As someone who constantly likes a change in routine, my job as a supply chain consultant is probably the most ideal position I could probably find myself in. Every day is always a little bit different, though I do have somewhat of a similar routine during the mornings and afternoons every couple of months when I am on a certain project. In today's post, I'm going to take you through a "typical work week" for me, at least what it has looked like since November. I'm really excited to share this with you guys, mostly because I always get asked what I do and where I am by friends and other co-workers.
A Typical Monday - Thursday
6:30am - 9am
Although my job is pretty flexible in terms of working remotely and from home, I am typically at my client's site, which is located in a pretty large city about an hour outside of New York City. Mondays are usually a bit more flexible for being on-site or not due to my long commute, but I am a pretty much on-site every day of the week with the exclusion of Fridays. These workdays usually begin with me getting out of bed by 6:30am so I can get ready, pick a warm outfit, make my morning cup of citrus tea or milk tea, and run out the door to the subway down the block. My commute is pretty lengthy, so I spend a good chunk of my day on the subway or Metro-North from Grand Central Terminal. I usually use this time to catch up on personal emails, draft professional emails, do a 10-minute German language session on DuoLingo, listen to half a podcast before dozing off, Instagram our next P&D photo, or listen to my current favorite song on repeat (I Don't Want to Live Forever - Zayn & Taylor Swift). It's always extremely crowded everywhere if you've ever spent a morning commuting in NYC, but I guess this city wouldn't be what it is without the constant hustle and bustle. By the time I get to the office, I'm always a bit exhausted from the morning, but ready to officially start the day!
9:30am - 6pm
When I get settled in, I catch up on a lot of daily emails (as we all do), check on the status of my internal projects, help prep for meetings, attend those meetings, and then help work on deliverables and process flows that aid in the development of our current project. I am very much knees-deep in meetings all day with clients and stakeholders, and to be honest, it's definitely daunting and challenging to be thrown into this type of environment so quickly in my career. It has, however, been a great learning experience. Without getting into too much detail, these meetings usually consist of status updates of our project, hammering out the details of a process design, and going through documentation to ensure accuracy and completeness of the new system that will be built by multiple teams. This week, I even get to take on an extra bucket of responsibilities since a few people I work with are out for paternity leave and vacation. It's going to be a bit of a challenge, but I'm definitely well supported and work with an awesome team who always has my back, so I know I'll get through it :)
I usually take a lunch break whenever I get hungry, and tend to always stick to the one salad place down the street that I find myself craving more than is probably considered normal. I usually go for a Waldorf salad and replace the blue cheese with goat cheese (of course it's like an extra $1.75, but it is worth it), but lately I've been going for the Cobb Chop since I've been craving bacon. To be honestly, I'm here so often that I feel an inner guilt if I ever choose Panera over the salad for lunch.
My afternoons consist of more meetings and small talk with my co-workers. I love the people I work with and those who are on my team, so I am also constantly chatting with them throughout the day on either work-related things or about their weekly plans. Every Tuesday evening, we have a full team meeting, which I always look forward to since I get to see everyone in one room and hear about what is going on in all the different work streams. Occasionally, I will give the weekly status for the workstream that I am on.
6pm - 10pm
Every couple of weeks, we do a "Team Dinner Tuesday", when we check out a local restaurant together or do a fun team activity. Two weeks ago, I suggested a wine and paint night, and my co-workers and I all got to paint snowmen on wood canvases, which was extremely fun. TDTs are one of my favorite days because I really get to learn more about the people I work with outside of an office setting. Besides these occasional Tuesday nights, a typical work night will either consist of me heading back home to go to the gym since I've been pretty consistent with going at least 4x a week. On the other nights, I'll usually make it back to the city to have dinner and catch-up with friends.
Fridays
Fridays have always been a unique day for me, since it's the day I get to make up my own schedule and basically do whatever I need to do to wrap up the week. Some days, I will spend the entire day in our Times Square office, meeting with different professionals in the firm about new and existing initiatives, or visit my friends who I don't get to see as often since they are also at their client site Monday - Thursday. I used to spend a lot more time in the city and Times Square during my first project, so now that I don't spend a bulk of my week here, I definitely miss it and enjoy my Fridays a lot more in the office. Of course, there are also those Fridays where I make up for the early mornings all week with some extra sleep, and I take my calls at home before making it in for the rest of the day. Honestly, the flexibility is awesome and allows me to get things done at my own pace and work style, which I really appreciate. I also use this time to work on other firm initiatives and extracurriculars I am part of, like writing for my program's monthly newsletter. It's a fun way for me to get some extra writing practice in but also to learn more about what's going on outside of my current project. Most Fridays usually end with a happy hour or dinner with either co-workers or friends that live in the city. Occasionally, I will head back home to New Jersey to spend time with my family and Dasher, so it really depends on the day what I end up doing at night!
Thank you so much for checking out this post, and let us know if you've enjoyed this glimpse into my every day life in New York! Mel and I had a lot of fun writing these posts (check out her Day in a Life post here), and would love to do these every so often when our routines change! Until then, thanks again for the constant love and support. Look forward to the next couple of posts because Mel is doing a takeover ;)
Love,
Jess
