gengo’s flexible schedule and online workspace, she translated her way up and down the east coast of the United States, going as far north as Vermont and stopping off in New York City and Washington, D.C. She recently settled down, but has already started planning her next voyage.

Do you translate full-time? What is your special area of expertise?

I do translate for Gengo full-time, when the work is available. Most of what I translate is for fashion website Vestiaire Collective, but I’ve also translated insurance documents, bills, personal emails, smartphone apps, and most recently, the cover letter for a graduate school application!

Describe your office setup or workspace. What do you have on hand?

For the past year and a half, I was on the road, and I primarily worked on a laptop in coffee shops and McDonald’s. Recently, however, I moved into an apartment to focus on my career, and I now have a desk! My workspace tends to look cluttered to other people, but I’ve found that having everything I use visible keeps me from wasting time when I lose something essential in the bottom of a desk drawer.

What is the view like out your window or office? What kind of scenery are you looking at every day?

I have my office set up so that I don’t really have a view, since I find I get more done that way. I can, however, see part of the beautiful Texas sky, and when I get up for short breaks, I look out into a tiny backyard vegetable garden that I recently planted.

And your workflow? Are there translation to-dos you check off every day, or an order of operations?

I generally multitask between Gengo and other tasks outside of the Christmas rush, since there’s not quite enough work to keep me busy full-time. However, since I need to be present to catch jobs as they come through, my multitasking is usually limited to reading or anything that I can do where I won’t get too distracted from the Gengo window. When I’ve finished translating for the day, I try to get in at least one to 1.5 hours of continuing education in French.

Based on your linguistic and cultural expertise, what are the best books you would recommend to others?

Right now I’m reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. It’s not exactly translation-related, but I’ve found that business skills can be just as important in life as what you actually do.

What is your favorite “translator’s snack” for while you work?

I try not to snack too much since I spend so much time at a desk every day! But I do get my caffeine fix in the form of the occasional soda, and I really enjoy banana chips now and then.

Finally, if you had to give advice to your fellow Gengo translators, what are the best ways to relax and stay sane as a translator?

One: Gengo provides 24-hour access to work conveniently online wherever you are, and when there’s a rush of jobs, it can be tempting to work way too much overtime to take advantage of it. It’s great to work hard, but know when you need to get away from the desk for awhile! And don’t kick yourself for what you missed. Give yourself permission to take care of you.

Two: Interact on the forums with other translators working in your language pair. Working for Gengo can be uniquely frustrating as often as it is rewarding, but commiserating with others in the same situation really does help. Sometimes it actually draws Gengo’s attention to problems, too!

Three: Whether you’re self-employed like me or just doing this as a side gig, invest some time in studying personal finance. It’s amazing the sense of freedom you get from knowing that losing a day, week or month’s income will not ruin you. When you aren’t constantly scrambling to make a living, not only do you have the room to deal with emergencies, but you also have the freedom to take risks without a lot of stress. That makes a big difference.

Finally: Chocolate is a natural antidepressant. True story. 🙂

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