A day in the life of thepal
When I was getting ready to relocate for this internship, I was worried how each day would pan out. Would I be able to get into a daily routine or would I be so thrown off I'd spend each day trying to sort out a schedule (it was my first time living away from Vancouver after all).
Luckily for me, I got into a routine no problem. In fact, the core of my work days are so similar, I can lay it out for you right now.
[Sneak-peek] - what’s in this post?
- My daily routine and how I managed to find it
1. Each day actually starts the night before, when I pack my lunch. While I could just buy lunch each day, I find it easier (and cheaper) to just pack it myself. Helps keep me away from the monster proportions they sell too! I also lay out my gym clothes and pack my work clothes into my gym bag. I usually get into bed around 10 and get sucked into an episode of Law and Order – asleep by 11pm.
Some days I wake up around 5:30am, others at 6:30. I get my puppy ready for her walk, take her around the block, and usually end up playing some game of fetch. We get back in time for my quick breakfast. Getting the exercise I need wasn’t hard to fit into my schedule either, on my early mornings, I am on my bike by 6:10 on the way to the gym for a 6:30 group fitness class. On other days, I’ll head to the gym after work or just take Lily for an extra long walk. Typically, I leave the house around 7:45 at the latest.
I am at work by 8:00 (sometimes 8:15), giving me some time to work before my first meeting at 9:45. I usually have the second half of my breakfast at my desk, while the morning gets going. I noticed early on that we get such a huge amount of emails, so I spend at least 30mins catching up on emails from after I went home the day before. Lately I’ve been checking my mail when I get home to reduce this to around 15mins the next morning.
I was a little worried about the lunch part of my day when I first started – how the caf works, does the team go to lunch together etc etc. My first couple weeks were great, the team does a walk down the halls gathering everyone for lunch in our building’s cafeteria or sometimes a building close by. Recently I’ve been having lunch meetings with friends, information sessions or intern events. Sometimes I check on my puppy at lunch, especially on the longer work days. On days with events though, I make sure I have time to attend. Last week I had a STB Women’s Intern Program luncheon, that included a great speaker and some delicious Mexican food. All the different groups at these lunches make for some great networking events and an easy way to learn more about Microsoft as a company.
I spend the afternoon working on my planned items for the day and usually more meetings. I try to make some progress on my workitems and incorporate any surprises into the plan for the week. I even spent some time working on a small side project, to help our team make our planning more efficient. After fighting with SharePoint for awhile, I proposed an alternative method to our current system, to give us a little more work time and a little less meeting time! I promise to have a post up soon about what I’m actually doing a work, whenever I figure out what I’m actually allow to include!
I leave work anywhere between 4:30 and 6pm to go home and take out my puppy. We usually don’t go for our walk till 8pm when it cools down a little, so first it’s dinner time. I try to make a whole range of meals (ok tonight was just a sandwich) as I have more time for dinner then I would at home. Lily (my puppy) hangs around expecting something to hit the floor, as it always does. Usually I wash the dishes right after I eat cause my place is so small but sometimes I wait till the show/movie I’m watching is over.
After dinner and some down time, it’s a little cooler outside and it’s time for our second walk! Lily and I do the same walk around the block as we do in the morning, but we take a little extra time. There’s a large parking lot right by the long-term hotel I’m staying at, giving her some space to run around. She chases after the pinecones I throw and even brings them back. Once she’s tired out, we head back home.
Now it’s about time for the next day to start. As you can see, it was pretty easy finding a schedule that works for me even after being thrown into a new city. I managed to fit in everything I’m used to, with a couple of extra things as well!
Finally, after I get everything ready for the next day, I get comfortable with Lily, watch some bad TV and write you guys a blog post :)