Poll: I measure my yearly productivity in: Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I measure my yearly productivity in:".
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| | | | | Other (a mixed bag) | Oct 15, 2021 |
It’s kind of a mixed bag when at the beginning of each year, I look at my productivity the year before. Of course, it’s about how much I earned but it’s not all about money, I also like to know how many words I translated, from what languages, in what subject matters, who were my main customers. Everything is interrelated…
| | | | Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 23:55
German to English
| "I measure my yearly productivity in:" | Oct 16, 2021 |
... coffee spoons, if I may borrow from TS Eliot.
Since my business-related expenditures generally remain the same, except in those years when I buy a new computer, I measure my productivity by how much tax I have to pay.
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I don't measure my yearly productivity, but if I did, it would be as the ratio of word count (i.e. output) to working hours (i.e. effort).
Because that's the definition of productivity.
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| Number of words | Oct 16, 2021 |
My clients are very focused on word count and some of them are rather demanding. I was also once head of an in-house translation service. Each year we had to report the total number of words translated, which became a factor in the budgeting process. Therefore, word count is always the first yardstick that comes to mind.
[Edited at 2021-10-16 09:58 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 05:55
Spanish to English
+ ...
I don't "measure my yearly activity". I suppose my tax returns would give me an idea, if I felt I wanted (or needed) to know that kind of thing.
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Philip Lees wrote:
I don't measure my yearly productivity, but if I did, it would be as the ratio of word count (i.e. output) to working hours (i.e. effort).
Because that's the definition of productivity.
Yes, they mean output, not productivity, but the monetary value of those words per hour would also be a measure of productivity.
The only thing I look at is how much turnover I generate each month/year.
My productivity has increased over the years as I get more experienced, working faster and charging more, but my inclination to push myself hard or work long hours has declined.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 05:55
French to English
I'm really not interested in my productivity. I know how productive I was at the agency, and I doubt it's changed much since I started freelancing. I feel more productive in that I no longer have to twiddle my thumbs at my desk in between projects.
I have to count the money I earn in order to pay the appropriate amount of tax, and as long as there is enough left over I don't see the point in wasting my time counting other stuff like wordcount and amount of time spent working. That would ... See more I'm really not interested in my productivity. I know how productive I was at the agency, and I doubt it's changed much since I started freelancing. I feel more productive in that I no longer have to twiddle my thumbs at my desk in between projects.
I have to count the money I earn in order to pay the appropriate amount of tax, and as long as there is enough left over I don't see the point in wasting my time counting other stuff like wordcount and amount of time spent working. That would be extra work, and the kind that gives me a headache. At the agency, I'd waste a good half-hour filling in the form nobody ever bothered to look at, but my brain hurt more after that half-hour than after translating the toughest of texts all day.
If I started to feel that work was taking up too much time, and couldn't afford to wind down, I might just look into it, but I'd probably look into other sources of income first. ▲ Collapse
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Liena Vijupe
Latvia
Local time: 06:55
Member (2014)
French to Latvian
+ ...
I would say effort vs. income (how much I have worked to earn a certain amount or how much I have earned during a certain time of work) because that's how I measure my productivity in shorter periods of time, but I don't keep so much data for an entire year. I usually just look at the total income and see who the main clients were, how much work they provided etc.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 00:55
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| All of these | Oct 17, 2021 |
I have complete stats for all these numbers.
[Edited at 2021-10-17 12:31 GMT]
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Ice Scream wrote:
Yes, they mean output, not productivity, but the monetary value of those words per hour would also be a measure of productivity.
Sorry to be a pedant, but I disagree. That would be a measure of something else.
Translator A translates W words in H hours and earns $1000.
Translator B translates W words in H hours and earns $2000.
Does that mean that Translator B has twice the productivity of Translator A? I think not. Twice the earnings, yes, but not twice the productivity. They have exactly the same productivity, it's just that Translator B has monetised it more effectively.
But you're right that the poll question should have been asking about "output"
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Philip Lees wrote:
Translator A translates W words in H hours and earns $1000.
Translator B translates W words in H hours and earns $2000.
Does that mean that Translator B has twice the productivity of Translator A?
Yes!
The standard economic measure of productivity is GDP divided by hours worked. It’s the value of what is produced in the hour, not the volume.
Assuming efficient markets, Translator B must be producing work of much higher quality than Translator A to get paid twice as much. Like rolling out a VW each hour rather than a Dacia. Two very different products.
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Metin Demirel
Türkiye
Local time: 06:55
Member (2018)
Italian to Turkish
+ ...
| Excel sheets | Oct 19, 2021 |
I keep detailed Excel sheets for stats with formulae I prepared to show me:
* the total word count for each month and year (and average monthly word count in any given year),
* monthly and yearly income,
* monthly and yearly average rate,
* payments received for each client (and total payments received),
* how much I expect to be paid by each client (and in total),
* yearly stats for language pairs (word count, income and percentages), and
* inco... See more I keep detailed Excel sheets for stats with formulae I prepared to show me:
* the total word count for each month and year (and average monthly word count in any given year),
* monthly and yearly income,
* monthly and yearly average rate,
* payments received for each client (and total payments received),
* how much I expect to be paid by each client (and in total),
* yearly stats for language pairs (word count, income and percentages), and
* income percentages for each client on a yearly basis (this helps me make end-of-year decisions on whether I can drop any given client the 20/80 principle).
I update the cells at the end of each month (wish it had been easier). But it is really useful for monitoring my progress. I have a separate tab for each year, which gives me an overall status.
[Edited at 2021-10-19 20:03 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-10-19 20:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Ice Scream wrote: Philip Lees wrote:
Translator A translates W words in H hours and earns $1000.
Translator B translates W words in H hours and earns $2000.
Does that mean that Translator B has twice the productivity of Translator A? Yes! The standard economic measure of productivity is GDP divided by hours worked. It’s the value of what is produced in the hour, not the volume.
I'm sure your knowledge of economics is much more extensive than mine, but isn't GDP a measure defined specifically for nations or similar large and diverse economic units? Is it really applicable to individuals who produce just one kind of service?
Assuming efficient markets, Translator B must be producing work of much higher quality than Translator A to get paid twice as much.
Which proves that the assumption of efficient markets is incorrect, reductio ad absurdum.
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Philip Lees wrote:
I'm sure your knowledge of economics is much more extensive than mine, but isn't GDP a measure defined specifically for nations or similar large and diverse economic units? Is it really applicable to individuals who produce just one kind of service?
Yes, but the idea is to have a measure of output that includes everyone, whether they make fridges or cakes. Volume just doesn’t cut it unless products are identical. Value could be measured in anything, it could be crisp-equivalents, but sadly crisps aren’t often used as currency outside the playground and even then which flavour would you use?😂
We also cannot assume that all words are equal, as they are not. Some days I will translate 1000 words and others 5000 words, and that is not down to my personal efficiency but to each text, or even word, effectively being a different product. I also cannot spend, or eat, words. So I find revenue is the best way to measure my output.
Which proves that the assumption of efficient markets is incorrect, reductio ad absurdum.
No, they are far from efficient. But much more so than before the Internet, so chances are Translator B is providing something Translator A cannot.
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