A day in the life of Johanna

I wake up and move my body somehow, either yoga or walking. If I’m working from the office I make myself presentable and grab my pre-packed bag.

I plan my workday using Microsoft task manager and update my calendar with work blocks around my meetings. If in the office I start my drive.

I make a drink of hot chocolate or Macha green tea.  If I am working from home, I pat my dog Leo and make sure he is comfy in his emotional support dog mat next to my desk.  If I am in the office, I arrive , sign in and say hi to anyone  and the taxidermised animals and Footloose the three legged turtle.

I get stuck into some emails, message my team to see how they are today. We all work in very different areas around Victoria so it’s good to stay connected. I start with the easiest tasks to ease into the day and get as many things ticked off as possible.

Phone calls start coming in from volunteer groups with grant enquiries, either about applications or outstanding milestone requirements. I field these enquiries with my best customer service voice and log all calls for probity and reporting. I’ll usually get a query or two that I will have to call our Grants Officer to check, as they are the one source of truth for information.

This is scheduled focus time to work on my projects. Currently, I am leading a marine and coastal volunteer forum and the development of a marine and coastal educational school kit. Depending on the stage of the project this can involve project planning, scoping, researching, procurement, social media, community engagement.

Realise it's lunchtime, usually this is the first meal of the day for me.  If at home, it's fried eggs on toast with some avocado or last night's leftovers, or a loaded bowl of porridge. I scoff down my food and go for a walk, do some yoga or chat with a friend online.  If I am in the office, I will join my co-workers. It is a great opportunity to catch up  with the research staff who work at Arthur Rylah Institute.

On Wednesdays, it is team meeting time, so I’ll usually prep my top 3 priorities for the week and the following week. This is online 99% of the time. The team meets up in person once or twice a year for strategic planning as we’re scattered around the Victorian coastline. These meetings are pretty important, because they answer the curve ball queries, I get earlier in the day and allow the team to share ideas on the projects they are leading.

Usually, I take a brief 5 – 10 minute break, as I start to feel afternoon brain fog. A black tea to drink and I work on reporting, and easy administration tasks, emails and phone calls to get me back into the swing of things. If I am in the office, sometimes co-workers bring in cake and we share it in the tea room.

I hit my last 45 minutes of productivity for the day and get ready to wrap things up or work longer into the late afternoon if I’m on a roll.

Laptop off, and I let my colleagues know I’m away from my computer and I’ll see them tomorrow for another fabulous day.

I switch off from work. Usually a walk with a friend, or playing with my dog, or doing a workout.  If I drive back home from work, I am listening to my Discover Weekly on Spotify.

I jump into some hobbies – gaming, reading, cooking, baking, or catching up with friends for a kick of the footy. I call my partner, or go down YouTube rabbit holes.

In bed by 11:00 pm. I am a 7 hour sleep person.