This last project has me terrified. I'll admit it. I came out of the last project needing 50 hours for my internship requirements and notified my site supervisor of the situation. With this final project, I've taken a lot more time than I had in the past. After finding out that the other intern completed the projects with extra time as well, I look back at my timesheet and wonder if I could have taken more time with my previous assignments. I didn't realize I was working quite so fast (relatively speaking, since it always seems to take me ages to actually get the work submitted) on previous assignments.
I think another aspect of 'time management' that hasn't been addressed is the simple fact of managing productivity versus time spent. If x amount of hours are required then it's important to track, from the beginning, just how many hours you're spending on your work and communicate that clearly with your site supervisor with the indication that you would like more work.
As I look to the future (I'll be interning on-site at a library over the summer), I realize I've learned a lot from this internship, not just about libraries and my learning objectives, but also about managing my time in an environment where a certain number of hours need to be completed by a certain time. When I began looking for internships for next semester, I'd already realized the number of hours I needed in order to complete this internship was going to be difficult to achieve and, with that in mind, I planned my 135 hours for my summer internship accordingly with some time to spare so I would finish before the final week. That seems to be one of the greatest challenges of the virtual internship (it keeps coming up), you don't have to 'be there' so you have to make sure to monitor your time because you may never actually leave the house in order to complete your work.
So... the Saturday before my final report is due, I have 10 hours remaining of the original 50. This last report (for better or worse) really has taken a lot longer for me to research (from the AVW website) and write but I'm going through it with a fine toothed comb just to be sure. At some point at the beginning of April, I was ready to admit defeat, take my NC and move on, but I'm determined to make it work. I'll be able to put in a few hours this morning before work and tomorrow after work. And then it will be done.
This last week, I've come to realize the importance of morale boosters. Working for so long on one project by yourself is an isolating experience and I've noticed my mood has been a lot gloomier the past few weeks. I filled my iPod with my favorite songs and they've become essential to my daily routine in order to keep me going.
No comments:
Post a Comment