Day in the life - Dallas Eparaima Watene

7.30AM Wakeup. The handy thing about living so close to work is that mornings are less of a struggle as I don’t need to wake up so early.

8.00AM After getting myself ready I begin prepping and consolidating my meals for the day. I usually pack a few meals as I love food and am always hungry. Good way to save money also!

8.20AM I then leave for work carpooling with my partner. The drive takes around 7-10 minutes depending on traffic (as I said, very ideal and handy). I do a mental checklist in my head: Headphones fully charged, check! Phone fully charged: check! Wallet: Check! Gym gear: Check! Meals for the Day: check! I am now ready to take on the day.

8.40AM I arrive at the office, whip up a quick breakfast then eat it at my desk. I am blessed to have a standing desk and usually alternate throughout the day. It is helpful for keeping me active and alert. I use this time to hash out the game-plan for the day. I work on many Web Development projects which incorporate agile methodologies and scrum frameworks. Our work is divided into items/tasks that are carried out in “sprints” that have a certain goal. They are usually 1-2 weeks long. This ensures that our software is developed and delivered in an iterative manner for a more fleshed out and high-quality product. If I am not in meetings, I am typing away coding and doing development work as well as communicating and working collaboratively with project team members.

10:00AM For our software projects, we have short and sharp daily stand up meetings with the project team which are designed to keep everyone up to date on what you are working on and how you are going. It is also a good opportunity for outlining possible impediments that could affect any development work.

11.30AM As a mentor for a South Pacific and Indigenous Engineering Association (SPIES) student from the University of Auckland, we have fortnightly catch-ups to have a chat about how things are going on both ends and provide space for them to be able to ask any questions from me or any advice. The relationship is all about give and take, therefore I also learn a few things on my end too!

1:30PM Occasionally I get the opportunity to work on some Virtual Reality projects and demonstrate some of the simulations to others. Today I will be demoing some of our cool simulators to some of the interns. The simulators allow users to immerse themselves and empathize more with different situations. Many of the designs Health and Safety related and following procedures. They allow the ability to review design solutions before implementation.

3:00PM After being heads down, in the zone and developing for a few hours I am refreshingly broken out of it with our software team meeting. This is a good opportunity to come together as a team and discuss some things from an operational and management perspective as well as addressing resourcing and seeing if anyone is overloaded or light and in need of work. It’s a good way to see also what everyone is up to and what projects they are working on.

5.00PM As the day begins to wrap up, I address the progress on my tasks and close out the ones I’ve ticked off today. I dedicate a few minutes to updating my Trello board which I use to organise a lot of my admin stuff as well as work. It’s a good way to make sure things feel like they are in order before I go home and that I am all set for the next day.

5.15PM I then head off to the gym just across the road for a weightlifting session. I tend to have a shake beforehand as I’m usually in need of a pick me up by this time.

7:00PM Home time! After I am all showered and everything, I kick my feet up and either decide to play video games on my PC or PS4. I usually play solo or with friends depending on what I feel like. I love to play games with deep storylines and immersive gameplay that I can get lost in.

8.30PM Dinner time! Me and my partner will usually whip up a quick feed then watch some Netflix. If we can’t be bothered cooking, then uber eats is our best friend.

10.30PM After winding down fully, counting down the days left until the weekend, it is time to get some shut eye and do it all again the next day.