By: Lauren Flieg
My
name is Lauren Flieg and I am currently a dietetic intern in Saint
Louis University’s dietetic internship and master’s program.
SLU’s internship is more than I could have asked for and I have
truly enjoyed my experience so far, but the program is very rigorous.
It requires many hours of work on top of rotations and class time. It
is necessary to stay organized and on top of your game to
successfully complete the internship/master’s program while being
able to enjoy it as well. Therefore, I thought I would share some
time management tips for a dietetic internship.
Buy
a Planner!
This
is a must. With having crazy busy schedules, it can be easy to forget
an assignment or task that needs to be completed. After buying the
planner, go through your class syllabus and write down dates of all
the homework assignments and tests. Then go through your rotation
schedule and make notes of pre-work that needs to be done before each
rotation and a timeline of when you are going to finish everything
else on your rotation checklist. Also, note how long it will take
you to drive to your rotation sites. I have been at a hospital that
was 20 minutes from my house and at another that took me 1 ½ hours
to get there. Driving may take up a big chunk of your day, which can
interfere with task completion if not planned properly! Take the time
to look at your schedule every night so you can start the next day
knowing what goals your focus should be on. Just remember, you know
you best; therefore, set your planner with goals that are attainable
to you.
Develop
a Routine
Since
there is so much going on at once throughout the internship (while
still trying to have a social life outside of the internship) a
routine is very helpful. Getting a planner can help you with this!
Routines can promote structure, build good habits, and decrease
stress. This can encourage organization and in itself be a time
management trick!
The
Pomodoro Technique
This
technique is something that I found very helpful when I am having
trouble completing tasks or procrastination has taking over. This was
brought to my attention my senior year of undergrad and I wish I
would have known about it earlier. The Pomodoro technique promotes
breaks so that your full attention can be given when working on
homework. The steps include:
- Decide on a task to complete
- Set a timer for at least 25 minutes and no more than an hour
- Work on the task until the timer goes off
- Take a 5-10-minute short break
- Repeat 4 times.
- After the 4th repetition, take a longer break. (I take 30 minutes to an hour break)
There
is even a timer online at https://tomato-timer.com/
that can be used but a cell phone works too.
This technique may seem a little silly but honestly, you’d be
surprised with the productivity and focus that derives from this
method. This also helps with better time management because it aids
in determining how long certain tasks will typically take. So, try it
out and see if it works for you. If it doesn’t that is okay but if
it does, it can be EXTREMELY helpful!
Take
a Day Off
Wait,
what? I thought this blog was supposed to give me tips to manage my
time to help me get things done. Well…Yes that is true, but
everyone needs a day off every once in a while. SLU’s program,
along with many other dietetic internship programs, requires a lot of
attention and focus but constantly going and never taking a break
will wear you down. If you are so tired that reading another page of
your text book will take the next 20 minutes, then put the book down
and take the night off. Go to bed early, watch Netflix, workout, do
anything other than school related stuff. Now, this is something that
can’t be done every night, but it is necessary every once in a
while. Giving your mind a break from working all the time can
re-energize the brain and the body.
Download
an App
Pretty
much everyone these days has a phone, so why not use it to help you
stay focused? There a few apps that can aid in staying motivated to
complete tasks. If your phone distracts you often during a
homework/study session, then the app “forest” is the one for you.
This apps motto is “stay focused, be present”. You pick a
timeframe to work on a task e.g. 20 minutes, 35 minutes, 1 hour. The
goal is to build a forest and while you work, a tree grows. However,
every time you use your phone during that time frame, it damages the
tree. When you stay focused and allow a tree to finish growing, you
gain points which can be used to ‘buy’ different trees and plants
to grow. Also, this app shows the total amount of study hours you put
in each week. The great thing about Forest is that it is linked with
the organization Trees for the Future, which actually helps plant
trees in developing countries.
Another
app called Todoist can help manage tasks and projects wherever you
are! This can act as a planner on the go, keeping track of everything
that needs to be done. Todoist aids in organization and reaching
goals. The thing I like about this app is that you can send yourself
reminders, prioritize tasks in order of importance, and it is free!
These
are just 2 of many, so if you think something like this would benefit
you, check these out or find one that works for you!
I
hope these few tips about time management aids in the success of your
dietetic internship! Thanks for reading and good luck!
Sources:
Pomodoro
technique: https://www.focusboosterapp.com/the-pomodoro-technique
Forest
app: https://www.forestapp.cc/en/
Picture
sources:
https://www.iheartplanners.com/2016/02/10/how-to-color-code-your-planner/
http://www.marcellobrivio.com/blog/discovering-the-pomodoro-technique/
https://www.gadgetbytenepal.com/forest-stay-focused-a-unique-app-to-get-you-off-your-phone/
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