I’ve learned a lot about the challenges and rewards that come with being part of a professional technical team. One of the most important lessons I’ve encountered so far is the need to manage my time effectively. This internship at University College Dublin has placed me in a completely new environment, one that requires me to think on my feet and adapt quickly. As with any new experience, there are bound to be unfamiliar situations, and I’ve found that one of the biggest hurdles has been figuring out how to balance multiple responsibilities while still meeting expectations. Time management has been a major challenge for me during this first week, but it has also proven to be one of the most rewarding skills I’ve started developing.

Throughout my life, I have always been someone who has sucked at managing time. I could know I have to do something, and then spend the next 4 hours doing nothing. Procrastination has always been a part of my routine, and while it might slide in a school setting now and then, it doesn’t fly in a professional work environment. Starting this internship at UCD has been a wake-up call for me in that regard. It’s forced me to face that weakness head-on and begin building better habits that will help me grow and succeed. My main goal is to not get distracted. As long as I focus on one task I should be able to get that task done without distractions. However, as soon as I start trying to organize my tasks, that’s when I get distracted. That’s when my mind starts to wander, and before I know it, I’m thinking about other things, checking my phone, or getting lost in small details that don’t matter. It’s like the act of planning becomes a distraction in itself. Figuring out how to organize my tasks has been the biggest struggle of the first week.

At the beginning of the week, I found it difficult to approach the tasks I was given. Each morning, I would be given a set of tasks, some small, some large, but it was never clear which tasks to do first. One task could be sending an email to someone, and another task could be fixing the Knowledge articles and it’s been a struggle to get the prioritization right. One thing was clear, though, and that if I didn’t figure out some type of strategy for challenging these tasks, I would risk falling behind. That’s why problem-solving is so important in life, and I am glad I am used to being put in situations like this whether that be from my previous jobs or academically. 

I came up with a pretty simple strategy to organize the order in which I do my tasks. I do the ones that are most important first, such as emailing someone. These tasks are obvious to do first because they need to be done that day. Then there are the long jobs that are something I am meant to be working on over the week. The order in which I tackle these is unique to me. I look at how much time I have left, either before lunch or at the end of the day. Then I work on the task I know I can get done in that amount of time. I do this because I don’t like starting a task and not finishing it in one sitting. However, I know I can’t always do that, and that’s why I usually do all my long tasks in the second half of the day. This way, I have a cycle and don’t have to worry when I am working on them.  

Even though I try to create a rough outline of a schedule, I am working in IT, so many times I have no clue when I need to help someone. This curveball adds another layer of difficulty  I’ve learned to build some breathing room into my schedule so that I can adapt when needed. Sometimes I’ll even reorder my task list on the fly, depending on how the day is going. It’s all about staying aware, being responsive, and not getting too stuck in a rigid plan.

Practicing this kind of planning each day has already improved my ability to stay organized and focused. In the end, this internship is giving me the opportunity to develop not just technical skills, but also personal and professional habits that will benefit me far beyond this summer. Time management is a critical skill in any job, and I’m glad I’m getting the chance to strengthen it early on in my career.

Dinner with my Cousin, Her Boyfriend, and My Aunt.