Saige Mamanu

5.30 AM

I get up out of bed and start going through my affirmations,

visualisations and looking at my dream board. I use this time to start my morning off with a clear vision in mind…

“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision” – Helen Keller

I then get up out of bed, hit play on a positive podcast and start getting in my morning yoga and callisthenics before I head out for a morning 5km walk.

9.00 AM

Driving through the traffic with a coffee mug in my hand, ready to take on the day! Playing some good music while I weave in and out of traffic, heading to the office. Parked car? check! Lunch bag? check! Work bag? check! It’s time for work. I head into the office and get settled in.

9.15 AM

After saying hello to my fellow colleagues, I get stuck into responding to my emails while sipping on my now not-so-hot coffee.

9.45 AM

Team stand-up! The first meeting of the day is with the team. We firstly get into some good old chit-chat about what happened last night – real riveting conversations happen at this time! Then each team member goes through and shares what their day’s objectives are and any updates that are needed to be shared with the team. We close off our meeting with good luck and a wave!

10.15 AM

From the time of our team stand-up to 10:15 am, I am working through the learning queries for the Learning and Development team. Make sure these learning queries are properly resolved and responded to. At 10:15 am, I catch up with my mentor who helps guide me through some of the learning queries that I am unsure of. This time gives me an opportunity to learn new skills on how to work within TWG’s Learning Management System (LMS) and to also get in some extra training.

11.00 AM

Coffee refill and breakfast time! I head over to the staff kitchen and start getting my good old oats and coffee ready, getting in some conversations with my fellow colleagues and sometimes having a good catch-up with other fellow interns!

From 11 am to 12 pm, I enjoy my breakfast at my desk, listening to good jams and getting work done! It’s during this time I resolve and respond to any learning queries that may come up and work on some of the enrolments for our newly launched Te Reo Māori course with MIT.

12.00 PM - 12.30 PM

Lunchtime! I gather with some of my colleagues from the Learning and Development team and enjoy the stir-fry that my wonderful partner made for our lunch last night. My colleagues and I gossip about usual and sometimes unusual things, about our lives, what happened on our new favourite Netflix series, or our lovely pets and children. Always a great time with the L&D team!

1.00 PM

A quick catch-up with one of my mentors and going through some reflection questions about the internship. Discuss my challenges, opportunities and what I need to improve on.

2.00 PM

Today we had a design thinking workshop that I sat in, with one of my mentors. It was a great time of collaboration and teamwork! We had a scenario that put us in a thinking position on how The Warehouse limited could accommodate those who are in wheelchairs. It was a great time of using my critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and to experience how I could apply my Design Thinking minor in solving a customer need for TWG.

4.00 PM

Finishing off the last few learning queries, making sure meetings and other tasks are scheduled in my next working day and closing off any open projects before heading home.

5.00 PM

Home time! I walk into my home and put my work stuff down. I unpack my lunch bag, wash the dishes, and get them out of the way. I make my way to the bathroom to have a well-deserved hot shower and take this time to be in my own thoughts. Afterwards, I head over to my desk and put in some time to work on my university assignments…

“Following the Compound Effect, effort executed bit by bit every day, compounds over time” – Unknown

6.00 PM - 8.00 PM

Some nights I use this time to cook a delicious dinner for my partner, his mother and brother – which is usually stir-fry and rice because it’s easy, healthy, and simply, and usually takes only 30 minutes to make! Which is quite the bonus I reckon. We sit as a family and talk over how our day has been, anything new that has happened and what we have learnt. It’s always a good time to wind down.

9.30 PM

My partner and I brush our teeth, do our skincare routine, all the while making jokes and catching up with each other. We head to bed, flip on our electric blankets, and read our self-improvement books for a good 15 minutes before catching those Zzz’s.