The transition from college to becoming a young professional can sometimes be stressful. This is just normal given the adjustment that a student needs to do prior to entering internship. However, there are instances when internship can be very time-consuming and demanding, which can increase stress in the process. Managing stress in internship is important not just to improve quality of life but also to increase productivity at work.

Take care of your body

The first step towards managing stress in the workplace is to understand your body. You need to listen to your body on a daily basis to determine if you are having difficulties coping up with work-related stress. If you start to think you lack sleep or feel fatigued, this could be associated with stress and it could result to exhaustion, worn out, sleep deprivation, insomnia or even loss of appetite. During internship, it is best to sleep properly each night, eat nutritious foods, take supplements and most importantly, unwind during offs or weekends.

Everything that you are doing should be balanced because the body needs time to recover from heavy and stressful workload/school schedule. Also, you can never incorporate other important stress managing techniques if you do not understand your body’s needs. Whenever you pay attention to these, you can prevent think clearly and be able to prevent from becoming over-fatigued at work and school.

Take short breaks during work hours

Taking breaks throughout your working hours will help you freshen up so you can better focus on your next tasks. Whether you walk outside to grab a cup of coffee or catch fresh air or hang out with other employees in the pantry/break room, what’s important is that you’re maximizing your breaks to refresh your mind once you go back to your station. If the work load is heavy and you cannot leave your work desk, you can simply stand up, walk inside the room, or focus your attention to other things so that you will not feel burn out. Utilizing breaks properly is a type of coping mechanism that can help interns handle pressure at work whenever they feel stressed.

Talk to someone

Adjusting yourself to the nature of work at the internship site can sometimes be stressful. Whenever you feel overwhelmed with this kind of adjustment, it is a wise thing to talk to someone from the job site, specifically with your supervisor. They would be more than willing to help you deal with the challenges you are likely to face on a daily basis. In turn, this will make your adjust process faster than usual. Effective communication with people at work can help you manage your work properly and understand that stressors can be reduced despite the busy workload.