Working from home gives me some flexibility around meetings and other events, but a typical day for me may be structured like the following:
6.30 AM – 8.30 AM
The alarm goes off and I hit the snooze button once or twice.
Most mornings start with a workout – walk, yoga, weights, or if I am not feeling exercise, then I will read for half an hour before breakfast. I will make a coffee for myself and my partner and eat breakfast before showering and getting ready for the day.
8.30 AM – 10.00 AM
Jump straight into work with Air-Pods in catching up on news podcasts or a music playlist while I respond to any emails, download daily cash transactions for our operating accounts, download statements for our Trust accounts and complete any work needed to organise pay runs for these accounts.
I break up the day with a quick break, some housework tidying, playtime with the puppy, and making a coffee. This is one of the best parts of the dynamic working model and being able to work from home.
10.00 AM – 12.30 PM
Focus time – using the great feature on Teams where I can schedule an important chunk of the day to focus without distraction on the major tasks, I have that day. Tuesday and Thursday are when I organise Trust Account payments, and every other day I work on Bank Reconciliations and Balance sheet reconciliations for several accounts.
12.30 PM – 1.30 PM
Lunch Break – After sitting at the desk for the morning, I am keen to give my head a break by doing something physical like a walk on the beach or weight sessions. I would rather spend my lunch hour exercising, so I will have a quick bite to eat before getting back into work.
1.30 PM – 2.00 PM
Before settling in for the afternoon’s work, I check emails again. Then I finalise a trust pay run and send this off to be authorised and paid. I respond to any emails that have come in from the morning and require immediate action.
2.00 PM – 3.30 PM
Focus Time again – I either continue working on the project from this morning or move on to my next deadline. Certain balance sheet reconciliations are due on certain days of the month. Depending on how critical they are and the time it takes me to complete them, I allocate the time accordingly.
A few of the tasks my team does require input from other team members or staff across Australia and New Zealand.
3.30 PM – 4.00 PM
Usually, I take a quick break before or sometimes after our Team catch up. This is a team progress update where we check in if anyone has any issues or challenges and requires assistance. Our meetings are brief unless anything important needs to be addressed. Lately, they finish with a riddle or trivia question to lighten things up.
4.00 PM – 5.00 PM
I quickly jump back in to finish off a task if I can. Ad-hoc requests usually slow down by now, so it is a great time for some focused work to end the day and make back any progress previously lost due to any urgent tasks that came up throughout the day.
5.00 PM – 5.30 PM
To finish my day, I will make a list and allocate time for the next day so that when I start in the morning, my day is planned out with important tasks and deadlines.
5.30 PM – 8.00 PM
I finish my day and go for a walk to the beach, or if my partner is home, will spend the evening together cooking dinner, exercising, watching TV, and catching up on each other’s day.
9.00 PM – 11.00 PM
I cannot go to sleep early unless I am tired, so I will watch a documentary, read a book, or watch a TV series till bedtime. Right now, I am undertaking the initial part of the CPA (Certified Practicing Accountants) program so this time at night is usually when I study.