See what Aleka from Women in Mechanical Engineering (WME) has to say about productivity this summer.
Q: What ways can I be productive if my internship was shortened or cancelled this summer?
A: Glad you asked! Hey y’all! WME here :) This unusual summer calls for creative strategies to stay productive and sane. A lot of our plans have been turned upside down since early March 2020. Here’s some ideas I’ve personally found helpful and others I intend to implement soon. Here’s to staying sharp and industrious! Try ‘em out and comment what you think!
Personal
Maintain a regular sleep schedule and establish a wake up and bedtime similar to what you would have kept during school on campus.
Mark out chunks of the day for productivity. (Stay productive during the hours you normally would have been working at an internship, i.e. 9am-5pm.)
Eat healthy and drink lots of water!
Make a list. Make a schedule. Stick to both.
Get up and move around… try a new workout! UTRecSports revamped their YouTube channel and offers a variety of at-home workouts for you to check out!
Sign up and complete a virtual race/event! Check out Active for a number of virtual events and ideas for all things health and fitness.
Create/reassess your budget
Go through your email inbox
Check-in with friends/family via phone or video call
Educate yourself on current events
Learn a language: Rosetta Stone, DuoLingo, Babbel, etc. (My sister got into sign-language recently and that’s pretty dope! Fun fact: there’s a large deaf population in Austin so it might come in handy while you’re here.)
Take a virtual museum tour! Check out this website for links to virtual tours of famous museums.
Clean out your closet
Volunteer
Learn a new recipe… or learn to cook in general! Allrecipes has a huge database of recipes to get you started or to provide fresh inspiration.
Find a job (I was a Favor deliverer for a while and that was fun! Exploring town and different restaurants and things. My friend got a job cleaning pools this summer and he’s making BANK… just saying.)
Professional
Virtual networking: expand network and check-in with current contacts
Remote work/internship… Here's a virtual internship website I came across!
Set up a blog, podcast, or website
Update your resume, Linkedin profile, etc.
Join a job board: Indeed, Glassdoor, Handshake etc.
Clean or organize your laptop files (LOL this one hit home)
Set up a routine and an ideal workspace
Earn a certificate: Photoshop, Excel, Solidworks, Adobe
Take an informal class… UT offers a number of niche courses that last a weekend or a few weeks. Some of their summer courses include: Adobe Photoshop, Beginning Drawing, Getting Started as a Backyard Beekeeper, Introduction to the Stock Market, and Private Pilot Instruction. Explore more courses here!
Organize notes and school/work materials
Study something unrelated to your subject… UT’s Library system is an extensive resource for any kind of course or genre you might be interested in!
Read a book! AND join a book club or write a review
Get a jump on your coursework
Summer classes
Learn a coding language: Java, C, Python, C++, Virtual Basic… check out edX here for a plethora of courses!
Mentor and be mentored
You can find WME on social media here!
Website: texaswme.weebly.com
Facebook group: Women in Mechanical Engineering at UT
Instagram: @texaswme
Women in Mechanical Engineering (WME) is a tight-knit community dedicated to helping female mechanical engineers at UT Austin expand their networks, develop improved professional and academic skills, and ultimately become the next-generation of female leaders in STEM.
This blog post was written by Aleka Neptune from WME. Aleka is a senior mechanical engineering student and is WME's president.