Jessica Deeks

8.00 AM

Monday Morning - sleep in!! On Monday and Friday, I work from home; Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am out at our site office in Macquarie Park (M_Park); and Wednesdays, I’m in Head Office.

Mondays are great because I don’t have to wake up until 8.00 am for an 8.30 am start due to my tiny commute (just 5m from the bedroom to desk)!

I get changed into my WFH attire – something more relaxed than my work gear then I quickly take my dog for a walk around the block and am logged on ready to go by 8.30 am.

8.30 AM

Mondays are normally for catching up on work and preparing for the rest of the week; not too many meetings. My first action is always going through my inbox and making sure I have zero unopened emails – a pet peeve of mine. I go through each email, actioning those I can now and flagging ones I need to come back to later.

As a Project Management Graduate, I get to rotate into different parts of Stockland every 6 months. My current rotation is with the M_Park team, which is why I’m out at site twice a week. M_Park is Stockland’s flagship innovation precinct and will be one of Australia’s largest technology and innovation precincts. The first stage is due for completion in 2024 and comprises a purpose-built data centre for a multinational operator, 3 commercial buildings and park.

I am working on one of the new commercial office buildings. We have just completed the 70% design for this building and will be ready to go out to tender for the Principal Contractor in the next few weeks. This has meant we have been meeting with consultants to complete their specialised design document (encompassing architectural, structural, services etc) for the past few months. This cohesive and integrated document gives both the tendering contractors and us (Stockland) the clearest view of what we want the project to look like and will allow the greatest accuracy in timing and cost estimates.

I have been attending meetings every Tuesday with all consultants to ensure an integrated design, as well as other less regular meetings with specific consultants where necessary.

Today’s meeting is with the Wayfinding Consultant.

12.30 PM

Lunch time!

I like to go for a walk with my dog during my WFH lunch breaks, especially when the weather is nice.

1.30 PM

Back from my walk and back to work!

I catch up on any emails or MS Teams messages that I’ve missed before continuing with the tasks on my to-do list.

This week, some of my tasks are tracking and paying invoices for work completed by consultants, preparing fee proposal requests, and reviewing budgets for the current and future phases of the project.

3.30 PM

Time for a quick tea break! When working from home, taking a quick intentional break helps me clear my mind and refocus when I get back to it, this is how I combat the ‘accidental zoning out’ that can occur with WFH.  

4.00 PM

Every second Monday, we have an M_Park Fortnightly Team Meeting. This is a quick 30 minutes with all of the Development and Project Management team members who are working on the M_Park Project. We discuss major updates, council approvals and we tend to end with a quick ‘around the grounds’ to get a status report on each of the ongoing elements.

5.30 PM

Time to finish work and luckily, the commute home is nice and quick!

Before I turn off my work brain for the day, I make sure my laptop is in my bag ready for tomorrow, when I will work from site. Below is a picture of our M_Park office.

The great thing about working from site is being amongst the action and seeing the progress that the team is working so hard on. There’s a viewing platform that we can go and stand on and see how the work is coming to life; from the crane being installed to the concrete being poured. This really puts into perspective the scale of the project as well as all the work that goes into it.

6.15 PM

Dinner time.

My partner is a wiz in the kitchen so he normally cooks and I get clean up duty. While he’s cooking, I run the dog round the block, have a quick shower and try to switch my brain from ‘work’ to ‘home’ mode.

7.00 PM

After dinner, we watch some tv or a movie together (plus some puppy cuddles on the couch, of course) as we debrief on the day and talk about our week ahead.

9.00 PM

Bedtime. Early to bed on a Monday night as I’m up at 5.45 am on Tuesday mornings for personal training, followed by a full day out at site.

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