Although the inherently fluid nature of Signature means that most plans go awry (usually for the best), I find it useful to make schedules anyway, simply to ensure that I am getting the most out of my time and that I feel confident I will finish my work before deadlines.
That being said, when assigned to create a timeline for my full-year Signature project, I may have freaked out just a little. I don’t like freaking out, so I sought solace statistics, which have been a constant force of good in my life.
Last year while taking Latin Literature with Mrs. Diane M, each student had to keep a log of their work, titled Opera Ver MMXI - “Work, Spring 2021”. I found that keeping a log helped me keep on track as I got to closely monitor how my moods affected my efficiency in class- when I had a strict schedule to keep to, for example, I tended to get more work done than if I was simply left to translate with no concrete goals. One of the ways that I tracked my progress was through a word count, which I would carefully check and update each day.
Here’s a real excerpt of one hour's work from my daily log:
“Fixed/replied to 7 comments on my 4/2 work.
Translated the rest of the first text. (40 words).
Chose my next piece to translate (a letter from a French Jesuit priest who was captured in upstate NY & tortured for a year in the late 1700s).
Typed half of the letter up onto my google documents.
Scanned the pages, created a new folder on google doc, and uploaded them to that folder so you can see the original texts + background for them.”
This wealth of information and data allowed me, several months later, to go back and track how much work I can realistically get done in a week or a month of work. Hopefully, by using this data, my timeline will therefore be more achievable than what it would be if I simply guestimated how much I am capable of.
Overall, I found that if I work hard for 4 hours a week will get me through everything I want to do by the time the school year ends. This fits well with my Signature schedule, as I am scheduled to work on Signature for 5 hours a week, so I have an extra hour for meetings with people like my manager and my Signature Liason (shoutout to Dr. Robert M!).
Four hours of work roughly equals 200 words translated.
“Wait!” You think. “Isn’t this student supposed to be good at Latin? Don’t they have six years of Latin experience? If so, how are the HECK is she so slow at translating?”
The answer? Latin is really difficult and speed isn't a priority to me.
Even with over half a decade of experience under my belt, Latin is tricky enough that getting through two hundred words a week is about all I can do. My main goals when translating are to accurately and respectfully portray what the author is saying, not to do it as fast as possible. This significantly impacts the amount of work I can get done.
With all that being said, here is my rough timeline for the year:
October - Translate Iphis and Ianthe, Book IX, Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
November - Translate Nisus and Euryalus, Book IX, Aeneid, Vergil.
December - Translate Nisus and Euryalus, Book IX, Aeneid, Vergil.
January - Do any catch-up translations necessary. Read Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith. Rough draft first story.
February - Translate Hermaphroditus and Salamacus.
March - Finish translating Hermaphroditus and Salamacus. Rough draft second story.
April - Rough draft third story. Edit all three. Start working on final presentation. Translate Camilla just for fun, if I have time.
(don't understand why I would want to translate something just 'for fun'? Look at the art below and then try telling me you don't want spend as much time as physically possible thinking about Camilla!)
As I mentioned before, this schedule will obviously be subject to change as the year progresses. However, it has allowed me to clearly lay out what I am hoping to achieve, and by when. It makes my project much less daunting than it originally seemed!