Self-Care as an Ethical Necessity

Self-Care as an Ethical Necessity

By: Athena Matilsky

Be kinder to yourself. Then let your kindness flood the world. -Pema Chödron

Have you ever found yourself skipping lunch, losing sleep and working 12-hour days even though you were your own boss? A few years ago, I had a bit of an epiphany. I, like many of us freelance interpreters, was working for myself. Yet my days were far more grueling than any assigned schedule I had ever received from an outside entity. Why, I asked myself, was I receiving the worst possible employer treatment from myself? In the years since, I have endeavored to be the best boss I can.

Rest is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.

I hope I don’t need to convince anyone that in order to do our best, whether as interpreter or in any other role, we need to keep our mind, body and spirit in tip-top shape. If we are sleep-deprived, we will impact the accuracy of the record in court. If we are hungry, we will make careless mistakes. And if we are treating ourselves worse than even a nightmare boss might do, we and those around us will suffer accordingly. Stretched too thin, we will end up letting somebody down no matter what. In other words, self-care is not a luxury; it is an ethical necessity.

I know I am not alone in this. A colleague recently turned me down after I offered her a business opportunity, because she was sensing burnout and knew she needed a break. Although disappointed, I appreciated her transparency; I would rather she say “no” to me now than bite off more than she can chew and fail at her job later. Most small business owners I know (which includes the majority of interpreters as well) are overworked and overburdened. Bogged down with our to-do lists, we feel constantly as though we are playing catch-up. Reversing this takes discipline, and is ironically harder, at times, than simply saying “yes” to every opportunity that comes our way.

Saying, “no” is a form of self-love.

Here are my top 3 tips for implementing the kind of self-care you need to be the best boss you can to yourself. Even if you are a full-time employee, these tips will help you to make the most of the time that you have.

1. SAY NO. 

We cannot excel at a million projects at once. When I first sat down to be a better boss to myself, I wrote a list of every single project I was involved in; work projects, volunteering, family… everything. Spoiler alert: There were a lot of projects.

Next to each project I put a symbol of a happy face or a frowny face, indicating which situations brought me joy and which ones caused me anguish. Then, I put a dollar sign next to the ones that were economically advantageous. Finally, I drew a big fat line through half of the projects I was involved in.

Maximize financial reward. Maximize fulfillment. Minimize stress. You don’t have to burn bridges, but you are allowed to say “no” when there is too much on your plate. In fact, ethically, you should.

2. BUILD IN BUFFER TIME. 

This can be as simple as allowing for a full fifteen minutes between assignments; remembering to factor in commute time; planning for lunch. I had to remind myself last week that just because I am hyper-focused on my computer doesn’t mean I should stay that way. I’ve started setting alarms so that I get up to stretch and look out the window so I don’t succumb to screen fatigue and constant stress headaches.

3. MAKE HARD STUFF MORE FUN.

What does that mean for me? My best example is one I gave last year at NAJIT’s annual conference where I led the workshop, How to Be Your Own Best Boss. I described how during tax season last year, I took myself out to my favorite restaurant, laptop in tow. The waiter didn’t mind me sitting there while I went through the tedium of organizing receipts, tracking expenses and getting all those numbers down. Of course, don’t display private information for anybody to see, but there are screen protectors for that. I’m planning to do it again this month.

I’ve also done business planning from a blanket at the park. Sky’s the limit; just get creative and make the terrible stuff slightly less terrible.

If you can’t get the task done somewhere fun, then reward yourself later. Schedule in your downtime and do something for you. You’ll be glad you did it, and the people around you will benefit, too.

What about you?

How will you be your own best boss?

Keep the Conversation Going

If this topic resonated with you, be sure to check out our previous blog posts for more insights on the realities of our profession, and the evolving world of judiciary translation and interpreting:

• Not An Infallible Technique, After All— A trusted courtroom technique that usually ensured smooth interpretation failed in one high-pressure moment, forcing a reassessment of judgment, timing, and courtroom dynamics.
• Playing The Infinite Game In Your Interpreting Career — Legal interpreting invites us to think beyond the case in front of us and commit to protecting meaning, due process, and the long-term strength of our profession.
• Let’s Test Your Ethics: The Digital “Assist” — When technological “assistance” begins shaping courtroom perception, are interpreters ethically obligated to adapt—or to raise concerns?

You can find these and more in our blog archives!

Interested in sharing your insights with our community? Check out Writing for The NAJIT Observer to learn how you can contribute.

The images used in this post are sourced from Unsplash. They are used for illustrative purposes only.

Athena Matilsky fell in love with languages the year she turned sixteen. She majored in Spanish interpreting/translation at Rutgers University and also studied French. After graduation, she taught elementary school in Honduras and then returned home to begin freelancing as a medical and court interpreter. She later became a staff interpreter for the NJ judiciary. She has gone on to earn certifications as a healthcare interpreter and a federal court interpreter for Spanish and as a court interpreter for French. Most recently, she received her Master’s Degree in Conference Interpreting from Glendon at York University. She currently works as an interpreter and teacher, training students to acquire the skills necessary to pass state and federal interpreting exams. When she is not writing or interpreting, you may find her practicing acroyoga or studying French.