Jessica Thackray

5.30 AM

Alarm goes off, get up and get ready for 6 AM gym class – depending on the day either a spin class or Pilates.

7.00 AM

Arrive home, shower and get ready for the day, pack lunch, leave home at 7:30 AM. The train station is a 10 minute drive away, and the train ride itself is about 15 minutes.

8.00 AM

Arrive in the city. I like to get in a bit earlier so that I have time to stop and grab a coffee before work. There is loads of coffee spots in the CBD and I am still exploring them all to find the best oat flat white! Work is about a 10-minute walk from the train station, so I pass lots of places on the way. Today I also passed by a cystic fibrosis fundraising event where you received a rose for a donation.

8.30 AM

Have arrived at work and made my way to my desk and am logging onto my computer. The first thing I do is check my emails and see what has come in overnight. We deal with insurers all over the world so there is often emails coming in at odd times. These emails can range from a response to an insurance submission to price negotiations. Typically though, as a graduate, I will have an email from one of my colleagues with a to-do list. This could be drafting a report, contacting a client, invoicing or obtaining quotes. Today I am preparing renewal questionnaires to send out to clients – these are documents which contain all the information of the client’s current insurance program. It is sent to the client for them to review and advise of us of any changes.

9.30 AM

Around this time I usually pop down to the coffee shop across the road with my colleagues. This is a nice opportunity to go for a walk and catch up. It also breaks up the morning, so I am able to refocus when we get back. The rest of my morning was spent in a team meeting discussing the upcoming renewals and any concerns or queries.

1.00  PM

I usually head down for lunch anywhere between 12:30 and 1:30, depending on how busy the morning has been and whether there are any meetings scheduled for the afternoon. I try and pack lunch every day, and if the sun is out I will sit in one of the nearby gardens, but if it’s raining I generally sit in the kitchen. There is also lots of good food places around if you forget to bring lunch. Lunch break is an hour, so today I decided to walk up to the retail part of the city and do some shopping, and then ate my lunch in the office.

2.00 PM

Now back from lunch, I will see if any new jobs have come through, or continue working on anything outstanding from this morning. A colleague has asked me to update a renewal report with the new terms that have just been received from the insurer. I have a 2:30 PM meeting with one of our large clients, who we meet with monthly to discuss the progression of their current insurance program. As they are located all over the country, this was done over video call. The meeting went for an hour and a half, and afterwards we debrief and I have the opportunity to ask questions. By the time I get back to my desk there’s only an hour left of the day. I get back into work – currently I am drafting Certificates of Currency for the upcoming month.

5.00 PM

Home time! I finish off what I’m doing and say goodbye to everyone before making the commute back home, which takes about half an hour. Once home, I will either cook dinner or go out. Tonight, I am meeting friends for some dinner and drinks so I get changed and head out again.

9.30 PM

Once home, I shower, get into pyjamas and pack my bag for tomorrow. I try and hop into bed around this time too, and watch something on Netflix to unwind before switching everything off for the night and going to sleep.