7.00 AM 

I wake up half an hour early as I plan to work an extra half hour today to make up for some time off I took last week.

7.30 AM

I arrive at work and check my emails. I wave hello to the one other person currently on my floor.

8.00 AM 

I continue working on a Training Manual I am designing for my section.

9.30 AM

I take a short break from the manual to grab some coffee with a friend from the grad program. Today it is Amy. Hi Amy! Coffee break over, I continue designing the manual.

10.30 AM 

My supervisor wanders over and answers my questions about some complex DVA legislation relating to some policy advice I am working on. He will also give me new work during this time. Today he wants me to draft some input for ministerial correspondence to a veteran. 

10.45 AM

I begin research on my input for the correspondence. I will research using a combination of the legislation, policy guides and looking up previous similar input done by my team. 

12.00 PM

Lunchtime. I go and buy lunch because I forgot to pack the lunch I made yesterday. Then I go back to the building and eat and chat with some friends.

12.30 PM 

I have a meeting with graduates in my Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) Major Project team. As part of our Graduate program, we do a course with APSC and submit a major project that our Department has asked us to do. We are recording voice overs for our final project video clip that needs to be submitted as part of our Major Project Assessment.

1.00 PM

I go back to my desk and open up Excel to work on some costings for a new policy. I am in the final stages so I am checking all my figures are correct and am going over my calculations to make sure I didn’t miss something important.

3.00 PM

I switch back to my correspondence input now that I have had time to mull over the research I have done. I begin drafting my input.

3.30 PM 

I and my co-worker decided to change the outfit of the Panda sitting in our Section then go right back to work. The panda lives in different sections each year as it is awarded to the winners of the DVA trivia night (which is also organised by the Graduates).

4.00 PM

Time to go home. I save my document but don’t submit it to my supervisor yet. I will look over it with a fresh pair of eyes first thing tomorrow morning then send it through immediately.

4.30 PM

I go to the gym with the gym squad I started with some of the other grads. Today we are tired so we talk more than we exercise. We make a token effort though, so that counts.

5.30 PM

I go home, have a shower and eat.

7.00 PM

I call a friend from back home in Sydney and we catch up about our lives. She tells me interesting stories from working in a children’s tutoring centre.

8.00 PM

I start watching episodes of Charmed.

9.00 PM

I continue to ignore the urge to go to sleep in favour of more Charmed episodes.

10.00 PM

I fall asleep, ready for a new day tomorrow.