Welcome to DITL of a freelance translator, where we attempt to answer the question “What do translators do all day?”

This week’s diary is by Bethan Thomas, a Senior Project Manager at Planet Languages, a boutique translation agency in Farnham, Surrey. She’s also a part-time freelance audiovisual translator.

Wednesday 7 May 2025

6.00 am: I wake up unusually early. It’s already light outside. I can hear some faint rustling in the living room, and so I go to investigate. Fern the rabbit is perched on the sofa, looking nervous. Her partner in crime, Bee, leaps onto the sofa to join her. A few strands of hay cling to his fur. I realise he’s been rummaging in his digging box. They want some breakfast.

6.30 am: I usually spend an hour each morning on my freelance business. I check my emails. Since I don’t have any projects on the go, I finish some BSL homework and sign up for a client’s training course on using their new subtitling tool. I also schedule a LinkedIn post about Deaf Awareness Week.

It’s still very early.

7.00 am: I decide to do a workout that I’ve been putting off. I’ve signed up for a big run at the end of May, and I’m at the business end of a gruelling training block. Today’s session is an overs and unders run. I devour a slab of Kendal Mint Cake before I can talk myself out of it (again). It looks like the stuff you put on a fire to get it going. It has a similar effect on me. I set off. There’s a nice loop nearby that’s fairly flat and shaded. Cue some awkward trudging and a lot of whimpering. A dogwalker waves hello and tells me to keep going. I appreciate the words of encouragement, but I’m fairly sure my smile is more of a grimace.

8.15 am: I get home and hop in the shower.

8.30 am: Breakfast is a liquid one. Two cups of coffee and a banana smoothie.

9.00 am: My Planet Languages day starts. I check and reply to emails. Once I’m happy that my current projects are running smoothly, I settle in for my first task of the morning.

9.30 am: I proofread an eLearning module about the basics of watchmaking for a brand that sells fashion watches. There are a few references to “gold” that should probably be changed to “gold-tone finish”. I flag them for the client. I grumble to myself for the umpteenth time about the client’s insistence on using title case for headings. The proofread file goes off to the client. Once we get their feedback, we’ll translate the eLearning module into 19 languages.

11.30 am: Second task of the morning is to prepare a PowerPoint presentation so that it’s suitable for languages that read from right to left. It involves mirroring the layout and reordering animation sequences. It’s a task that can leave me feeling a bit dizzy, especially if the designer has gone to town on the animations. Definitely no operating heavy machinery within two hours of RTL work for me!

12.30 pm: I check that I have everything I need for an audit that’s coming up in early June. There are some missing bits of information that I need from my colleagues. I send a few Teams messages and decide to break for lunch.

1.00 pm: One of the perks of working from home is making time for a proper lunch break. I need to use up some spinach that the bunnies won’t eat. I fry some butter beans in pesto and throw in the wilting spinach, a few pumpkin seeds and some pomegranate seeds. It’s tasty and filling.

1.40 pm: I check my personal email and see a new enquiry from a client I haven’t heard from in a few weeks. Could I create English subtitles for a 30-minute German documentary? The Monday deadline makes it doable. I reply to say that I’d be glad to help.

1.50 pm: I scroll through the BBC News app on my phone, then check LinkedIn. I make another cup of coffee.

2.00 pm: I join a two-hour training session with my colleagues on Teams. Our technology lead has been testing lots of new tools, and now they’re starting to form part of our workflows. It’s a chance for us to iron out any issues and ask questions. The session ends, and I feel much more confident than I did before. My colleague has also created a flow chart to show us exactly what we need to do for which situations. It’s a thing of beauty!

4.00 pm: Quick coffee break and a glance at my personal email. I see that the video and script for the German documentary are ready for me, so I confirm the details with my client.

4.10 pm: The training session has given me a few ideas for a blog post that I’m writing for the Planet Languages website. I jot down a few bullet points and write a few paragraphs. I find myself getting lost in arty photography as I search for suitable stock images on Unsplash.

4.40 pm: An email jolts me from my image search. A new collection drop from a jewellery brand. The content needs to be proofread before translation, so I make a start right away. I want to get as much of it done as possible this afternoon, in the peace and quiet of my spare room, as tomorrow is an in-the-office day.

6.15 pm: Feierabend. Fern and Bee have fresh greens for dinner.

6.30pm: I watch the German documentary and skim-read the script.

7.45 pm: Strength class. It’s good to catch up with the instructor and the other regulars. It’s a tough workout. The weights are a bit heavier than we’re all used to. My legs feel tired.

9.15 pm: Back home. Another shower.

9.30 pm: I scroll through Instagram reels while I make a low-effort dinner: scrambled eggs in a tortilla wrap. A six-month stint living in Spain changed my eating habits forever. I rarely eat dinner before 9 pm these days.

10.00 pm: My favourite part of the day: a nice sit-down on the sofa, hanging out with Fern and Bee. I find a podcast to listen to and reach for a fleecy blanket. It’s high-risk behaviour. The inevitable happens.

Some unknown time: I wake up. Still on the sofa. I uncrumple myself and head to bed.