5.30 AM
My alarm is set to blare from my desk so I’m forced to get out of bed to shut it off – goodbye warm bed, hello to starting my day! I’m usually a little sluggish getting out the door, so giving myself an hour in the mornings allows me to sort out breakfast, pack lunch, and get freshened up for the work day ahead.
6.30 AM
The blessings of Canberra mean that even a morning commute across town rarely exceeds half an hour, so I set off up the parkway and get into my usual parking spot with plenty of time to walk to work from there. Mustn’t forget my bag, my lunch (usually with a banana, mandarin, and granola bar as snack options) and my coat/umbrella: as that song goes, Canberra really can be “four seasons in one day”
7.00 AM
Into the office and at my desk ready to start the day! My manager is usually in around the same time, so we spend the first couple of minutes catching up and reiterating the priority tasks for today. It gives us a great chance to get ahead of the work before the rest of the day complicates matters. These next two hours are key for any paperwork or one-person tasks – lets you get some great focus in on a particular technical problem without interruption!
8.50 AM
The rest of the team is already in by now, so it’s time for our daily standup. This is a great chance for the team to get to grips with what’s coming up today and point out key meetings or emails we need to address. We all lay out our planned days one at a time (classic yesterday/today/blockers, the Agile way!), sometimes quickly offering help or advice, and then we’re off! Some of the team will attend manager standups straight after this, so it’s a great chance for us to pass team messages up the chain.
9.00 AM
To give myself a quick chance to stretch my legs and get the blood flowing, I’ll quickly use the stairwell and go from the ground floor up to the top floor (you feel the temperature change as you go from bottom to top!), then back to my desk to check our normal team queues. 90% of my document reviews are done with water or fruit in one hand while I read. I must pay close attention as these document reviews reference all the new changes being done in our environment and it’s critical to be on top of the change log for reporting important milestones to the higher-ups.
9.30 AM
Around this time of the day is usually when the multi-team meetings and initiatives start to get underway. My team is predominantly concerned with helping the teams of our section collaborate and share key information on multi-team endeavours, so we will get invited to any meetings involving technical reviews or approvals. The goal of all this is to ensure that if anyone (internal or external to our section) has any questions about what’s happening in our environment, we can give them an informed answer and contact the relevant teams.
12.30 PM
After a couple of hours of collaborating, it’s time for lunch! I like to pack my lunch (usually a sandwich or leftovers from dinner) and then catch up on any errands while I take a walk downstairs, though sometimes we’ll go as a team to a place nearby. My personal favourites are the Indian curry lunch special and the $6 Korean fried chicken and chips J
1.00 PM
Another quick check of our queues just in case, and then it’s time to review the documentation for upcoming solutions coming from the project sector. Solutions tend to be built by a project team and then passed on to us to ensure continued customer service. Our review involves ensuring that the appropriate teams are notified and that the solution matches 100% with its accompanying documentation. Our review is technical, which usually involves collaborating with subject matter experts (SMEs) from our teams to make sure that everything is ready to hand over.
3.30 PM
With a list of things to pick up from tomorrow, I’m off for the day! After half an hour, I’m home, and to strike while the iron is hot (i.e. before I get comfy at my desk) I like to get an exercise tape in as I get home. (It’s from the 90s, and I can almost recite it from memory, but a good exercise is one you can do consistently!) This also allows me to have a shower straight after so I’m nice and relaxed for the rest of my day.
5.00 PM
Time to sort out dinner: I usually like to cook while either listening to music or online with my friends, just generally catching up on how things go. After dinner, I’ll usually either play online with them, maybe do some grocery shopping, or go out with friends to catch up in person.
9.30 PM
Time to wind down and settle into bed to prepare for the day ahead: for me, it’s usually teeth brushed, a quick reflection on the day, and then off to sleep
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