In any internship (or job!), there will be times where you will have multiple projects demanding your time! Here are some tips to help you manage your projects effectively: 

Prioritise tasks

Ask your supervisor and other colleagues who delegated the tasks which ones are priority tasks, and why they are priorities. Knowing why they are priorities will help you know which ones are the most important to be finished first. For example, one might be important for a team that deals with clients, and one might be important for a team that deals with other businesses – depending on the structure and goals of the organisation, you will need to decide which one you must do first (or if you’re not sure, take your dilemma to your supervisor!). List the project goals and any additional expectations, and be aware of deadlines for each one.

Work on related tasks together

When you work on a task, your brain activates all the information related to that task. When you switch to a new task, your brain has to adjust to a new way of thinking and access different information. Therefore, doing related tasks together (when possible) will save your time and be more efficient for your brain! Remember to keep your priorities in mind though!

Time management

Work out the approximate amount of time you expect it will take you to complete your work on each project. Try to overestimate your time allocation, as you can often run into distractions or issues that delay completion of the project.   This method can prevent you from missing deadlines, and it also makes you look really good to often complete your tasks early! A great way to also keep track of your time usage is to create calendar reminders to manage your time for short tasks or when needing to work on multiple projects in one day. 

Communicate regularly about your progress

Your tasks usually will directly affect the work and progress of your colleagues, so communication is important for working together to complete multiple projects on time. Alert them of any issues or delays as soon as possible so everyone else can adjust their schedules and expectations, or so someone else can help you complete a task that is taking longer than normal.  

Get organised

When switching between projects, you may take a while to switch and remember where you left off in the other one. Keep a record of each task you have done for each project, and when you switch back to it later you can easily find what you have done and what your next step or task is. You can also use reminders (as mentioned above) to do this! 

Find out more content like this in our section Career Advice.