Episode 78: Smart Habits for Continuing Your Professional Development with Eman Abdo We know the beginning of the year is the time when many people set their intentions and aspirations for the year, and this often includes training and development goals. So, we thought we should dedicate our first episode of the year to professional development. We’re very happy to welcome a guest who takes continuing professional development (CPD) very seriously and openly shares her CPD journey on LinkedIn. We are excited to be joined by Eman Abdo. Eman is an English-to-Arabic translator specializing in localization and transcreation with a special focus on marketing, e-learning content, and game localization. She studied translation at the Faculty of Al-Alsun. With more than five years of experience in the game localization industry, Eman has worked on the localization of AAA games, mobile games, and indie games. She is also the author of the Egypt Localization Guide and the force behind the localization of many apps and games in Arabic. She is a gamer at her core, aspiring to change how Arabic is represented globally. Tune in to hear our conversation on: • What services Eman offers, and how her freelance career has evolved over time • What values led her to become a freelancer, and how they developed in her business • What smart habits have been crucial in her career, and what systems, processes, or habits have helped her stay focused and organized • What habit she had earlier in her career that she no longer practices, and why • How Eman approaches continuing professional development (CPD): how far in advance she plans the courses or webinars she wants to attend and where she looks for them • How she chooses which CPD events to sign up for and decides which areas of her business, skills, or services she wants to grow and develop • How she budgets for CPD • How she stays on track and makes time to complete the courses she signs up for • What Eman does after she completes training courses to implement what she learned or incorporate it into her marketing activities • Eman’s tips on how to approach CPD strategically and consistently Resources we mentioned in this episode: • Follow Eman on LinkedIn • Eman’s webinar “Game Localization in the Arabic-Speaking World” (register by the end of January 2023 to take advantage of the discount!) • Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal See the full list of links and resources for this episode: https://smarthabitsfortranslators.com/podcast-episodes/78