Ainslie Travers

5.00 AM

I have recently started getting up at 5 am to fit more in my mornings before work. Once my alarm goes off I get out of bed after a quick scroll on social media. By 5.30 I am out the door for a gym workout and then back home again at 6.30. By 7.50 I am back out the door on my way to work, but first I double-check I have my work pass, bus pass and headphones.

8.30 AM

At 8.30 I arrive at my desk ready to start the day. I warm myself up by reading the daily news subscription that waits for me in my inbox each day. I also validate my timesheet from the day before and go through any other emails I might have.

9.00 AM

The 2021 cohort of graduates has just started, so the 2020 cohort (which includes me) each got a buddy to look after. I have the first catchup with mine and we decided to grab a coffee from a nearby cafe. We discussed how her first rotation might look, the different types of work she might get and where has the best coffee.

9.30 AM

It is prep time for an agency meeting at 10 am. To do so I freshen up my understanding of the program we are going to present. At 10 am I head down to the work car and meet with Tim, an Employer Relationship Manager (ERM) for this agency. On the way to the meeting we catch up, we discuss how I am feeling as a grad and he gives me some insights into his role.

10.30 AM

Tim and I meet with a payroll officer and discuss the program we would like to offer their agency. Throughout the meeting, I take minutes to ensure I capture what is being said and so that we can remember any action items. The meeting goes well and they are interested in pursuing the program, I make a note to follow up by sending them more information.

12.00 PM

I make it back to the office just in time for a meeting on a remediation project. This project has been going on for a few months but this is my first introduction to it since I only joined the team recently. The meeting is done via video chat as some of the participants are working from home.

12.20 PM

The meeting finishes quickly as there were still some outstanding pieces of work awaiting an update. I head to lunch in one of the café areas in our building and see one of the other grads so I go to eat with them then have another coffee. 

1.00 PM

Back at my desk, I continue some work before I join the weekly ‘Grad Gig’ catchup, which we did via video chat so we could share our work digitally. The Grad Gig is a group project among the grads that runs alongside our rotations. Our instructions for the project were to develop a deliverable that builds members' financial confidence. The discussion goes well and we have planned our next steps. The project is finally coming to the implementation phase (yay!). 

2.30 PM

My rotation manager had requested a meeting to discuss my speech for a forum the following day. I am speaking on some data I analysed from survey responses and what this means for CSC. He is based in Sydney so we meet via video chat. I show him my slides and discuss what I will say. This goes well, and he gives me some more points to consider. 

3.00 PM

There are no more meetings for today, so I am back at my desk catching up on work. This includes typing up the minutes from the day, sending them to the meeting participants and reaching out to people for the action items.

5.15 PM

Home time! I make the commute home and unpack from the day. My roommate who is a nurse is at work so it is just me tonight. I cook myself dinner, watch some TV and relax. 

9.00 PM

To accommodate my new 5 am wake-up time, by 9 pm I put my phone away, turn off the TV and go to sleep.