Beating The First Day Jitters

When I was little, my mom always made my lunch, organized my backpack and picked out my outfit for school the night before. As I grew older, this nightly ritual became my responsibility. I always assumed these were just “mom” things to do. Little did I know my mother was teaching me the importance of prior planning. Whether it is the first day of elementary school or the first day of an internship, planning ahead helps to avoid dilemmas that create unnecessary stress. Here a few tips to alleviate any unnecessary first day nerves:

1.     Plan your outfit: On your first day of an internship, it is important to feel confident in what you are wearing. To ensure you are looking and feeling your best, try your outfit on a few days in advance. That way if there is stain on your blazer, you have time to wash it. If your skirt turns out to be too short, you have time to buy a new one. Laying your outfit and accessories out the night before also eliminates the crisis of ripping apart your closet the next morning because you have absolutely nothing to wear!

2.     Do a test drive: Whether you are commuting by car, train or subway, it is crucial to know how long your morning commute will be. Do your research. Will there be a lot of rush hour traffic or school bus stops? Do you have to allow extra time to buy subway tokens? If you are driving, consider doing a test drive to see exactly how much time it will take to drive and find parking. There is nothing more stressful than sitting in traffic watching the minutes tick away.

3.     Pack a lunch and snacks: Chances are on your first day of interning, you are not going to have time to run out and grab lunch. You may not know how long your lunch break is either. Pack a lunch and goody bag of snacks the night before. It’s one less thing to worry about the next day.

I now understand why my mom bugged me every night to get ready for school the next day. When the usual teenage emergencies occurred, like having a bad hair day occurred, I at least had a few less things to worry about. The key to avoiding a stressful first day is to do what you can ahead of time to ensure your morning will run smoothly.  

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Lauren Bentley.