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Post by songbanana on Mar 9, 2015 13:25:51 GMT 9
Question for my fellow CIRs... how do you stay organized? Right now I'm struggling to find projects I worked on previously and the "search" function only identifies document titles, which in my laziness are often the same as when they were sent to me, like あいさつ 英語修正. I have everything organized by month/year, and if I have a big project, another folder within the month/year for that project. I'm tempted to do it the other way around, like big folders for countries/topics and subdivide it by date, but I wonder if things that don't fit neatly into that system will get super messed up.
How do you all organize your translations and projects?
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Post by Sparkles on Mar 9, 2015 13:41:09 GMT 9
I do it the other way around -- if you want things by dates, you can scroll on the side or use the 更新日時 button to see the order in which you've worked on them.
For example, my 翻訳 folder is organized like this: 1 Formal Letters → 英訳 → 国 (I double-save everything -- once in the "country," once in the "content") → 内容 (like "Thank You," "Declining Invitations," "Accepting Invitations," "Awards," "Asking for a Response") → 和訳 (so few they're all just in there) 2 Sister States, Overseas Trips, International Projects → One folder for each country (and a folder in particular for our sister state in the U.S.) → One folder for each project that doesn't fit in a country category 3 General → Everything else, usually sorted by subject → Examples of sub-folders: "Taxes," ○○県PR関係, "Rivers" (don't ask why I have to translate a lot about rivers), "Tuberculosis," Intra-課/My課-related translations, etc
I find it pretty easy to find stuff quickly this way. As long as the system works for you, though, that's the most important thing!
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Post by ザ・penguin54 on Mar 9, 2015 14:28:26 GMT 9
my folders are split into native checks and translations and organized by 依頼者 (most 依頼s generally come from a fairly limited pool of people/divisions). I also split up things by year, so for instance FB posts from 2014 are in their own folder.
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G-Rex
Dead Stargod
killed SAKAMOTO LYOMA with crappa sushi
hi
Posts: 7,198
CIR Experience: Former CIR
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Post by G-Rex on Mar 9, 2015 15:01:42 GMT 9
translations →JET関係 →International centre関係 →イベント・会議・展示会など関係 →→folder for each big event or project, everything else just gets thrown in there →お土産・商品・記念品説明など (the little description things that we put with our gifts to people or any other single product) →外国籍府民・留学生関係 →観光・PR・チラシなど →→separated into regions and themes →関係なし手紙など →京都府関係 →→法律・ポリシーなど →→表敬訪問・挨拶など →→海外友好提携関係 →→市町村説明など →和訳
that kinda system. so like sparkles
apparently i only have 954 files in 72 folders, only totaling 304MB
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Post by shachou on Mar 9, 2015 15:19:14 GMT 9
Well that was a reality check.
I have 65 folders, 595 files - 10.6GB just for my 2014 folder (April to April)
But I have video in there too.
Mine are all organised like this: Orientation Recordings (exam audio/videos) SDC Business Trips (separated into each business trip) PA (separated into various folders like website, useful info, dropbox etc) Transport Reimbursement ALT (many a folder within this - number calculations, school stuff, JET stuff, Interac stuff, meetings etc.) その他 (CIR related things and templates plus info for successor) 翻訳 (completed going into the 'done' folder) Leavers (should really be in PA folder)
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H E Y
it's time to stop posting
Posts: 1,906
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Post by H E Y on Mar 9, 2015 15:33:42 GMT 9
Don't bother with folders. just have everything on desktop for easy access.
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Post by むちゃRABU❤ on Mar 9, 2015 16:38:00 GMT 9
I need to organize my folders soon. I have a lot of email though. I organize alot of my email into folders. There's one labelled 行政 where I throw everything that I can't seem to delete but may read in the future (read: never)
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Post by songbanana on Mar 9, 2015 17:22:53 GMT 9
sparkles--I like the way you do country/content. That seems like a good way to solve my current predicament. Also a good way to clean up my "reference" folder. shachou--my "JET" folder kind of looks like that but JET is so cyclical that things are easy to find (except when my counterpart suddenly left and I had to go through his stuff and it was madness) mucharabu--my email is separated by OO関係 which is great. And email from JETs automatically goes into the JET folder. But then I have a folder for each month for "idk what this is" and old stuff gets deleted automatically I think. cir--...are you hey omg
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Post by shachou on Mar 10, 2015 8:39:03 GMT 9
I need to do a major overhaul before my successor gets here. There's a lot of time saving stuff in there for them but the current system only really makes sense to me.
I think I'll do a shared dropbox with them with all of the most important stuff organised a bit more clearly.
As for email... I'm terrible. I have PA and Weekly Reports. But PA isn't strictly PA stuff. It's kind of everything I think I might need a record of in the future. Weekly reports is for the ALTs weekly reports which I delete once I've calculated everyone's numbers and the new WRs start coming in. I hate WRs.
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Post by rhfs on Mar 10, 2015 9:12:48 GMT 9
Don't bother with folders. just have everything on desktop for easy access. This is pretty close to my setup to be honest. Documents -> CIR -> rhfs Wish I had more work to justify subfolders...
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Post by Shimanchu 2024 on Mar 10, 2015 10:04:07 GMT 9
国際交流員--> CIR WORK--> SHIMANCHU2006--> the bestest in all of CHIRP.--> TENNISJEFFMONOGATARI.DOCX
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Post by shachou on Mar 10, 2015 10:22:57 GMT 9
oh yeah. I should add there is a folder called 'when you're' in その他 and it's got things for all situations. My PA stories, nates stories, and tennisjeffmonogatari
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sana
So jozu at chopsticks
Posts: 171
CIR Experience: Former CIR
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Post by sana on Mar 17, 2015 12:36:00 GMT 9
Question for my fellow CIRs... how do you stay organized? Right now I'm struggling to find projects I worked on previously and the "search" function only identifies document titles, which in my laziness are often the same as when they were sent to me, like あいさつ 英語修正. I have everything organized by month/year, and if I have a big project, another folder within the month/year for that project. I'm tempted to do it the other way around, like big folders for countries/topics and subdivide it by date, but I wonder if things that don't fit neatly into that system will get super messed up.How do you all organize your translations and projects? I reckon either way is fine, as long as you choose one system and stick with it. There's no 'right' answer. I had Project/work type then year as my main organising principle as a CIR, but a lot of stuff repeated from year to year so that kept it pretty neat. Now I have a lot of one-off time limited projects, so I go Year > (Client) > Project. Random thing that helps me: I (try to) always start my filenames with the date as YYMMDD, especially for documents that are going to be revised, plus consistent file descriptor, so: 150218 Blahblah trans source 150218 Blahblah trans draft 150220 Blahblah trans for feedback 150221 Blahblah trans kacho feedback 150222 Blahblah trans revised 150223 Blahblah trans final (in extreme cases, time as well, for multiple revisions in the one day, 150223 1021 revised, 150223 1132 revised). It looks a bit intense but it means the docs will always sort into *your* chronological order when you sort by name. You can't trust the date of the file itself, as it only takes the tiniest change to the file to change the date to today, and then you're stuffed working out which is the most current file. You can (in theory) change your search setting to search for words within the document, also - try playing around with your advanced search? Sparkles, can I suggest using shortcuts in your other folder rather than double-saving? Helps with version control and saves space... but it sounds like your system is working well for you in any case, so ignore me as appropriate!
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Post by Sparkles on Mar 17, 2015 13:13:26 GMT 9
Shortcuts may indeed work! I have yet to try them in the subfolders that way. I only use the double-save system for formal letter translations (which are generally tiny, tiny files), so space hasn't been an issue thus far.... The final versions of them all go to my translation supervisor via email and he saves them in his own file system and has them on paper, so if there's any doubt about what's the FINAL version, it's whatever he has. Only after File 1 has gotten final approval do I double-save. For big projects/things with lots of revisions I basically follow sana姉さん's example.
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Post by leslie knope on Mar 18, 2015 9:01:31 GMT 9
How do you guys set up your to-do lists? I feel like I always have a ton of stuff and it never seems to get shorter, so I guess what I'm really looking for is something that's more organized/less intimidating when looking at it.
Also, when making to-do lists, do you prefer computer or paper? If computer, do you use a certain program?
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Post by Sparkles on Mar 18, 2015 9:30:01 GMT 9
I am old-fashioned, but I use paper (a specific notebook dedicated to writing down work stuff). Physically writing things down as opposed to typing makes me remember them better, and it's easier for me to read quickly than a computer. I also get the satisfying feeling of writing a checkmark next to things I've done. I have a new page for every week (or every 2 weeks during a slow season), so as you flip through the pages you can feel the passage of time and feel somewhat accomplished. Since I date everything, it's easy to flip back to see "this specific week in March last year, this is what I was doing." If I start on something on Monday but don't finish it until Tuesday, it looks like this:
(At top of page: H27年3月16日~20日) 16日(月) ○・Something _/・英訳 → Formal Letter → Ag Div pamphlet _/・Respond to PA email
17日(火) ・THING! (cont from Mon)
(Against Japanese thinking, my ○ indicates something's not done yet. And then I just mix whatever languages I need to get the point across to myself. Ahaha. Yeah.)
If I have an ongoing project that takes weeks, I usually just use the top or bottom of the page to record specific project progress. If it's an ongoing project I'm working on with Fellow CIR, I usually type up something electronic and print it out for both of us. We usually update the paper copy by hand until there are enough corrections to justify updating/reprinting the file. This works well for us because the printed paper just sits on the border between our desks, easily visible, instead of us playing file updating tag.
But I know plenty of people who prefer electronic records, so do whatever works best for you, I suppose.
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Post by leslie knope on Mar 18, 2015 9:33:36 GMT 9
That sounds really smart! I tend to keep mine on my computer and erase things as I finish them, but then I tend to forget what I've been doing (I just know that I was super duper busy, really). It might be too late for during my JET career, but maybe I'll adopt your system in the future!
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sana
So jozu at chopsticks
Posts: 171
CIR Experience: Former CIR
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Post by sana on Mar 18, 2015 9:38:50 GMT 9
At the moment I'm using Todoist (web-based and also has an Android app and a desktop app) - it's working okay to keep track of all the random bits and pieces, and I like that I can have projects and subprojects, and prioritise, and it keeps a record for me. I used to lovelovelove TeuxDeux, but when they went paid (not necessarily a dealbreaker) they made it so you could only pay with a credit card, which is a dealbreaker. When I'm stressed to the eyeballs, I do tend to go back to paper, though. I brain dump everything I can think of onto an A3 sheet (I mindmap, in pencil, because I'm a bit of a nerd like that), then think about priorities and timelines (keeping in mind that most people add about 40 hours worth of work to a one-day to-do list so really we have no idea about how long things take), then make a cup of tea, (then procrastinate by reading the internet for a bit or whatever,) then start pomodoro-ing through the list. After enough things have been crossed off, I write out a new one. Note that I aspire to be one of those people who serenely chooses their top 3 most important tasks for the next day during their daily review at the end of the day. In reality I work until I'm tired of working, drop everything, then do whatever is yelling the loudest when I fire up the computer in the morning. Take my advice with that grain of salt. EDIT: I went off track, though - I should add - I organise my to-dos by area, then project, then task, eg, Planning Division --> June Event --> Draft project plan. Obviously with more than one thing per area. The middle of the map is a circle with that day's date. I choose three priorities at a time from across the whole page. Once they are done, I can choose three more.
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Post by leslie knope on Mar 18, 2015 11:34:26 GMT 9
sounds interesting! These responses are definitely giving me some food for thought.
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Post by hinats on Mar 19, 2015 8:41:09 GMT 9
I was using wunderlist for a while, but since I use google calendar to keep track of all of my scheduling commitments it was getting annoying to constantly be flipping back and forth between them... I've started using the Task function on google calendar for work-related to-do lists. It helps me with time management because I can see a visual layout of how busy my day/week looks, and when you mark something as completed it draws a strikethrough but keeps the task unless you manually delete it so you can still see your progress.
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Post by songbanana on Mar 19, 2015 10:58:15 GMT 9
I can't do online to-do lists, it just doesn't click as "real" for me. I have a little post-it I update every week (now every two weeks) where I write (here's next week's) M 23日
| T24 | W25 | Th26 | F27 | send mail magazine!!
| plan stuff
| draft PA email
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Follow up: (JETs I need to get back to about stuff, ongoing projects, ideas I need to think about more) The feeling of checking/crossing things off is so satisfying, no computer can replicate it! I also have a mini calendar at my desk but I found that I had trouble keeping track of the ongoing projects, especially when I had several translations to do on top of planning a conference, etc. If something doesn't make it to the post-it note I will probably forget about it though.
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G-Rex
Dead Stargod
killed SAKAMOTO LYOMA with crappa sushi
hi
Posts: 7,198
CIR Experience: Former CIR
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Post by G-Rex on Mar 19, 2015 16:07:38 GMT 9
I was using wunderlist for a while, but since I use google calendar to keep track of all of my scheduling commitments it was getting annoying to constantly be flipping back and forth between them... I've started using the Task function on google calendar for work-related to-do lists. It helps me with time management because I can see a visual layout of how busy my day/week looks, and when you mark something as completed it draws a strikethrough but keeps the task unless you manually delete it so you can still see your progress. google calendar/tasks buddy ゲット
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2015 13:23:23 GMT 9
I didn't know where to put this question: Does any remember when the deadline is for receiving recontracting forms for our C/O's?
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Post by songbanana on Dec 10, 2015 15:03:38 GMT 9
Not sure if you mean for or from, but here are the deadlines: CO→JET: 10/7から 英語圏JET→CO: 1/15まで (少数招致国JET: 12/2) TORIDAN→CLAIR: 2/1まで (少数招致国JET: 12/16)
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Post by telly on Dec 10, 2015 15:15:04 GMT 9
Yeah, we have to hand it in a FULL month earlier...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2015 15:35:19 GMT 9
I thought I was supposed to recieve a document from my CO saying whether they will hire me back or not. They explained the process to me in October but I haven't heard anything since. I'm just wondering if I should be concerned since I'm going on vacation soon.
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Post by songbanana on Dec 10, 2015 15:49:58 GMT 9
I thought I was supposed to recieve a document from my CO saying whether they will hire me back or not. They explained the process to me in October but I haven't heard anything since. I'm just wondering if I should be concerned since I'm going on vacation soon. Yeah you should ask about that because you technically can't decide if you choose to recontract until they first decide if they will offer it to you. Plus KESSAI and all that takes time so good idea to remind your CO about it now-abouts.
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Post by ザ・penguin54 on Dec 10, 2015 18:12:42 GMT 9
The deadline for them to say whether they want to recontract you or not is Christmas btw
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Post by rhfs on Dec 11, 2015 12:36:26 GMT 9
The deadline for them to say whether they want to recontract you or not is Christmas btw Everybody told me this last year but I didn't actually get my papers until January. There doesn't seem to be any repercussions for your CO just being late/lazy talking to you about this.
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Post by ザ・penguin54 on Dec 11, 2015 12:37:28 GMT 9
The deadline for them to say whether they want to recontract you or not is Christmas btw Everybody told me this last year but I didn't actually get my papers until January. There doesn't seem to be any repercussions for your CO just being late/lazy talking to you about this. Yeah some COs ignore the deadlines. But the PAs are allowed to TOLISIMALU if they want (at least that's what my office is doing).
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