Katherine Dakkache

6.45 AM

My alarm goes off to start the day, the upbeat song does not match my mood as it’s too cold to get out of bed, but the day must begin. I get up, turn my heater on and get ready for work so that I can catch my train on time.

8.30 AM

I arrive at the office a little early so that when I get upstairs to my desk I can make my essential morning cup of tea, and a yogurt and granola for breakfast, for once I am hungry in the morning. Once I am settled at my desk with my tea and breakfast, I plug in my laptop and turn it on to check my emails and calendar and plan out my day.

10.00 AM

The first meeting of the day was a team catch-up for end of month. We spoke about the existing processing and tenders that needed to be completed by end of day. The team is doing really well at the moment and has managed to stay ahead of schedule as planned. The clients that need special attention next month and why, were also discussed in the meeting. As I am new to the team they allowed time for questions and made sure I was understanding what the team was discussing.

11.00 AM

I head back to my desk with my notes and adjust my day to allow for the tasks mentioned within the meeting. I then begin completing any urgent tasks before lunch arrives, while also not forgetting to drink my water.

12.30 PM

Somehow it’s time for lunch already! The team and I head out to lunch together to welcome back everyone to the office. Most days I bring lunch, whether it’s leftovers or a premade meal, but a couple of days in the week I will buy lunch for some variety. It is also good to get out of the office and recharge for the rest of the day. We sat outside with the heaters and had a local kookaburra join us for a while.

1.45 PM

I am recharged after lunch, but before I get stuck but into the work that needs to be completed for the day, I catch-up with a team member for quick debrief. They guide me on what I should be focusing on for the afternoon and answer any questions I have around those tasks.

2.00 PM

I finally sit down to do the bulk of my work. I usually listen to music with my earphones, it helps me focus as the noise of the office can get distracting at times for me. I’m still learning in this new role so it takes me a little longer to edit email drafts, fill out the templates of policy renewals and double-check my data entries on our databases, but I am happy with my progress. I try to keep questions at the end of a task and condense them into a five-minute debrief, so I am not interrupting my colleagues to often as it is a busy day.

3.15 PM

Quick 15-minute leg stretch and coffee break, multiple caffeinated drinks during the day are essential for me. I usually do this with the other colleagues to help keep up morale and stay connected throughout the day with something that isn’t work-related.

4.15 PM

I try to have all essential work done before this time, even at 4:00 pm if possible, to allow for some study at the end of the day for the formal training I have to do for this role. Some days the work will not allow for this and so I will need to do it at home. However, today I was able to do some study in the office. This helps me unwind as I read through the course resources and create some notes.

5.00 PM

It’s the end of the day! I wrap up whatever I am working on and tidy my desk so it is clean for the next day. I have a quick catch-up with my supervisor and team members before I am off to the train station, but somehow I manage a quick elevator selfie because why not?

6.30 PM

I am finally home and able to eat dinner with my family and relax. I help with dinner, clean up and watch some TV with the family. It’s a great way to get my mind off work and recharge for tomorrow.

9.00 PM

I leave some time for myself to do some preparation for the next day, cleaning, self-care (shower, face mask, stretching, reading) or anything to stop me scrolling on my phone for hours.

11.00 PM

It’s finally bedtime. It take me forever to get warm but that is when I give myself permission to scroll on my phone for a while. I can find it hard to rest my mind at night so sometimes I will do some mediation or breathing exercises to help me sleep.