What are your ‘must haves’ to start the working day?
Since becoming a new dad my routines have changed. But, my ideal way to start the day is to wake up around 5/6am and get in a good workout, usually involving some cardio and weight training, followed by a good breakfast.
I find starting the day like this sets me up well for work, with a clear head and makes me more productive. If I can start the day off challenging my body, I feel I’ve got the first win of the day and ready to take on any task ahead.
Obviously, the little one now dictates how the morning starts, sometimes it’s a slow start to catch up on elusive sleep and that’s ok too.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
When I finished uni I went straight into working for a start up care agency. As the company was small I was able to put the knowledge I learned from my Business Information and Technology degree into practice straight away.
The startup was very successful and grew in an area that helped people within the community, which makes me really proud. It was great to be able to see the end product of my work right away, providing nurses and career assistants to care homes. This is something that I also feel proud of with my work at SVGC, the work we do helps important public sector funded industries.
What do you love most about what you do?
The variety of the work and the opportunity for growth. In just 6 months of working for SVGC I’ve learnt so much. We have a brilliant team of experts who have worked within the industry for years which means I get to work closely with, and learn from, hugely knowledgeable people. It’s very inspiring.
I’ve developed so many new skills and learnt about new technologies which has enabled me to gain a great understanding of different processes from beginning to end.
What does your typical working day look like?
I try to always set aside 30 minutes of ‘prep time’ at the very beginning of each working day. This enables me to plan priorities, schedule meetings and attend to anything urgent that has come in overnight. From there I’ll go straight into the most pressing task as I’m at my best in the mornings, so dedicate this time to work that requires the most brain power.
My days generally consist of a lot of communication between clients and project teams, so inevitably I’m often in a meeting, especially when a project is close to the go live stage.
When you hit a wall workwise, what do you do to help overcome the hurdle?
Leave it and move on. I find that if something isn’t working, or is particularly challenging it’s always best to take a breather and revisit it the next day with fresh eyes. I’m at my best in the morning so I’lll often use the mornings to revisit tasks that got stuck the day before. Talking to colleagues also helps too, because someone might just have the perspective you need to solve a problem.
