Work Hard, Play Hard

As an intern you want to do your best, naturally. This means conducting quality research, jumping on as many projects you can, or staying in the office later than 5:00 p.m. to finish an assignment. At the beginning of my internship I found myself doing all of those things, with the addition of taking quick lunch breaks, acting as professionally as possible, and so on. However, there comes a point when you need to take a step back—is it possible to be too “in the zone”? As a summer intern in DC, yes, I want to do my best work. Does this mean that life in the office has to be all work and no play? I’d hope not.

For the first half of my internship my boss sent me e-mails almost every day—“Hey Carolyn, check out this awesome festival. You should go!” or “Carolyn, we’re offering a grant writing class on Tuesday, this might be of interest to you”. I never attended events during work hours because I felt like I had to stay in the office to either finish projects or work ahead. Slowly, though, I began to realize that 1) I’m not getting paid, 2) my time in DC is limited, and 3) if my boss was suggesting I attend events during work hours, it probably wouldn’t look bad on my part to leave the office for a few hours. 

The other interns in the office and I slowly began to take longer lunch breaks and take time off from work to do things that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to do at Ohio State, Dartmouth or Bucknell. Working through my lunch break, staying in the office late, etc. had the opposite effect I thought it would. Instead of getting things done, I found myself becoming bored, worn out. In fact, catching a 3D movie during the day or visiting a museum during lunch serves as a refreshing step away from the office. I’m lucky to be interning for an organization that encourages fun and learning both in and out of the workplace. I’ve realized that this approach to work lends itself to a much healthier, productive internship environment. 

Carolyn Behmer