8 Essential Tools For The Remote PR Intern

By Elizabeth Guldimann

Many tools are widely available to make life easier for today’s students and tomorrow’s PR professionals. These tools vary from apps to products to habits. The implementation of these tools is easy and can make a huge difference in the life of any public relations intern. In this post, we’ll cover eight of the tools available to public relations interns and students and how they can benefit from their use. 

Canva

Canva is an awesome app for anybody in the public relations industry, especially for those who focus heavily on social media coordination. The app allows the user to easily add text, photos and graphics to a post. While offering some in-app purchases, the app is mostly free and users can choose from many customizable pre-set designs or build their own from scratch. The app also allows you to select the size of a post based on which social media channel you plan on posting it to, such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, and also includes options for stories and other media. I have used it for class, work and clubs, and I cannot recommend it enough. 

Caffeine

Starbucks caramel concoction, there are so many amazing local options in Orange County, Los Angeles and the area surrounding Long Beach State. Now more than ever is a great time to shop small and support local businesses. The ever-popular Boggart’s in Seal Beach offers organic roasts with views of the Pacific Ocean, plus they often bring in local musicians to play some tunes. The small boutique-style Morning Lavender in Tustin has taken social media by storm and offers the unique experience of shopping while you enjoy your floral-themed coffee or tea beverage. Many college students seem quite keen on boba milk tea, and The Alley at The Irvine Spectrum is a wildly popular choice. For those seeking a day trip out of the area, the San Diego-based chain Better Buzz Coffee offers a lovely spot for studying with great coffee, tea and food items such as avocado toast with feta and croissants.

Smart Wardrobe
A smart wardrobe can make all the difference in a student’s success. I find that dressing business casual or business professional during my designated work and school hours, while dressing casually during my personal time, really helps me make a distinction between work and play. With everything being online these days, it’s all too easy to sit in pajamas all day binge-watch Grey’s Anatomy, instead of logging in to BeachBoard and getting an assignment done early. Some really great places to shop on a college student budget are Loft Outlet, Target and Marshall’s.

Good Night’s Sleep

A well-rested student is a productive student. While you may be tempted to pull an all-nighter to study for a test last minute, the best way to help your brain perform under pressure is by giving it the fuel and rest that it needs. A good night’s sleep can be aided by a calming cup of herbal tea at bedtime (think chamomile, lavender or mint), melatonin and a “device curfew.” Blue light, emitted from electronic screens such as cell phones, televisions and laptops, can wreak havoc on the body’s circadian rhythm. Having a device curfew an hour or two before bedtime can help maintain a natural circadian rhythm and can promote restfulness since it allows you to get away from the stress of social media and work. 

Clean Bedroom
Many students and interns are working remotely from their bedrooms or home offices. Wherever your location may be, try to make it clean and tidy to keep distractions out of sight and your work environment feeling professional. You wouldn’t have dirty clothes strewn about your cubicle or dirty dishes sitting around your classroom, so it’s a good idea to keep them out of your current workspace. 

Dry Erase Calendar
A dry erase calendar is such an awesome way to stay organized as a public relations intern. While it can be used to keep track of the usual dates, birthdays and appointments, it can also be used to keep track of homework assignments and test dates. What I find it to be most useful for is giving myself an easily accessible format of all the posts I have for a given client’s social media for that month. Best of all, the dry erase format makes it easy to color code for each client and change dates in real-time. 

Blue Light Glasses
Blue light glasses have been trendy lately and for good reason. They help block the harmful blue light that computer and cell phone screens expose us to. The blue light can cause headaches, disrupt circadian rhythms and speed up the aging process of the skin. Thankfully, blue light glasses are now widely available in a variety of different styles to suit many tastes. They can even be customized with a prescription.

Journal 
Odds are that if you’re interning and going to class your stress levels are probably pretty high to begin with. Combine that with the stress of the pandemic and that’s a lot to deal with all at once. Journaling is a fantastic outlet with which to manage that stress, and it provides a really great snapshot in time to look back at years from when it’s written. 

As a remote public relations intern or student, there are many simple tools to add to your everyday routine to make your life easier and more efficient. Whether it be adding a new blazer to your wardrobe to wear while compiling a social media calendar, or preparing a warm cup of herbal tea before bedtime, there are so many simple yet impactful changes that you can incorporate into your daily life.