Starting out as a language professional can be a daunting experience. Connecting with people who are in the same boat can be a great way to navigate the (sometimes choppy!) waters of setting up a new business. SENSE members Danielle Carter, Martina Abagnale, and Anne Oosthuizen have joined forces to set up the Starters SIG, to bring people who are just starting out together. We caught up with them to find out more…

Can you tell us a little about yourselves?
Martina and Anne have been SENSE members since the end of 2019, and Danielle joined at the beginning of 2020. Martina (EN / NL > IT) and Anne (NL <> EN) are both translators; Danielle is a copy editor.

What is the Starters SIG and who is it for?
The Starters SIG is intended to be a space for anyone who is just getting started or is changing paths within the language industry. We hope that members will help shape the SIG so that it best meets their needs, so stay tuned for future developments!

How did the Starters SIG get started?
The three of us met via the SENSE conference in June. We met up to discuss our fledgling careers within the industry and quickly realised how nice it is to have each other to rely on when it comes to getting started (client communication and acquisition, setting rates, marketing ourselves, etc.), and we wanted to create space to do so within SENSE.

How often does the Starters SIG meet up?
We are aiming for once per month (alternating online and in-person meetings, once that seems safer), but this is up for discussion depending on attendee preference.

How many people generally attend Starters SIG meetings?
So far, our unofficial SIG meetings have consisted of just the three of us, but we’re hoping to expand our group to include other starters. Ten people have already signed up for the first meeting!

When and where will the next Starters SIG meeting be?
Our first Starters SIG meeting will be held online via Zoom on 10 September from 19:00 to 20:30. It will be an informal getting-acquainted borrel where we can introduce ourselves and get to know one another. Depending on how it goes, we may also want to kick-start the conversation on what our members would like to get out of the SIG, and how we can meet their needs.

If you'd like to attend the first Starters SIG meeting, be sure to sign up via the Events page!

In this blog series, we are highlighting the different Special Interest Groups (SIGs) SENSE has to offer. SIG meetings are open to all members, and guests are welcome to attend one or two meetings before deciding whether they would like to join SENSE. For upcoming SIG meetings, check the SENSE Events calendar. Contact the SIG convener for more information or to suggest a meeting topic. If you would like to start a new SIG, contact our SIG and Social Events Coordinator. In this edition, we talk to Eastern SIG co-conveners Sally Hill and Kumar Jamdagni.

Can you tell me a little about yourselves?
SH: I was born in Chile and educated in the UK, but moved to the Netherlands in 1990 to join my Dutch husband. We live in Zwolle and have two kids. I joined SENSE when I was starting out as a freelance medical translator back in 2009, which followed a career in science and education. I’m now a medical writer, editor and trainer in scientific writing. While my writing is mainly for the biotech industry, most of my editing and training clients are in academia.

KJ: I was born and bred in London and studied French at City of London Polytechnic (now London Metropolitan University) including a year’s internship in Montauban. With the UK under siege in the summer of ’81 (race riots, sky-high unemployment, Margaret Thatcher) I left for the US with a ‘go with the flow’ attitude. Little did I know that a year later I would be a homeowner in Zwolle, married to a Dutch woman, and teaching English at a language institute! I am currently a translator (Dutch to English) and editor (predominantly academic papers for publication).

What is the Eastern SIG and who is it for?
SH: It’s a regional SIG, so intended for SENSE members living in and around Zwolle. While it’s mainly a great opportunity to have a natter in English with colleagues – particularly appreciated by the lonely freelancers among us – we also share experiences and good practice. We sometimes have an invited speaker and otherwise come up with a theme or activity that is of interest to current members. Recent meetings have discussed levels of editing, time management, and a Brexit newsletter from the IND. Previous topics include the needs of beginners, networking, software, bookkeeping, marketing and workshops/courses that we have attended.

How did the Eastern SIG get started?
KJ: I was one of the founder members of the first SENSE SIG in the late 90s, along with half a dozen other SENSE members, including Dave Thomas and Tony Cunningham; but the driving force was Brenda McClean. Without her enthusiasm, organizing ability and vision, I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be an Eastern SIG today. The emphasis then (as now) was on promoting professionalism in the field of English-language services, while not forgetting the skills required to run a business – think networking, bookkeeping, even pension schemes. I look forward to being an active member for many years to come.

How often does the Eastern SIG meet up?
SH: We aim to meet up about six times a year, alternating between formal morning meetings and Friday afternoon social get-togethers, although the Covid-19 pandemic has somewhat flummoxed our good intentions. The location varies, but is always within walking distance of Zwolle station. Our previous meeting in April had to be moved online, and SENSE’s first ever ‘editing slam’ generated quite a bit of attention. We had 16 SENSE members attending from all over the world, including the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and Spain! This just goes to show how the pandemic is actually bringing some of us closer together.

How many people generally attend Eastern SIG meetings?
SH: In-person meetings used to attract just six to eight people, but the online meeting in April was our busiest ever. Until it’s safe to meet in person again, we’ll be making use of Zoom to allow more far-flung members to join our meetings.

When and where will the next Eastern SIG meeting be?
SH: Although Kumar and I agree we’d much rather meet in person (it’s been too long!), it’s probably not yet wise. We’ll therefore be meeting online on Thursday 3 September from 14:00 to 15:00. SENSE member and freelance academic editor Dr Claire Bacon – based to the east of the Netherlands (in Germany!) – will be talking about her experience writing a blog and how it helped her expand her client base.

If you'd like to attend the next Eastern SIG meeting, be sure to sign up via the Events page!

Martina Abagnale writes:

One of my biggest fears when I started freelancing was not having a group of colleagues with whom I could discuss ideas or who I could ask for help. I had worked as a project manager at a translation agency for two years before starting my own translation business. I loved the interaction with my colleagues, and I wasn’t really looking forward to the idea of being a lonely translator, spending the day in my pyjamas. I wanted to talk to other translators, hear their stories, learn from them and ask for advice when I needed it. When I read about the mentoring programme offered by SENSE, I decided to give it a go.

I found out that a mentor can help out with all sorts of things, from translation skills to computer or business skills.

With my language pair (EN > IT) being rather 'rare' in SENSE, I decided to focus on developing my business skills with my mentor. I had only two months of freelance experience under my belt, but I had more than enough plans for the future. I felt overwhelmed by the number of new things that I had to learn or wanted to try out. I thought that talking with a more experienced translator would help me make a distinction between those things I needed to do for my company (must-have) and those things that could wait a bit (nice-to-have).

Jackie Senior, a member of the mentoring committee, suggested that Jenny Zonneveld could be a good match for me. Turns out she was quite right. Jenny is extremely knowledgeable and willing to share her insights and give advice. We met for the first time in January, back when in-person meetings were still allowed; during the lockdown, our mentoring continued online. She helped me set up an accounting system and gave advice on best practices in the industry; she even gave me the occasional pep talk when things didn’t work out the way I wanted. She also introduced me to other SENSE members and translators, allowing me to expand my network in the industry very quickly.

It is difficult to imagine what my career would look like if I had not enrolled in the mentoring programme, but I am certain it wouldn’t be what it is today. I’m very grateful to Jenny for being an incredible mentor and to SENSE for offering this programme.

If you are also starting out, or want to try a new path, or you just have a head full of ideas like I did, do consider mentoring. It will change your career!

Blog post author: Martina Abagnale
Date: 2020-08-20

After 20 happy years as a freelance language editor and translator, Ragini Werner is retiring. Gini (as she prefers to style herself) has been very active in SENSE over the years; founding the Special Interest Group for members in the three northern provinces (SIG Far North) in 2007, filling the role of membership secretary in 2010 and taking the helm of SENSE magazine eSense from 2015 to 2017. In this blog post, we look back on her rewarding career and find out what her plans are for the future.

A solid beginning

Gini started her freelance business NEEDser (Native-English Editing + Translation Service) after training as a journalist in London and working for 20 years at Elsevier Science in Amsterdam, where she started off as a data entry typist for Embase and ended up the editor of company magazine ES World. The first thing she did after joining SENSE in 2007 was attend the SENSE/ITV editing course run by Ruth de Wijs and Jackie Senior in Utrecht. ‘These two taught me the basics of the business,’ says Gini, ‘and gave me the confidence to become a solid language professional.’

‘Lucky for me,’ Gini adds, ‘when I started the new SIG, Jackie was working in Groningen and was one of the first to join. Inevitably, she mentored me, giving all the reassurance a novice would need. The best advice she gave me was not to take it personally if a client didn’t pay on time. "It’s no reflection of your quality," she said, "they just might have forgotten. So be business-like, pick up the phone and get them to pay." I’ll be forever grateful to Jackie for her wise approach to work.’  

Quality content

Gini has created valuable content for SENSE, guided initially by her predecessor at eSense, Cecilia M. Willems. ‘Cecilia was another great mentor to me. During our transition, she acted as a tactful sounding board for my wilder ideas. She helped me broaden the scope of eSense – then a members-only newsletter – and helped lay the basis for the glossy e-magazine it later became: published online and as a pdf, not only for members but the public at large.’

‘I couldn’t have produced such good content without the help of my faithful team,’ says Gini, pictured above hovering behind her regular eSense columnists-cum-copyeditors: Sally Hill, Marianne Orchard and Anne Hodgkinson (photo by Michael Hartwigsen). The 11 issues Gini and her eSense team created not only showcase the excellence of our members, serving to promote the Society, but are filled with information for language professionals that is still highly relevant today. Do yourself a favour and take a look through the issues. Do you want to know how to find clients? Are you looking for tips on networking? Do you need to know how to quote for a job? Or do you just want to know how to be a better editor? You will find the answers to all these questions and more in eSense.

Happy to help

At NEEDser, Gini has helped a variety of clients, including scientific researchers, film makers, photographers and graphic designers, to name a few! Her website is filled with glowing testimonials from her clients. She has also been a generous mentor to other SENSE members. Claire Bacon says, ‘I left academia to become a language editor in 2015 and met Gini at the SENSE Jubilee Conference that same year. She guided me through the early years, looking at manuscripts I had edited, pointing out areas where I could improve. This was invaluable support.’

What next?

So, what are Gini’s post-retirement plans? ‘First I want to catch my breath,’ says Gini, ‘enjoy relaxing in the garden with my wife Ali, a retired teacher, and Clio, our ancient Jack Russell. We are planning a long-postponed honeymoon in New Zealand once all this Covid-19 nonsense calms down, but we’re both in the vulnerable age-group so vaccines come first.'

Gini has plenty of creative projects on the go. She plans to finish her second novel Janice in Action (her first novel Revealing Phillipa is available on Amazon) and will be busy editing and designing the e-magazine published by Roze 50plus Oldambt. ‘I really enjoy seeing the concrete results of my creative efforts,’ says Gini. ‘Knowing that people find my magazine informative and a pleasure to read, I’ll probably keep doing that until I drop.’ Are we likely to see Gini at future SENSE events now that she is retiring? ‘I will keep an eye out for interesting events that I might want to attend as a guest. So, who knows… you might not be rid of me (altogether) yet.’

Thank you from SENSE

I am sure that everyone at SENSE wants to take this opportunity to thank Gini for all her hard work and commitment to our Society over the years. Thank you, Gini! We all wish you all the very best for the future.

When work dried up

As a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, the world came to a standstill: businesses closed, events were cancelled and appointments postponed. And consequently, for many interpreters, the diary was wiped clean. Because what work is there to do if there are no court hearings, no conferences and no driving tests and weddings? For me as a translator/interpreter, as for many of my colleagues, the effect was instantaneous. The phone stayed silent. The tumbleweed in my inbox was almost audible.

I was fortunate enough to have enough translation work to keep me going, but even on that front it was distinctly slower than before, and the type of work also changed. Most of the texts I translated in the first few weeks (and months) of lockdown were internal notices for employees about Covid-19 prevention measures, new rules about working from home, how to install Zoom, the do’s and don’ts of online meetings etc. I am so glad I have a large enough number of direct corporate customers and agencies to work for instead of being 100% reliant on the public service work!

A technological learning curve

After a few weeks of empty diaries and with despair starting to set in (‘How long IS this going to last?’), interpreters basically had two options: either sit back and wait it out – and apply for the TOGS/TOZO or whatever other arrangements they were eligible for – or explore methods to continue working and embrace new technologies. Slowly but surely, the business world started to wake up again and discovered that you could conduct meetings online just fine. And that was our way in! Where it had been a bit of a niche market before, now suddenly remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI for short) was everywhere! Experienced interpreters are now also sharing their knowledge about RSI by giving webinars and facilitating online interpreting sessions, which is not only educational but also great fun.

The technology that had been available before is now being further developed at lightning speed: there are stand-alone interpreting platforms (eg, VoiceBoxer) or platforms that can be incorporated into meeting software such as Zoom (which has its own interpretation option too). This means that tech-savvy commercial interpreters have been able to get back on the horse. Many companies are also now realizing that it saves a lot of time – including travel time. And, if the technical requirements are met, they are seeing the benefits of having a meeting online where foreign participants can follow what is being said by tuning into their own language channel.

So far, so good!

Commercial versus PSI

On the public service interpreting (PSI) front, courts and government institutions have also been doing their best to incorporate RSI into their way of working. However, as with most public service institutions (… can I say it? ambtenaren…) it has taken a while to get it all up and running. Picture if you can a judge in one room and a clerk in another; plus a prosecutor, a lawyer, and a suspect or inmate in an echoey interrogation room (often with guards impatiently looking at their watches). Getting these people all talking to each other in a structured manner turns out to be quite a feat – not to mention the ‘complication’ of having an interpreter ‘sitting in the middle’. Interpreting these sessions is very frustrating as, more often than not, the video or phone connection is so terrible that interpreting is close to impossible. It also takes longer, as everything has to be done consecutively… And if you then also have a judge who asks the interpreter to ‘summarize your interpretation, because we are in a hurry’ or who denies a suspect their last word because their 20 or 40 minutes is nearly up, you can see why lots of interpreters and lawyers are quite unhappy with the situation.

Back to normal?

When physical sessions resumed a few weeks ago, we all had to get used to the ‘new normal’. How do you maintain physical distance while also making yourself heard and hearing what your client is saying? Is simultaneous interpreting even possible anymore? Every assignment throws up new surprises and challenges, as the set-up is different in every court and interview room. Sometimes half of the parties are physically present, while the rest are on a screen or on the phone – again complicating matters… Luckily, as interpreters, we are masters of improvisation, and most hearings have been able to continue, albeit with a bit of fudging here and there. Some courts have purchased mobile phones, so you can call the suspect sitting on the other side of the plexiglass and interpret the hearing that way. The courts are also still in the middle of the tendering process for whisper systems, so who knows what swanky gear we will be working with in the future!

The immediate future will undoubtedly remain messy, also because the situation for sworn interpreters and translators is not about to improve with the introduction of a new Dutch governmental decree on costs, quality and outsourcing, but I hope that as interpreters we will also continue to learn, to improve our technological expertise and also to educate our clients on how to incorporate new technology.

Having an online UniSIG meeting was a new venture, but on 17 July, 17 punters logged in for an hour-long afternoon session to catch up with each other and discuss the Covid crisis and how it has been impacting our work and lives.  Members who’d been following reports in the Dutch and international press mentioned some of the trends in universities’ teaching and student admissions. At least one person had noticed a decline in assignments relating to research grant applications, but it seems that this might simply be because deadlines have been moved back and so grants are still being written.

A few of the teachers of academic and scientific writing had plenty to say about how they’ve had to move their teaching online, so that at times the meeting seemed to be more SENSE Ed than UniSIG. Nevertheless, this only underlines the overlap in interest between the two SIGs – which could be exploited in the future by holding joint SENSE Ed/UniSIG meetings.

As five of the attendees were newbies who’d joined SENSE in 2020, we spent time finding out where they are based and what they do. One of them, Danielle Carter, promoted the new Starters SIG, which she’s helped set up. Mike Gould pointed out that SENSE’s mentoring programme is a good resource for starters in the language profession. It can also be useful for established language professionals who want to acquire a new skill: one of our longstanding UniSIG members is hoping to be mentored so that she can branch out into copywriting.

Our discussion about the format and content of future online meetings yielded various points:

• The ‘as you like it’ style of meeting that kicked off the past two academic years is a nice idea, but if we continue to use a one-hour Zoom format and topics are known beforehand, there should be time limits on the contributors and time should be reserved for spontaneous topics.
• Webinars are not a popular way of holding a meeting.
• We should try breakout groups split along ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ sciences.
• We should think about what is meant by ‘science’: Ed Hull has promised to talk briefly on this at a future meeting, to kick off a discussion.
• Occasional ‘social’ online meetings would be fun. Late August would be a good time to have one.

I’ll act on these ideas: watch out for UniSIG announcements! And if you have any tips about colleagues or acquaintances who – like Ed – would be prepared to give a short talk (15 minutes) on a topic relating to working for or in academia, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., so I can organize one-hour themed Zoom meetings.

In this new blog series, we will highlight the different Special Interest Groups (SIGs) SENSE has to offer. SIG meetings are open to all members, and guests are welcome to attend one or two meetings before deciding whether they would like to join SENSE. For upcoming SIG meetings, check the SENSE Events calendar. Contact the SIG convener for more information or to suggest a meeting topic. If you would like to start a new SIG, contact our SIG and Social Events Coordinator. In this edition, we talk to Copywriting SIG co-conveners Stephen Johnston and Martine Croll.

Can you tell me a little about yourself?
SJ: I grew up in Canada, but moved to the Netherlands in 1997 for love. I joined SENSE in 1999, and it has been one of the best decisions of my life. I wear two hats: I’m a copywriter, mostly working for larger international companies, but I’m also a business trainer. I specialize in consultancies, where I help them write more effectively, present more effectively and create client presentations with impact.

MC: My origins are Dutch, but as a child of expat parents, I had an English education. After school, I decided to go to Leiden University and discover my Dutch roots. Fulfilling my childhood dream to become a writer, I set up business as a copywriter. To be perfectly honest, I started off as a translator – I had cold feet, and no real writing experience. I soon found out that badly written texts are a nightmare to translate, so I often found myself asking the client if I could do a rewrite before getting stuck in the translation. My copywriting business took off from there! Nowadays, besides writing, I help companies find their tone of voice and develop their storyline.

I joined SENSE in the late nineties. After being one of those ‘in the woodwork’ members for several years, I volunteered for the EC. A great and worthwhile experience, where I got to think up and organize loads of fun events. Later on, I joined a wonderful team of fellow members to organize the first-ever SENSE jubilee conference.

What is the Copywriting SIG and who is it for?
SJ: The Copywriting SIG is for anybody and everybody with any interest in copywriting. We get a lot of translators and editors who would like to be copywriters. We also get people who are nervous about copywriting, and want to find out more. And, of course, we get seasoned copywriters who bring a wealth of expertise to our group.

MC: Nothing much to add here! Except that our purpose, above all, is to inspire and get inspired by fellow SENSE members. After all, working as English copywriters for Dutch companies, the issues we deal with are very similar to those our fellow editors and translators face. Our open-discussion meet-ups are perfect for learning from each other. 

How did the Copywriting SIG get started?
SJ: Many years ago, I noticed there were special interest groups for translators, editors and regions. But there were none for copywriters like myself, so I thought I would organize a one-off meeting to bring all of us copywriters together. In between my post and the meeting, somebody at SENSE suggested that I make it a SIG (which I did). The first meeting was above the American Book Center in Amsterdam. Since then, we’ve moved around a lot­­ –  most recently, of course, we meet on Zoom.

I stepped back for a bit a while ago and Martine took over. She was the driving force for many years, and now we are co-conveners.

MC: I’m extremely grateful to Steve for having the brilliant idea to organise something for copywriters. We were (and still are) a minority group within SENSE, so it’s nice to meet up and talk shop every now and then. But, having said that (and at risk of repeating myself), it’s really worthwhile and inspiring to also have non-copywriters or aspiring ones attend and pitch in. 

How often does the Copywriting SIG meet up?
SJ: We try to meet up twice a year. 

MC: We do indeed aim to do so! But both of us are pretty busy with our own freelance business activities. So sometimes we have to give each other a gentle nudge: we should be planning the next meet-up!

How many people generally attend Copywriting SIG meetings?
SJ: When we were holding our in-person meetings, we had anywhere from six or seven people. We also organize much larger gatherings, like the event Martine organized for infographics. Zoom allows many, many more people to attend, which is awesome.

MC: The massive number of attendees for the meet-up on infographics to me is proof that the dividing line between editors, translators and copywriters (and, for that matter, between web designers and graphic designers) is not as clear-cut as we may believe it is. We all need to be able to look outside of our own specialized bubble, especially in this time of online tools and social media. There is more to text than language alone!

When and where will the next Copywriting SIG meeting be?
SJ: The next copywriting SIG meeting will be on Tuesday, 28 July. Everybody is welcome!

MC: We’ll be talking about ghostwriting. It’s something that’s being done a lot. Especially for blogs. But, as always, we hope that attendees will bring their own issue, question, challenge or insight to the floor!

If you'd like to attend the next Copywriting SIG meeting, be sure to sign up via the Events page!

For her talk on networking at the SENSE2020 conference, entitled Using your network to branch out into new areas, fellow SENSE member Sally Hill got in touch to ask if she could use me as a case study in her presentation. She remembered me saying that I thought one of the reasons I got my current job as an in-house translator at Leiden University was my experience managing the SENSE content team. She wanted to illustrate how volunteering is a valuable form of networking, and was curious to know – looking back – if that was indeed the case. This is what I told her.

Volunteering for SENSE definitely helped me develop new skills and gain experience that I could apply in my work and add to my CV. My SENSE volunteering career began with the social media team. I volunteered after attending the social media workshop given by Henk-Jan Geel that SENSE organized back in 2016. As I didn’t do much with social media, joining the social media team seemed like a good opportunity to gain some experience and to do my bit for SENSE. I figured it might inspire me to use social media for my business and would be a good way to keep up with new developments and spot potential business opportunities. This role involved collecting and posting content to SENSE’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Around the same time, the then editor of eSense, Gini Werner, asked if I would help with editing and writing for eSense. This seemed like a good chance to see how others edit and learn from them, and to gain some writing experience. One piece I wrote was about LinkedIn. While researching the piece, I updated my profile and started being more active on LinkedIn – and a new client found me. They were looking for someone to write for a new blog. Working for this client introduced me to new software, such as Slack. As they were in the process of starting a blog and working out a social media strategy, I learned a lot from them – also that I find work Christmas parties excruciating.

Then the role of Content Manager came up at SENSE and I decided to volunteer for that. It seemed like a fun idea to do what the client had been doing and start a blog and devise a social media strategy. I did a lot of research into planning tools and discovered Trello, which I hadn’t heard of before. In the role, I also learned how to use SENSE’s Content Management System (CMS) to post content to the website, and Hootsuite to schedule and post social media content.

Then a contact of mine who was a translator at Leiden University and whom I regularly meet for lunch told me she was retiring and that I should apply for the job. I was quite happy as a freelancer but decided that after 12 years it might be a good idea to try something new. I decided to see applying for the job as a good opportunity to dust off my CV and experience the delights of telling strangers about my strengths and weaknesses. Even if I didn’t get the job, the experience of going through a job interview would be worth it.

Without volunteering for SENSE and working for the new client, I wouldn’t have matched the job profile, as they were looking for someone who not only had experience as a translator but could also work in a team and had experience using a CMS and social media. In the second interview, the big boss said her idea of a freelance translator was of an otherworldly being wafting around in a garret. I explained that I worked to deadlines and had little time to waft, and could also show that through my SENSE work I had contact with other human beings – albeit otherworldly translators and editors – and had been leading a team. This, and being able to show that I’d been working on my professional development by attending workshops and courses, helped me convince her that I was reliable, serious and not at all flighty. 

The CMS experience I gained volunteering for SENSE meant I soon got the hang of the University’s CMS system that I post my finished translations in. The social media experience has also come in useful because I regularly post to the University’s English Twitter account and use Hootsuite and Trello to plan the content.

[This blog post is based on a presentation given at the SENSE2020 Jubilee Conference on June 4, 2020]

While preparing my presentation for the SENSE2020 Jubilee Conference, I planned to talk about what I do to preserve my mental and physical health as someone without a dedicated home office who often spends time away from her home base. Of course, the era of Covid-19 put an abrupt end to the era of digital nomadism and forced us into the era of do-everything-digitally-from-your-home. However, I realized that there are still plenty of things that I can say about preserving your mental and physical health in this challenging time.

Physical health

Exercise is important, and as a digital nomad (but also during the Covid-19 era) it is often not possible to attend in-person classes. My main tip is to find a way of exercising that is not dependent on location. Running and walking come to mind most readily here (which I realize is not inclusive of everyone’s abilities).

You can find a community and motivation to do this through the social media hashtags #StetWalk or #StetRun on Twitter, which editors use to motivate each other to get away from their desks.

When pools reopen, swimming is another option, because a swimming pool can be found in most cities and is usually affordable.

Finally, some language professionals have a desk cycle or treadmill desk.

An ergonomic workspace is important as well. Some tips:

• If you have a laptop, get a laptop stand, a keyboard, and a mouse, or a separate, large screen. Ensure that the top of your screen is roughly at eye level, your arms are at a 90-degree angle, and your feet rest comfortably on the ground or on a footrest at the same angle.
• Invest in a good desk chair or a standing desk. A footrest can also be beneficial.
• If you do not have a dedicated workspace at home, try to vary where and how you sit.
• Once the corona crisis ends and we are free to leave our houses again, I recommend joining a coworking space that offers good seating arrangements and variation.

Mental health

One of the biggest problems you encounter as a business owner who is free to work from anywhere at any time is that you may be tempted to actually work from everywhere all the time. This is a recipe for burn-out. Therefore, establishing some boundaries between work and life is essential.

Let’s start with things you can do at home. Blocking or switching off certain distractions or work-related things can be beneficial:

• Block access to your email on your phone after working hours. I use an app called Stay Focused for this.
• Switch off your computer when you are done with work.
• Block distracting websites or the internet while you work. I use an app called Freedom for this.
• Take weekends off. You cannot be productive if you’re exhausted!

Once we can leave our houses again, consider the following:

• Join a coworking space. You can fully focus on work while you are there, without getting distracted by the traps of working at home (eg, cleaning, grocery shopping).
• Of course, you can work in the library or a café
• Get a hobby that requires you to leave the house.

Besides establishing a work-life balance, digital nomads or professionals working from home benefit from a sense of community and connection. Let us begin with what you can do from home:

• Join digital support communities. I am an editor and a member of a number of editing-related groups.
  • On Facebook, the Editors’ Association of Earth (EAE) is a public group where you can talk about editing-related matters and which has several subgroups.
  • You can follow other editors on Twitter and check what editors are tweeting about by following the hashtag #AmEditing. You can also follow editing-related chats (#ACESChat, #EditorsChat).
  • You can join the CE-L mailing list, where various copyediting topics are discussed. These places function like a digital water cooler. They provide a space to talk about anything work and often also life-related.
• Join a professional association for training and the opportunity to meet other professionals.
  • Besides being a member of SENSE, I am also a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). An overview of other organizations can be found here.
  • These organizations often offer forums for members, where you can ask questions and socialize with fellow members, or webinars where you can learn new skills.
  • The CIEP normally hosts in-person meetings for members in different locations across the globe, and has a monthly ‘Cloud Club’ for members who cannot attend in-person meetings.
  • If you can’t attend a certain meeting or conference, follow its hashtag on Twitter to see what is being said and engage.

Away from home, when things return to normal, I strongly recommend the following:

• Attend conferences related to your profession – conferences are not only super fun but they also help build your network and professional reputation.
• Find a group of freelancers who cowork in cafés in your location. In the past, I have joined Shut Up and Write meetings via Meetup.com and Facebook, and I have hosted my own meetings, where I connected with other freelance professionals.

A final note

It’s totally normal and understandable if all of this is too much right now. I haven’t been able to follow most of my own guidelines over these past months. Don’t fret – give yourself a break, remember to take showers, try to have a weekend, and explore your surroundings if you can!