Asavari Deonath

7.15 AM

Today I’m working from home and start my morning by walking my very energetic Australian cattle dog, Mica.  After that, I have my breakfast and get ready for work.

8.30 AM

I start my workday by entering the time I started on my timesheet. Mica decides to keep me company today and has a little nap beside my desk. I then check my Outlook calendar, emails, and MS Teams messages, and write a task list to prioritise my day and identify any meeting prep I need to do. On Mondays, I’ll also update Jira (the project management software we use at the ATO) with what I’ve completed in the past week, what I anticipate working on this week, and roughly how much of my work week I will spend for each project.

9.30 AM

Time for my team stand-up. Stand-ups are usually a quick whip-around with your team mates to discuss what your priorities for the week are, and what you’ll be doing today. We usually also add if we’re under the pump, have time to help someone else out, or if we’re experiencing any difficulties with the work on, and some non-work-related chatter like what we’re watching or what we did over the weekend.

10.30 AM

After I complete some of the items on my to do list, it’s time for a morning break. As I am working from home, I will usually go and give Mica the attention he’s been craving.

10.45 AM

I get back onto my daily tasks. This usually involves PowerPoint and ranges from putting reports together, setting up reading and virtual collaboration tasks for workshops, visual communication and making infographics. My branch (ATO Design) has very enthusiastic, creative and reflective people in it, and we allow a little time for small fun things – today we share our scores on wordle and have a weekly drawing challenge to fill a post-it note with a creative response to a nominated theme.

12.30 PM

Lunch time! I like to read in my backyard while eating, unless there’s a good show on – currently I’m watching the Winter Olympics.  

1.30 PM

In ATO Design we work in engagements, where projects come to us for 1-6 months for various purposes, and we get put in teams of designers to see them through. As it varies depending on what the project needs, tasks can range from user research and interviews, co-design workshops and facilitation, preparing for and consolidating notes for either, visual communication, preparing documents, planning, and testing interventions. At the moment I’m working to make some recommendations for interventions to help more companies pay their annual review fee and update their contact details on time.

2.00 PM

I attend a co-design workshop with frontline staff from the ATO and ASIC. I took notes on what was discussed straight onto the PowerPoint in which my team were screen-sharing. After this, we debriefed as a team what went well, what we would change, what progress we have made towards intended outcomes, and next steps. I usually have at least one day per week which is meeting free, and I also have a 20-minute one-on-one catch up with my managers, once or twice a week to discuss how I am tracking with my work, and any challenges I may be having. It’s a super helpful meeting and my managers are always willing to assist and give advice.

3.15 PM

Afternoon break time! It’s usually the same routine as the morning one, but with a little more stretching.

3.30 PM

My focus for the afternoon is on more creative and active work. It’s a great way for me to put my thinking cap on and send out what I am working on for feedback within my team.

4.15 PM

As it’s the last hour of the day, I like to focus on the most important thing to do before tomorrow’s tasks start. It might involve looking at what’s on tomorrow/the next day or back through my emails to ensure I am across all deadlines or finishing what I’m already working on.

4.45 PM

I save my work and put away any things I put on top of my desk during the day. Time to log off and take Mica for another much-needed walk – I told you he was energetic!