It’s perfectly okay to have a day at work where you feel slightly below par. You might find yourself unable to get into the right corporate headspace, or maybe the weekly intern tasks are starting to appear somewhat unexciting. I’m here to tell you that 1. It’s normal and your colleagues feel that way too sometimes––we’re human beings, after all, and 2. There are many ways in which you can still make the most out of your day at the office. Here’s a few of them!
- Have a chat with someone outside your usual department
Most offices are divided up into several divisions. From marketing to legal: the tree of organization can know many, many branches. Employees within other departments than the one you’re interning for could have an entirely different view on the company. For example, as a marketing intern, your job might be to present the company to the world in a very optimistic manner, whereas people working within a legal team might have more of a strict outlook on the company’s practices. If you really don’t care for any of the other departments, then chatting with people outside your usual bubble can still be very refreshing, and a lot of fun. People often carry inspiring stories or even juicy secrets with them. If you’re feeling social, this option will definitely be worth your time. If not, this next one is probably a little more up your alley.
- Challenge yourself with some New York Times word puzzles
Don’t get me wrong, the tasks that make up your internship probably take up too much of your time already, but we all deserve a small break here and there. Or maybe you just need a tiny boost in serotonin so you can take on the next part of your day with extra confidence. Well then, let me tell you about some word games The New York Times produces on the daily. You might already be familiar with Wordle where the objective is to guess a random word within 5 attempts. But there’s more, like Connections and Strands. They’re great to reset your brain so you can approach your intimidating internship undertakings from a new perspective. Time to get those communication science brain gears turning!
- Go stalk your internship supervisor
My final tip for you is to ask your internship supervisor what they’re currently working on and whether they could explain it to you. It’s a great way to bond some more and you’ll definitely learn some new things! Maybe they’ll realize they actually need some help with a really interesting task, and you, the intern, are just the one to make it happen. But always remember: you are an intern, and you’re there to learn. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you ever find yourself completely stressing out over something, just remember that making mistakes is okay and it’s part of the process of doing an internship. It’s really true!