Working out manageable schedules for both interns and supervisors

Your students are happy to be back in school, but they may be feeling overwhelmed when they look at their busy schedules—packed with classes, activities, and an internship. It’s the perfect time for them to evaluate their priorities and maintain manageable schedules with their intern supervisors. And your reputation is at stake, too, since you are responsible to the supervisors for your students’ performance.

You can support student efforts by providing them with a semester calendar and directions to fill in important dates such as class times and holidays. Classes are their top priority, so they should calculate how much study time is required for each class, and add that to the calendar. Next, ask them to fill in the hours required for their internship. They’ve probably already worked out their internship schedule to be compatible with class requirements. Let them know it would not be helpful to their future careers to keep changing the internship hours.

The one area that students can control is activities. Unless they’re on scholarship for athletics, they can probably put activities at the bottom of their list for one semester.  If necessary, suggest that your students delete activities and concentrate on their internships.

If students and supervisors are having problems in managing a timetable that is satisfactory for both, you might recommend a few alternatives. Could the internship hours be changed to fewer days with longer hours or to include weekends or extended for a longer period to fulfill the number of total hours required? Could the student perform some of the work virtually or remotely from his/her dorm room via the computer? Could a student reschedule a class for another semester to accommodate the internship hours? Your role here is as a mediator, ensuring that both parties are satisfied with the results.

Teaching time management skills to your interns

A time management seminar for your students early in their internship program could save them time and ensure their success as they balance their heavy work and class loads. Offer the same workshop at different times to accommodate their various schedules.  Remind your students that they will impress their internship supervisors more by learning how to manage their time efficiently rather than working overtime.

First, help your students improve their organizational skills. They can start by making to-do lists at the end of every day for the following day, rating the items in order of importance from most important to least and adding a time limit for each entry. Arranging similar duties in blocks of time can help, too. Multitasking is another skill made easier thanks to technology. Your students could use an iPad to send emails or do internet research while traveling or waiting for a meeting.  Some people work on computers and make business calls simultaneously.

The phone, whether cell or land line, is the biggest tool to help manage time. Instruct your students to stand while they talk on the phone, encouraging them to keep the call short. Another time-saving technique involves not making or taking any calls until a task is finished or scheduling all phone conversations at an appointed time. One idea is to make calls and leave a message, knowing that the other person is unavailable but will receive the necessary information.

Wise meeting arrangements can also improve time management. Your students will find that if they go to someone else’s office or room for a meeting, they can leave more easily than if someone has settled down in their office or room. At meetings and in correspondence, direct your students to state the point of the meeting or letter at the very beginning, keep the information short, and then be clear on what action is expected. Having an agenda and timetable for every meeting contributes to a shorter meeting, too.

A time management seminar for your students early in their internship program could save them time and ensure their success as they balance their heavy work and class loads. Offer the same workshop at different times to accommodate their various schedules.  Remind your students that they will impress their internship supervisors more by learning how to manage their time efficiently rather than working overtime.

First, help your students improve their organizational skills. They can start by making to-do lists at the end of every day for the following day, rating the items in order of importance from most important to least and adding a time limit for each entry. Arranging similar duties in blocks of time can help, too. Multitasking is another skill made easier thanks to technology. Your students could use an iPad to send emails or do internet research while traveling or waiting for a meeting.  Some people work on computers and make business calls simultaneously.

The phone, whether cell or land line, is the biggest tool to help manage time. Instruct your students to stand while they talk on the phone, encouraging them to keep the call short. Another time-saving technique involves not making or taking any calls until a task is finished or scheduling all phone conversations at an appointed time. One idea is to make calls and leave a message, knowing that the other person is unavailable but will receive the necessary information.

Wise meeting arrangements can also improve time management. Your students will find that if they go to someone else’s office or room for a meeting, they can leave more easily than if someone has settled down in their office or room. At meetings and in correspondence, direct your students to state the point of the meeting or letter at the very beginning, keep the information short, and then be clear on what action is expected. Having an agenda and timetable for every meeting contributes to a shorter meeting, too.