Happy summer, and happy internship season! Don your very best business-casual outfits for the first couple of weeks (before devolving into the classic jeans-and-T-shirt combo). Sit upright at your unadorned and impersonal desk. Shiver in overtly air-conditioned rooms. Lose yourself in a whirlwind of pings, buzzwords and action items. This is when you might start questioning where on earth all your time and energy goes once you clock out at 5 p.m. Or perhaps your internship is less intense and revolves around busy work and reels scrolling throughout the day.

Either way, time is precious, and you should maximize your summer as an intern — both inside and outside of the office. Read on for tips and tricks on how to make the most of your time and build those crucial time management skills in a professional setting.

But before I even begin, I implore you to start those onboarding training videos right now. They will take a while and are most likely “unskippable,” requiring you to sit in front of your monitor for hours on end. Don’t wait to complete these after a month in — you’ll have so much other real work to do.

Now, for the actual guide.

Scheduling coffee chats

If you are a UC Berkeley student who’s ever attempted to join any club, you’re familiar with the practice of coffee chats. In the workplace setting, coffee chats are a great opportunity to meet new people both on your team and beyond. Use these informal conversations to learn more about the company, other roles and projects people are working on. Coffee chats usually run for half an hour and can take place either in person or virtually. If scheduling a coffee chat with someone who works at your office, I encourage you to meet them in person. For those using Microsoft 365, you can check someone’s location by clicking on their profile picture in Microsoft Teams. From there, open your calendar, identify a time in which both of you are available and set an agenda. Populate the notes section with an outline of what you hope to discuss during your conversation. You could write something as simple as, “Intros, coffee chatter’s experience at X company and beyond” or conduct research on them and list some specific points.

Efficient communication

Once you’ve populated your calendar invite with all the necessary information, send them a quick instant message to let them know you’ve put some time on their calendar, confirm that time works for them and express your excitement in speaking with them soon. If you’ve ever snuck a glance over your desk neighbor’s shoulder, you probably know how overflowing some people’s work inboxes are. People receive hundreds of emails a day, and your little email about a coffee chat invitation might get lost in the shuffle. Instead, opt for an IM for quicker communication. IMs are also a great way to develop rapport. You’ll soon realize office culture is far less intimidating and serious when your managers and directors start sending you GIFs, memes and acronym slang.

Inside of the office

Get up from your desk. Without fail, by 2 p.m. every day during my first week of work, my lids would start to grow heavy and my brain would struggle to process what I was hearing. I was falling asleep. Luckily for me, my manager laughed it off and instead encouraged me to stand up every hour, take a walk and even hit some jumping jacks in the middle of the office. The next week, I survived each day without dreams of naps and my bed. I’m also now much more intentional with when I schedule my meetings. I take most during the morning before I could potentially fall into a food coma or let the midday slump overtake me. I avoid scheduling back-to-back meetings so I can get up, use the bathroom, grab a snack or go for a lap around the floor. By practicing these healthy habits, you will be much more productive and ready to use your time most efficiently.

Outside of the office

A nine-to-five workday can be exhausting. Coupled with a brutal two-hour commute each way, my day often becomes an affront to whoever I once was before when I could go to class for a whole day, socialize and dine with friends and somehow go out until 1 a.m. I still encourage you to find time outside of work to relax, recharge and have fun. While heading straight to bed on a Friday night might sound more than appealing, consider spending time with friends and family after work. Playing pickleball every week with fellow interns is personally always the highlight of my week. Sleep and doomscrolling don’t have to be your only forms of recharging. Being active can, too.

Now go enjoy your summer and make the most of it! Whether that looks like scheduling coffee chats about your dream role, meeting with friends after work or simply sleeping, I hope you carve out some time to be present for yourself, friends and family over the next couple of months. Good luck!