Thomas

6.30 AM

I wake up a little earlier because I like to beat my roommate to the bathroom to secure a shower and a shave. After getting ready I set aside some quiet time for breakfast and a coffee, I’ll usually listen to the radio or some music while I enjoy the morning.  

7.20 AM

By this time, I'm on my commute – living on the southside of Brisbane I jump on the 7:45 am express train and I’m listening to a podcast or an audiobook.

8.15 AM

At 8:15am I arrive at the office, say hello to everyone and fire up my computer. The first thing I do each morning is open my Outlook and organize any emails I’ve received. This helps me work out a bit of a to-do list. I’m looking for responses to queries I’ve had, responses for documents I’ve sent off for review, and anything I can action quickly.

9.00 AM

Around 9 am, I provide an outline of the Jobs I intend to prioritize that day to my supervisor and manager, this gives me an opportunity to provide any updates on the current tasks, be briefed on any new client engagements or receive any new information that has come in relating to my current workflow. This meeting shapes what my day will look like, and I will usually have to reassess the priorities of my tasks.

9.30 AM

Coffee time – I try my best to make myself a coffee from the Staff hub, however, twist my arm, if others in the team, are heading downstairs to the café for a coffee, I will tag along.

10.00 AM

Now that I’m settled in with a clear vision of my day, along with a coffee, it’s time to get stuck in. Yesterday morning I began a few individual tax returns for a family trust; however, I had some queries I needed answering before I could complete it. I received that feedback this morning, so that’s on my plate to finish off. In the mornings, I tend to tackle tasks I know I will have queries on, this gives me time to shoot those off so I can receive a response by the end of the day.

12.00 PM

I usually head out for some lunch around 12 pm or 12:30 pm depending on my workload. There isn’t really a set time for lunch, which works well for me, especially if I’m on a roll with a task, I can keep going and have a later lunch.

We get 1 hour for lunch so I’m opting to grab sushi with other graduates. I prefer to head out for some lunch, get some fresh air and stretch my legs.

1.00 PM

After lunch, I’m usually waiting for feedback from my morning tasks, so I tend to tackle the tasks I know I'm not going to need much guidance on. This means I’m not wasting time and I can continue working, while I await those responses.  

These tasks may include preparing and compiling a Business Activity Statement (BAS), which will usually take me an hour to prepare, or I’ll take this time to investigate something for my manager. Today I’m looking into one of our client's ATO notice of assessment as it does not match up with the estimate provided to the client. It is my task to explain what and why the ATO has changed in the Income Tax Return compared to what was lodged.

3.00 PM

With any time left in the day, I will use it to complete some of the learning and development content we have available on our Intranet. I’ll also look at Evolve, which is a training platform full of learning modules I can complete at my own pace. Sometimes my directors or managers will allocate me a module that they think would be of interest to me.  

5.00 PM

I will begin to wind up my work, depending on where I am in a process, it may take me 5-20 minutes to wrap up a task and from there, I give my desk a bit of a tidy, power down my computer and begin to say bye to my colleagues.

6.00 PM

By 6 pm my commute home is well underway, and I thinking about dinner.

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