FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR ( by Carolina Villegas )

1. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR(by Carolina Villegas) Fengshui is the ancient art of placement and design used to balance and enhance the energy flow in living environments.

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5. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Fengshui experts believe that by creating harmony and balance in your physical environment you will attract good luck and prosperity in all areas of your life.

6. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • By following some basic principles of fengshui, you may improve your productivity and career prospects as well as enhance your success, creativity, and wealth. • Specifically, you can use fengshui to determine where to set up your home office, the best placement of your desk, the use of color in your office, and incorporate "cures" into your home office to change the flow of blocked energy.

7. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Set up your home office in the front of the house to take advantage of the flow of energy, since energy enters your home through the front door. • If you're in the back, it's more difficult to receive any energy. This will also be beneficial if you will be receiving clients and conducting business with others in your home office.

8. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Once energy enters through the front door it flows up, so it is preferable to be on the entry level or above, as opposed to a level below the main floor of the house. It's difficult for energy to move down into the basement.

9. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Look at the position of your desk. • Sit so that you face the doorway or room entrance. Sitting with your back to the door means you don't know if someone is approaching - so you are more vulnerable to surprises. Because you can't see what's coming, this vulnerability may trigger unnecessary fears, or "negative energy".

10. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • The best position for your desk is in the corner that is diagonally opposite the office door. If you can't move your desk to face the room entrance, put up a small convex mirror in the corner of your monitor so that you can see behind you.

11. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Have a wall behind your chair, rather than a window, for symbolic support. If you have no choice, keep the blind down and make sure to sit in a tall-backed chair for support.

12. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. Be comfortable with your computer equipment. Do not get stuck with the keyboard and mouse that come with your PC: replace them. Both need to be ergonomically friendly, with curvy shapes that benefit the flow of energy through your fingers and hands.

13. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. You also need to position your computer monitor to avoid any hint of glare. Glare is very negative from a fengshui point of view. It interferes with concentration and peace of mind.

14. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Keep your workspace clean and clutter-free in order to allow a free flow of chi throughout the room (i.e. the life force or vital energy that links people with their surroundings). Keep the cords to your office equipment well hidden.

15. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Improve lighting. Get a really good desk lamp for your work area. The nice pool of light that you have with a desk lamp brings in energy, and really helps your concentration and focus.

16. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Use fengshui enhancements to further your personal and business goals. Not only should you arrange your office so that the energy flows around it, but it is also very important to know your directions - north, south, east and west. Use a compass if the directions are not easily discernible.

17. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Why care about directions? If you aspire to be better known in your profession, you need some sort of enhancement. The best position for your home office is facing south - this governs your fame area. Or, you could position your home study facing northeast - this governs your education and knowledge area. If these positions aren't possible, try placing your desk in a south or northeast corner. The north area of your office is the one associated with career so energize it in some way.

18. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • A water feature is a good idea as it symbolizes movement and promotes yang energy. • Fresh flowers on the east side of your desk will increase your yang energy but don't let them restrict your sight or movement and as soon as they start to wilt and die - change them.

19. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Alternatively, a small plant in the southeast corner of your desk attracts prosperity, which can only be a good thing for a company. Palms are particularly good because they spread out at the top and as such will spread out energy.

20. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Use crystals to energize areas of your business life. A round crystal placed on the southwest corner of your desk will promote harmonious relationships with your colleagues, as this is usually a good area for relationships of any kind. A faceted, spherical crystal hung in the window encourages movement and activity. An illuminated and rotating globe in the fame area, to the south of your office, will encourage bigger markets.

21. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Have some inspiring art, preferably a landscape including water (but make sure any mountains are in the background) on the wall of your office but avoid abstract art. Fruit, flowers and fish in pictures also promote good fengshui but avoid wild animals.

22. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Clear the effects of electromagnetic stress from your computer by taking frequent breaks. Plus you can place a clear quartz or rose quartz crystal next to it to absorb negative emissions.

23. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Don't sleep in the same room where your computer is. Electronic items such as computers, fax machines or even television sets can produce too much yang energy and disturb sleep patterns. Yang is the opposite of yin, which encourages rest and relaxation. Keep your home-based office out of the bedroom.

24. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • If you don't have a choice, use a room divider to separate your office from your sleep area. • At the very least, if it's near your bed, cover your PC with an attractive cloth when it's not in use, or hide the office area with a screen at night so that you don't mix energies when you move from work to sleep.

25. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Place plants in your office. A plant will bring life into your workspace and will also absorb toxins in the air. Cactus and bamboo are plants symbolize good fortune and are ideal for placement in the home office.

26. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • If you have views of harmful elements from your window, you can reduce them by the strategic placement of wind chimes or plants. Any sharp-leaved plants are good fengshui in this area, as they are believed to deter harmful influences. Peace lilies and a cactus called Cirrus Peruvianus absorb negative emissions.

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28. FENG SHUI FOR A TRANSLATOR cont. • Feng shui will help make your workspace more comfortable and even more enticing. • If you feel relaxed and at ease in your workspace, creative energy can flow and your overall productivity will improve. • If nothing else, you'll simply feel better or more positive while working and you'll reduce the amount of clutter in your workspace.

29. Translator’s working environment • Normal physical work requires alternate tensioning and relaxation of muscles for blood circulation to function satisfactorily. • When a muscle is subjected to static loading, i.e. long term loading without relaxation, the muscle is tense and circulation is hampered thus causing tiredness. • The greater the load, the quicker tiredness occurs.

30. Translator’s working environmentcont. • To prevent muscular tiredness, your working environment should be arranged in such a manner that you can work comfortably at the different aspects of translation work.

31. Translator’s working environmentcont. • Legroom should be sufficient so that leg movement is not restricted by table or desk legs, cupboards or drawers. It is also very important to choose a chair that provides adequate adjustment.

32. Translator’s working environmentcont. • Muscle problems are caused not only by the sedentary work of translation but, more often than not, by sitting incorrectly.

33. Translator’s working environmentcont. • You should endeavour to maintain the natural curvature of your spine with a curve at the neck and the lumbar region. • In this way, the vertebrae in your back will be subjected to an even pressure and the muscles around your spine will not become strained. • The following are general points of advice on how to sit:

34. Translator’s working environmentcont. • Try to keep your neck straight since this facilitates the supply of blood to your neck muscles. • Do not work with your shoulders raised – try to keep them relaxed. • Keep your upper arms vertical. • Keep your forearms at right angles to your upper arms.

35. Translator’s working environmentcont. • Your hands should be straight in relation to your forearms. • Try to maintain the natural S curve of your spine. • Sit squarely on the seat of the chair. • Keep your lower legs vertical. • Keep your feet flat on the floor.

36. Translator’s working environmentcont. • The way in which you furnish and arrange your working environment has a considerable impact on your efficiency at work and your health. • The effects of repetitive strain injury (commonly known as RSI) take a long time to make themselves felt. • They may be so bad as to actually prevent you from working.

37. Translator’s working environmentcont. • Do not sit in front of your computer for hours at a time. • Discipline yourself to work for no more than one hour at a time and then take a break. • Get away from your desk and stretch your muscles. • Even though you may be working on an extremely urgent job, your mind and body need to relax now and again to perform efficiently.

38. Translator’s working environmentcont. • Your level of continuous efficiency will be maintained and your body will be less affected by sitting in a stationary position for hours at a time.

39. Translator’s working environmentcont. • It is worth noting that the lumbar region of your back experiences three times as much loading in a sitting position compared with when you stand. • At worst you may experience disk problems that may prevent you from working and may eventually require surgery.

40. Translator’s working environmentcont. • You may feel that you need to do exercises. • Consider the fact that you will be sitting in the same position for a considerable period making repeated movements with your hands and fingers. • If you do not do elementary exercises but remain sedentary you run a considerable risk of RSI.

41. Translator’s working environmentcont. • This may be felt in different ways as a pain in the back of the neck or as a burning sensation at the back of your rib cage, depending on how you have developed the injury.

42. Translator’s working environmentcont. • There is also the argument that if you are physically fit then your mental stamina is enhanced. • There is nothing worse than being mentally tired, and it takes a lot longer to recover from this type of fatigue than it does to recover from physical tiredness.

43. Arranging translator’s equipment • It is worth getting a proper desk with sufficient desktop area for your PC, reference books and other accoutrements. • Get the best chair you can possibly afford otherwise your work will literally become a pain in the neck or back.

44. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. • The ergonomics of your workplace are something you must decide upon yourself. • There are certain fundamentals that will make matters easier:

45. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. • Make sure your computer is in a comfortable position and correctly adjusted so that there is no glare from the screen or reflections on the screen that make reading difficult. • Adjust your chair to the most ergonomic height and make sure you have proper lighting.

46. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. • A document holder will facilitate reading the text to be translated. • Alternate the position of your document holder from left to right at regular intervals. • This will prevent you from turning your head in the same direction when you switch between document and screen.

47. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. • Your screen should be arranged so that your line of sight is at right angles to the screen and at an angle of 20° below the horizontal. • The distance between your eyes and the screen should allow you to read the characters with ease. • A suitable distance is 70 cm.

48. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. Eye problems • Eye problems can occur when looking at the same object for long periods. • In the case of prolonged and intensive work on screen, it is a good idea to have some other object in the vicinity, such as a picture or poster, so that you can direct your eyes elsewhere occasionally so they can relax.

49. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. Simple eye exercises • Allow your eyes to relax now and again. • Relax them by changing focus and directing your gaze towards a distant object. • Change what you are doing if you can so that you do not spend long periods in front of the screen. • Close your eyes tightly while taking one or two deep breaths.

50. Arranging translator’s equipment cont. It helps your eyes if the screen has dark characters against a light background. An anti-glare filter can also help. Make sure that the screen is properly focused otherwise you could get a severe headache after an hour or so.