After my second week of work here in the city’s center of Sweden, I have learned quite a few things about time management both inside and outside of the office. Adjusting to a new environment and workplace are difficult enough tasks separately, so doing both at the same time sometimes proves quite the challenge.

Firstly, while inside the office, time management is the most important skill to have in order to succeed at your internship. If you cannot balance tasks and prioritize things based on the needs of your office, then you will not be producing quality work for your boss. This doesn’t mean you have to be stressing yourself out and working your internship as hard as you can, but it does mean that the more you plan and organize tasks, the better your projects will turn out. For example, I am working with my company’s social media accounts which requires routine posting. However, on Thursday my boss asked me to make a client survey based on specific needs of our company. So, knowing that was more important than posting on their social media, I took a break and finished the survey that day so that he could review it over the weekend.

Knowing what tasks to give your attention to at any given moment will help everyone be less stressed as well. If your boss is counting on you to finish something with a deadline, they expect you to be able to know just how much attention and time the task needs in order to get it done by the time they ask. I would say that time management is one of my stronger skills, so I actually do pretty well with this here. If anything, I feel like I finish tasks too early and am looking for more work.

Time management skills are also vital to public transportation and commuting to work. In order to even get to the office on time, you have to plan your route in advance and know what time trains you are taking. For example, today I was heading to work like usual and my train always comes at 7:31, but this morning as I was walking to the station, it pulled up at 7:27 and I couldn’t quite reach it in time. This meant I had to wait for another 10 minutes before the next train arrived, and the next one was actually late as well! This is rare for Stockholm in my opinion as their public transport is usually extremely accurate and on-time. However, because I managed my time well, I had buffer time and usually end up getting to the office early. So the train was late, but I till arrived on time.

Time management skills are also useful outside the office during your free time in Sweden! I have learned that even though I am tired after work or on the weekends, and I just want to stay inside to relax, I need to manage my time so that I maximize my experience here in Sweden. This mindset has allowed me to rarely be in my room and see more than I thought in the span of just two weeks! I absolutely love the small adventures I go on such as finding a new spot in the city, stumbling upon a new coffee shop for fika, or exploring an area of Stockholm that I previously did not know existed. If I did not plan out how I was going to spend my day, I probably would just go home after work.

Trust me it’s very tempting, but if you decide you will give yourself a certain amount of rest, the free time in between is much more than you would think! My favorite way to spend my time when I don’t feel like doing something too extravagant is at the little park by our apartment complex. The path follows one of Stockholm’s many bodies of water and takes you past gorgeous boats, nature, and bridges. I have seen so many beautiful things during these walks! The other day I saw a deer with large antlers, and the day before that I watched a family of swans swim as the sun was setting.

To wrap up this week, I wanted to give a few other ideas on how I choose to spend my time. I love going to the flee markets on the weekends here, there are so many interesting things! I also love thrifting, they have quite a few vintage shops that are fun to pop in if you’re in the area. I also enjoy getting dinner or fika with friends. There are super cute coffee shops here and most of them are very conveniently located for a little stop by after or during work hours. Finally, I really enjoy doing the “touristy” things here such as going to museums, shops, or Gamla Stan. I sometimes feel like I should be acting like a local since I work here, or that it is embarrassing to do typical tourist things. In reality, they’re usually the most fun activities.

See everyone next week!