Ahoj everyone! Hope you are all doing well. The first week at PSA BDP was an incredible experience as this real-world application is building upon my classroom knowledge, previous supply chain internship with Eaton Corporation, and my international internship in Tel Aviv. This international logistics perspective combines the international perspective and agility I learned to be applied in a new situation combined with the hard skills I have learned in-class and the actions of procurement, manufacturing, and distribution of a product through Eaton. My daily tasks have been to coordinate our clients shipping order requests with the various carriers and ports to transport through the oceans and seas for the end customer to receive. Although it has been a daily task to learn each new process to coordinate and the software to do so, I have been slowly but surely learning the aspects of the company such as standard operating procedures, the company culture and business language, and responsibilities. This learning and adjustment period has been one of learning, change, as well as making mistakes and learning how to fix them.

Being able to adjust to a new living environment, the tasks of an internship and learning new skills, and balancing it all can be overwhelming. There are a few things that have helped me through this transition. One thing that has supported and helped me is prioritization and the skills of time management. I live by my calendar and to-do lists, as well as some other tools such as the Eisenhower Matrix and blocking time out for certain tasks. Another aspect that has helped me beyond blocking out time to stretch, walk around, and take a coffee break, is participating in hobbies that interest me and are productive for myself and for society. Such things like morning routines, going to the gym, and experiencing and adventuring in Prague. Furthermore, having a support system of coworkers, peers going through the same experience, family, friends, and locals are a great resource to have as I learn to adjust to this new city and new internship.

Building meaningful relationships with my coworkers and peers is something that I really value, prioritize, and believe makes the difference with the internship and work experience. By getting to make personal connections with others, asking them about their lives, hobbies, and what they enjoy about work and personally, it has the potential to make both of our experiences working together better. We have the potential to work collaboratively, learning from one another and growing together by being exposed to different perspectives and backgrounds which forms a new perspective and bond. The team mentioned being excited about having a native English speaker on the team for the summer as they can practice their English and conversational skills with me, and I have the opportunity to practice my conversational Czech and learn more about them and their career paths and experiences.

Some of the best skills I have learned to help with time management is to put my phone on do not disturb to minimize distractions and put in my headphones if I am required to focus on something. I also attempt to use technology as a tool and utilize automation to make tasks go quicker. Ensuring I stick to my tasks and to-do list while remembering to take my breaks and setting boundaries such as signing out of work on time and separating my personal and work lives to ensure a healthy balance. The idea of work smarter, not harder is something that should be kept in mind so that we can utilize technology at our disposal to support and ensure a more productive and happier working environment.

One specific example of time management were the mandatory trainings and onboarding meetings that I was required to complete, as they were intensive and time-consuming. I ensured to make a list of everything I needed to complete both with the required trainings and my other tasks. I then set myself a goal based on the estimated time for the task and scheduled myself and set aside time for these tasks to be completed. I sat down at my desk, turned off my phone, and was committed to finishing what I needed to do, as well as learn more about the company and complete the projects given to me by my supervisor. That was a majority of what I did last week, which resulted in me getting my work done in an effective manner.

Outside of learning and managing my tasks this past week at the internship, I had the opportunity to travel to Vienna, Austria and it was an amazing and beautiful experience. Although not all things went perfectly, it was a beautiful city and I hope to go back some day as I did not have nearly enough time to do it all. The Schönbrunn Palace and the beautiful gardens, the City Center, the Philharmonic, their public parks, and so much more was simply incredible.

With Love,

Eliana Goodman