A Crazy Interpreter’s Method for keeping the rest of his Sanity

Everyone who knows me including my wife and children think I am a little touched in the head, Cuckoo, a little nutty. Since these are people that I trust, I will accept their assessment. I am a Business owner, medical interpreter, sales and marketing officer, husband, father, and  very active in community service. What does all that mean? Stress! The kind of stress that makes a man go bald or grey or makes you want to rip your hair out. So what does a guy on the edge do to not fall completely off the Loco express?

1. Writing.

Writing and Journaling daily is great for sanity! Writing can be a very powerful emotional outlet for me. I get to express everything that is jumping around in my head. It is not uncommon to write angry letters and then once it is out of my system instead of sending them out, just destroy them. The letters are more for me than for them anyway. I write to express creativity which is also very satisfying which and produces some sort of happy endorphins.

2. Tri-prep.

Talking about endorphins, well really all they are is naturally occurring happy juice. Exercising produces tons of happy juice. So every morning before work I will typically start production either running, biking, or swimming. Also just like writing, while exercising I often work out issues in my head. The result is that I arrive at work better prepared with a well developed and thought out plan and feeling relief knowing that a particular problem has been worked out. The time spent exercising is more than made up for in efficiency.

3. Planning.

Yes, a little preparation daily and weekly is great for sanity. This is typically done at the end of each day and week so that I know what will be done the next day and week. This way the emotional distress of figuring out which one of the seemingly billions of thing that should come next is avoided. Planning helps me prioritize. Without preparation unimportant things are completed leaving me to later stress over important deadlines that were avoided.

4. Blindfolded Rubber band Ninja.

There are days that I’m not interpreting, networking, or selling. I am stuck in the office working at a desk like many translators that are in front of a computer all day long. There are things that I do to keep my blood pumping in the body and brain. Periodically it is necessary to clear my head, so I do random things throughout the day.

1. I quickly run out of the office into the parking lot and back. It works great for waking me up and getting me back on track.
2. Sometimes a really good Salsa is played and Emily my wife who by the way is also my partner is convinced to join me in a brief random dance.
3. Pushups, jumping jacks, and walking also helps.
4. One of my favorite random actions is putting on a blindfold and becoming Rubber band ninja. I use my keen sense of hearing to target anyone in the office. It is amazing how accurate and quick my blindfolded rubber band skills are. It is also quite entertaining to sense people all around me panicking and scrambling to get out of the way.

5. Naps.

There is a sweet spot in the day shortly after lunch when my eyes become heavy and nothing is working to get me out of the funk. At the very moment I realize that my brain is freezing up much like an older computer. It is at that crucial time that a nap is required. Twenty minutes later, more or less I wake up and go back to work. Granted, sometimes I wake up a little cranky, but always more productive. Without the nap I will continue to trudge through and not even realize how little is really getting accomplished. Working longer and later is not good for the mental state, especially if it interferes with family time.

Ok, so I run, bike or swim early in the day. I take time to furiously and emotionally write for self, business and art. A schedule is made. Blindfolded Rubber band Ninja, or Duct Tape Man (Don’t ask)sometimes makes appearances. there is the random dance, jump, walk and cartwheel. Naps are stolen when the calling is felt. Sure, you can call me crazy, but I think that releasing a little crazy throughout the day actually keeps me sane. Some people work so hard throughout their life in order to reach a goal. They forget to enjoy the extraordinary journey of life. Why not work hard, but take time to create joyous moments in the journey. Am I crazy? Probably, but at least it is managed well.