5.15 AM
The alarm goes off. I contemplate the decision of going to the gym and wonder ‘Do I really need this? How bad is my chub? Should I just skip a few meals today?’
6.30 AM
Back home. I make a nice breakfast to have with my coffee while catching up on Game of Thrones episodes.
7.30 AM
Start getting ready for work.
8.00 AM
Drive to work while listening to audio books, Ted talks or some Drake songs.
8.45 AM
Arrive at work, log in to my classified and unclassified computers and then check my emails and calendar for the day/week. I check any planned outage for the day and plan my work around it. I also take note of any near future meetings or deadlines.
9.00 AM
Start working on my tasks. Our team work on the basis of work packages and tasks. I pick the first available task in the to-do list and plan how it can be done in the most efficient and timely manner. Once that task is completed it gets moved to ‘review’, where a senior software engineer reviews it and makes appropriate suggestions before it may be moved to ‘done’. Today I am going to configure some hardware that can be tested using new software we developed last week.
9.30 AM
Our team has invited everyone for morning tea to welcome the new team member. We are served cookies, muffins and cakes. Joining this team made my weight loss target much harder to achieve.
10.30 AM
Time for the daily stand-up meeting. This meeting allows team members to inform each other on the progress of our work and collaborate to address any impediments encountered.
10.40 AM
My colleague and I head to a different location for the hardware setup. We follow all of the safety precautions and put tags on high-frequency cables as well as a safety tag so everyone knows we are working on it. I then get back to my desk and test our newly generated software to ensure all systems are functioning as intended.
12.00 PM
Time to grab some lunch! The usual lunch break involves our team going to the canteen, but today is FriYAY! As a ritual, we all go out for lunch and we have a great Vietnamese shop nearby. If we are too busy to go there, we have very kind administration who Uber Eats our orders.
1.00 PM
Weekly meeting with my line manager. We go through the weekly task planning and ensure that I am assigned tasks that are in line with the competencies I would like to develop as per my graduate development plan.
1.30 PM
The software we wrote was successfully tested and now it’s time to send the report to our customer. My manager booked a meeting with the customer to show them the results and get their approval to upload the new software on the server.
2.30 PM
The team goes out for a walk to grab a coffee. We talk about what we did the night before and sometimes discuss our favourite TV shows.
3.30 PM
Fortnightly meeting with my graduate functional manager. We touch base to update my graduate development plan and discuss future rotation opportunities.
4.00 PM
I review my daily work plan and perform a final check of my emails. I take notes so that I can address anything that’s not urgent tomorrow.
5.00 PM
Time to head home and relax for a bit.
6.00 PM
Today is a soccer training day; the pre-season has come to an end and we have a game next week. I try to involve myself with as much physical activity as possible because of the nature of a desk job.
8.30 PM
Back home. I took a shower and relaxed for a bit before having dinner with some mates. Now time to relax and spend some time with my family while watching some TV.
10.00 PM
Before going to bed on a work day, I check my schedule for the next day. I turn off all electronics and go to bed. It might take me a bit of time to actually fall asleep but at least I eliminate distractions and aim for a good night’s sleep. Another great day of software challenges awaits tomorrow.