Tuesday, April 12, 2011

17 Sleep deprivation symptoms

Click image to enlarge


  1. Great cartoon! If only this weren't true...

    Your blog is great. I think it's very important to have a sense of humour in the crazy world of translation!

  2. We love it, as usual. Luckily, we really haven't had to work that much without sleep; we just couldn't function. Love the pyramid of coffee mugs, too. And of course Mina is our favorite. She's too cute.

  3. Haha. I don't think I ever get to that stage, I tend to stop when I get the first symptoms (dizziness, slowed speed). That said, when I was less experienced I used to accept some tight deadlines. I experienced the following symptoms when translating long hours without taking a break:

    * dreaming about translating the text
    * nightmares that the computer has crashed, and I have lost all my work.
    * a strange numb feeling on my skull, whilst fully conscious, oddly ticklish.
    * inability to verbally interact with anyone.
    * verbal interaction results in pauses, as I find the correct word in English, because the German one is in my head...
    * ...or I get confused, and search for the correct word in German.

    Thankfully I have properly addressed that issue, and now plainly say no when asked to do a job that requires a sacrifice of my sleep without any additional compensation.

  4. Dubravka HrastovecApril 12, 2011 at 8:02 PM


  5. The last time I pulled an all nighter to finish a translation just happened to be on the day of Pope John Paul's funeral; I listened to the proceedings while I scrambled to finish my project, aided of course by the translator's friend - coffee. I stopped to listen to the litany though which was quite beautiful....

  6. Oh dear. After some rather arduous stretches I find myself translating nonsense in my sleep, which is indeed particularly frustruating because you don't get a chance to save your work. Saving it onto a brain hard drive sounds like a great idea.

  7. I wish to express my gratitude to the author of this outstanding feature...

  8. In the next 12 hours, the picture will blur and the CPU will be overheated. Take care of your eyes and hearts, friends!

    Human translation has limits, some parts are beyond repair (:

    This comic strip is funny and thought provoking. Thanks, Alejandro!

  9. So true! Anyway, I can't work without sleeping. I start writing nonses or I take too much time to solve things. I'm just no good without my bed time, lol.

  10. This is great. Big fan of comics as a form of communication.

    @Rose: I think your decision to say "no" when the deadlines are too tight is a smart one. It not only helps relieve stress for you, but for everyone involved in the process.

  11. I wonder how much money translators in the "West" earn...here in the Czech Republic it's quite poor....about 10-15 EUR per standard page (=1800 characters incl. gaps)
    Despite that I no longer accept "overnight" translations, am too old and tired for that :-)

  12. Great as usual, Alejandro!
    Here´s a sign indicating I´ve fallen asleep, usually found at the proofreading-phase of a project:
    -Finding "askjfkdhfjhgjdfjs" in the target box.
    or nonsense text such as "Adjust the refrigerator to prevent food leakage" (dreaming about food, perhaps?).

  13. An idea for a balloon based on costumers/agencies who don't pay "Paybull" rates but detract it from the translator's gain

    Pam: We will pay this huge project using Paybull *name changed for obvious reasons*
    Mox: (thinking) For once, my money will arrive in a short period of time.
    Pam: I need to warn you, there will be a little tax to pay, but it's almost insignificant
    Computer:You received 2,44 USD on your Paybull account

  14. Your wonderful illustration goes perfectly with my article at http://www.infobarrel.com/Are_You_Addicted_to_Sleep_or_the_Lack_of_It.
    Thanks for the very good work.

  15. Well said Mykhailo.

    I never want to have to pull of an all nighter to work on a translation. God knows what I might write down...

