The Best Time Management Strategies for Dietetic Interns
One of my greatest fears when starting the dietetic internship was the idea of putting my life on “pause” for a year. I’m a busy person by nature and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to successfully implement time management strategies.
As a nutrition student, you don’t exactly cover time management while you’re in medical nutrition therapy class. Now that I’ve completed my dietetic internship, I’m excited to share my top time management strategies with you.
Hi, I’m Kayla Burson and I’m a recent KBDI graduate. You can learn more about me on my IG page. Keep reading to learn more about how I tackled time management, deadlines and the dietetic internship while still enjoying some of my favorite extracurriculars.
You don't have to give up all of your favorite activities.
You might have heard that as a dietetic intern, you can’t have it all. You’ll have to make sacrifices. And while that’s true to some degree, I was able to find a way to balance it all.
I’m someone who really values time with friends and family, adventures outdoors, cooking, leading worship at my church, creating choreography for musicals, and of course, my mental and physical health.
All of these activities and practices make me feel like “me”, so how am I supposed to continue life without doing it all?! If you’re anything like me, this resonates. It’s hard to think about the little sacrifices we have to make, even if it’s for a short period of time.
So what’s the answer? Can you do it all? Well… nobody can be perfect! However, there are ways to arrange your life throughout the internship that allow you to live your life to the fullest, while still prioritizing the internship. Here are a few key time management strategies I’ve learned, some well-established for years, some (very) newly-developed, after learning things the hard way!
1. Make a list with various categories of your To-Dos
Call me old fashioned, but there is nothing more freeing for my mind than getting a pen to paper! All the chaos becomes clear once it’s all on the page.
Make a list with different sections, each with a title associated with that activity/commitment. Mine reads something like this:
- KBDI Internship,
- Paid work
- Music work
- House tasks
- Personal
In each of these lists, write down the timeframe you’re committing to for this task.
Ex: Class-Day pre-work assignment (complete by 01/29). Without this final step, the list will just stare at you and stay untouched! I am guilty of missing this last step.
Become a pro at list-making and a pro at list-executing! And this is evidence-based. You can learn more about the power of writing down your to-do list here.
And if paper lists aren’t you’re thing, you can also use Google Tasks/Calendar or a program like ClickUp! Find a system that works for you.
2. Prep your meals ahead of time and take into account plans for the week.
Meal planning and meal prep are absolutely game changers for me.
If you’re reading this blog post, you probably love food/ cooking as much as I do. This is one of those “activities” that I can still enjoy while doing in the most efficient way!
On Sundays, I shop & prepare all my lunches and dinners for the whole week. That way, I never have to think about what to make, except breakfast each morning!
I start with 14 meals and subtract any I will be eating elsewhere, like eating out on a weekend. I prepare each individual meal in a container, mixing and matching different combinations of protein, carbs, and veggies! I add the sauce/dressing the morning of when I’m packing my food so I’m still choosing what I’m in the mood for.
It can take up to an hour each day to make 2 meals. That’s 7 hours a week. Instead, I spend 2 hours prepping, 1 day a week! Want to get more awesome tips?!
Check out the B.Komplete Blog on Meal-Prep.
And our IG post on Breakfast Ideas for the Busy Intern.
3. Write it all in your Google Calendar.
In my first tip, I mentioned getting pen to paper to get your thoughts out.
I used to love putting everything in a paper planner. My only problem was the difficulty of carrying it around everywhere I went! I’d write things in my phone, my planner, or a notebook. My thoughts were everywhere.
And then one glorious day, my life changed forever. KBDI introduced me to… THE GOOGLE CALENDAR.
I think the only thing that I don’t write in there is when I’m going to sleep. Maybe I should. It’s so helpful to color code your calendar.
Write in when you’re going to the gym. Write in when you’re going to spend an hour working on your business plan. If it’s not in the calendar, it ain’t happening.
4. Utilize all of your time off & allotted vacation days.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there are a lot of future dietitians out there who have always been the “overachiever” *cue applause.
While the desire to be the best may have gotten us to where we are today, I’m here to remind you that burnout is real and rest does not make you weak, it actually makes you strong!
Using all of the designated days off can help you feel like a whole human being with a full and beautiful life.
The dietetic internship is not easy, and when you’re in each rotation, you’re giving 100% because that’s just the best way to learn.
Let yourself rest, recover, and come back better than ever! Even if you’re not planning a vacation, I urge you to use these days for the life tasks that are best completed during business hours, “Adulting” as I like to say!
5. Accept this season of life and your commitment to becoming a registered dietitian.
As much as I love to-do lists, meal-prep, and google calendar, there is nothing better than a simple reminder of my why, and the commitment that I made.
When opportunities come up and I have tough decisions to make, I always remind myself of my core values, and use them as a gauge for my yes or no.
It’s the same for the dietetic internship. I’m a yes girl through and through, but once I started to hold up my “yes” against the commitment of this internship, I started to think of things differently.
Some of my “yeses” have remained, and some of them have become “not now, maybe later,” and that is okay.
Your dietetic internship is for a short time period in the grand scheme, and life will still be there when we complete it and become RDNs.
Hold fast to your why and keep your chin up. Find joy in each day and in the journey. We’ve got this.
While this journey will likely be the busiest year of your life, with our time management strategies for dietetic interns you’ll be on the way to success.
Cheers!
Kayla
Kayla is a 2023 KBDI graduate and a future registered dietitian. Kayla is passionate about all things theater and performance. She has launched her own business catered toward performance artists! You can check her out at https://www.instagram.com/nutritionalkayla/.
If you liked this blog, please check out our “How to Stay Organized During your Dietetic Internship” blog.