20 (or so) questions on how Jonathan (@jonathanddownie) works

This series of posts was inspired by Lifehacker’s How I Work series, which I’ve been reading for quite some time and thoroughly enjoy. It’s about time we discover how our colleagues work and get to know them a little better.

If you want to participate in this fun series, send us an email at info@linguagreca.com so we can send you the Word template where you can fill in your answers and your bio (incl. your site/blog/social media links) and then send it back to us as an attachment along with your photo (optional but preferred). If you don’t like any of the questions, just delete them and add your own. You can read the previous interviews here.

Location: The sunny (sometimes) city of Edinburgh, UK
Desired location: Wherever my wife and kids are
Current work title: Man of many hats: Conference interpreter, PhD student, translator, writer, blogger and blog co-editor, ITI Board member, husband, nappy changer
Desired work title: Just change “PhD student” to “lecturer” and you are there!
Languages you have studied or currently speak: French, English, Glaswegian, and I am currently studying German. Some of my cheekier colleagues would add “nonsense”.
The project you’re most proud of: Apart from the PhD? In translation, it would have to be a translation I did of a historical theology paper. It was a really interesting and challenging job. With interpreting, I know any job I do with the right colleagues, especially my favourite boothmate, Lora Ward, will be one to be proud of.
Your current computer setup: Dell Inspiron laptop. For me an Apple is something you eat.
Do you own a smartphone? Kind of. My LG-C360 is almost a smartphone.
Favorite time of the day: Mid-afternoon. I do all my best work then.
Favorite gadget (apart from computer & smartphone): I was going to say my digital camera but baby wipes come out on top for sheer usefulness. One day, someone needs to invent an iWipe!
Next conference/event you’re planning to attend: I am doing two guest lectures in November, one in Belfast and one in Leicester. I am also going to the International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting the same month. I need to get to another ITI Conference.
How many hours per day do you usually work: It really depends. Anything between 5 and 8 is normal.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? An off-the-charts extrovert. Comes with being an interpreter, I think.
Are you an early-riser or a night-owl? Both. A necessity when you have young kids.
What do you listen to while you work? I love praise & worship music, especially Israel Houghton, Deliriou5?, Hillsong United, Kari Jobe and Christy Nockels. I also love the sound of my son laughing.

And a few non-work related questions to get more personal 🙂

Your babies or pets, incl. names and ages: Two gorgeous children: Joshua (19 months), Hope (1 month).
Next city/country you want to visit: I would love to visit Iceland and China.
Favorite vacation place: Anywhere with my family. Seriously. Still, Egypt was incredible.
Favorite book: The Bible, followed by anything by John Ortberg, John Bevere or John Maxwell. I seem to have a thing about “Johns” at the moment.
Favorite song: Revelation Song by Kari Jobe or God You are Good by Israel Houghton.
What are you currently reading? These interview questions! I am also really loving a PhD thesis by a fantastic scholar called Elisabet Tiselius (@tulkur on Twitter), my NLT Bible and Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley.

Author bio

Jonathan Downie is a conference interpreter, PhD student, writer, blogger, translator and public speaking coach. He interprets in both directions between French and English working in conferences and corporate events in just about any field and translates theology, tourism, social science, employment and general business texts from French to English. He also writes and edits Rock Your Talk, a blog for those who want to keep developing their public speaking skills.