I thought that I would just write about something I’m struggling with this week: time management. As a person, I tend to be very busy and to like being very busy. I balance five classes, a manager position at Phonathon, writing for two publications, a couple clubs, a personal life, and of course my internship search. This week is particularly brutal because I have essays due in every class—so it’s crunch time. But whether it’s crunch time for you too or if you’re looking ahead towards midterms, I hope these seven tips on planning your internship search into a busy schedule help.

DON’T BE THIS PANDA!

1. Meet with CP&R. If you’re feeling swamped, stop by CP&R for drop-in hours or make a meeting for a time that works best for you. CP&R can help you figure out where to start when you feel overwhelmed.
2. Don’t panic! List! Write out all the things you need to do and get organized right away. That way it’s all right in front of you and you can tackle whatever needs to be done.
3. Set goals for yourself. Fitting in the internship search seems really daunting, but if you set small goals for yourself, it can be much more manageable. I’m setting the goal of applying to one position or emailing one alumna per day for myself.
4. Keep a list of deadlines. Know when your deadlines are and stay on top of them! That way you’ll know that the application for that awesome tech startup internship is due on the same day as your midterm and can plan for that
5. Designate a weekly time to your internship search. Blocking off a couple hours every week just to work on internships is a good way to keep you constantly working on it and a good way to prevent you from making your internship search a form of procrastination. We are all busy and don’t need any more procrastination techniques!
6. Work with friends. I find working on applications next to friends really helpful. It keeps me focused and we can help each other with cover letters and phrasings. Friends can also be a good resource for cool opportunities if you’re pursuing the same fields.
7. Cross it off. Can you tell that I love lists? I really do and one reason I like making to do lists is that I get to cross things off and that helps me feel accomplished. It’s important to feel like you’re making progress in your internship search, so cross things off when you finished them!

College alone can be daunting. We’re all doing a lot and I’m well aware that I’m nowhere near the busiest person at Scripps. It’s still really important to explore your options and pursue an internship. Hopefully these tips will make time management easier for you in your own search. Good luck!