Time abroad so far has felt incredibly slow – during the whole first week, I felt like I had been there a year with all of the activities we did. As well as incredibly fast – I am almost three weeks through the experience, and I feel like I just got here. Managing my time at my internship has been relatively easy. Our supervisor tends to structure things one week at a time. We have overarching goals outlined in the Marketing Plan, but each individual activity feels very manageable. For example, last week he had us working on the affiliate sites where he posts office listings. Each one needed a full update with the entire new property. This felt a bit daunting since I hadn’t gotten a handle on the entirety of The Park’s offerings. I also wasn’t sure what the space would include once it was all renovated. But once we got a handle on the photos, prices, sizes, and writing, each website was an easy task. My coworker and I split the websites, seeing how many we could each get done in a certain amount of time, and by the end of the week they were finalized and published. 

Since our roles are somewhat all-encompassing, we do what is needed each week, and it’s not very repetitive or predictable. This means that tasks can be day-to-day, and what is needed that day can be finished within the shift. I assume I will be starting with signage and posters this week, so I am interested to see how long that process takes me depending on the assignment. But all of this to say, most of my struggles with time management have been happening outside of work hours. For one thing, I am still getting my brain and body used to the 7-8 hour workday Monday-Friday. I haven’t had a schedule like this since high school, and I have really fallen out of that routine in college. Because of these long hours, I am very tired at the end of the workday. It is hard to get a good activity planned in the late afternoon or evening, knowing I have to get up early again the next day. We have also had very busy weekends, starting with the orientation activities, then with the Djurgarden day trip, and just last weekend was Midsommar. Going forward, I will be out of the city on a trip every weekend until almost the end of July. With all of this on my plate, I am trying to make sure I get the most out of my time within the city itself, and on my short weekend trips in other towns or countries. 

Midsommar weekend was a great start to really embrace this new city I am living in. We went on a picnic at a nearby city park, hiking at a national park, and a walk around the oldest active town in Sweden, Sigtuna. This was a well-balanced weekend, as the long, tiring activities only took up a few hours during the beginning-middle of the day, and then the rest of the night I could take at my own pace, without wanting to just crash in the apartment for hours. And alternatively, if I am mentally and physically exhausted from a hike, or feeling sick, I do have the time to rest and get my body back up and ready the next day. This is something I want to keep working on so at 5 pm after a long work day, I have the energy to go on a walk around a new neighborhood, or a swim at a nearby beach. 

In that realm – I am working on planning my days ahead of time as much as I can. This goes with tasks at my internship, as well as activities before/after. On the weekends, the plans I have with groups of other students and within the program have made it easy. But on the weekdays, the days are up to me to schedule out. I have gone into weeks with general ideas – that I want to buy something for my journal, I want to find a coffee shop, I need to find a gift for a loved one, etc. But once I find a shop on the commute, get there and leave, I am left wandering with nothing to do. I find better success in grouping stops together. If a neighborhood has a good restaurant, a shop where I can find a gift, and a convenience store for something I need in the apartment, it helps keep my momentum going and fill my days so I don’t wind up bored or tired. I am interested to see how I will keep my time managed with all my weekend trips coming up!