Vish Nagendra

6.00 AM

Wakey Wakey! Time for another busy day. I like waking up to natural morning light and get ready for my 40-minute commute to work. I like to get to work a bit early and avoid the peak hour rush.

7.30 AM

Getting in to a quiet office is bliss, most people at GHD arrive between 8:30 am – 9:30 am which gives me an hour of focus time before the office gets busy. I grab my yogurt from the fridge and settle in to check my emails while having breakfast.

As consulting often goes, I have multiple projects running at the same time with different deliverable requirements and hours that I can spend delivering the work. It’s a juggling act to prioritize the tasks for the day. I rely on a OneNote ‘To Do’ list of the tasks that need my attention. I get started with certain tasks and plan my day around any meetings I may have.

11.00 AM

Time for a hot chocolate. I don’t drink coffee but I do like to wander down to one of the local cafes for a pick me up before lunch. Coffee is a great way to catch up with people for a chat, often this is a mix of work and non-work related banter.

11.30 AM

Having a double degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture allows me to work across multiple teams. My structural engineering role involves a range of tasks from design calculations, preparation, and planning for any upcoming site work, writing up reports for recently completed design or site works. I also work on projects for the Architecture team where I mainly use Revit to draft up drawings and develop design documentation or the Adobe Creative Suite to generate schematic and concept drawings.

1.00 PM

I like to vary my lunchtime activities, at GHD there are often Lunch and Learn’s where a range of topics are presented with lunch provided. These are great to learn a thing or two about technical content, or interesting things happening around the office or GHD globally.

Lunchtime is also when I catch up with other young professionals or colleagues that I don’t have a chance to talk to during the workday. If the weather is good, I really love getting some fresh air by having lunch in Hyde Park or the nearby Japanese Garden.

2.00 PM

In addition to chargeable work, my day sometimes consists of non-chargeable work like developing proposal documents used to bid for new jobs. Proposals account for the majority of non-chargeable work as it takes time to ensure the details and presentation of these bids are descriptive and detailed so we have the best chance at winning the work. Training and professional development is another big non-chargeable task. There are a number of sessions and courses run by the GHD Business School, but also team specific training required for my specific role.

4.30 PM

During summertime, I head down to Blackwattle Bay after work with a bunch of GHD colleagues for Dragon boating training. This is a great work out but heaps of fun too! Alternatively, there are plenty of industry or social events happening in Sydney CBD in the evenings, so this keeps me busy a couple of nights a week.
I am also involved in the young professionals committee, as the committee chair for the Sydney region, I look into the budget spent and keep track of the organization of upcoming events. This committee role is purely voluntary but I find it very rewarding in terms of building friendships and professional networks.

7.00 PM

My evening commute home usually involves a phone call to my family or friends in Melbourne. I live in a share house where each person cooks dinner for all one night a week. I come home to a warm dinner and spend the evening with my housemates. Usually, this involves watching TV, playing board games, or simply chatting with each other.

9.00 PM

I like to be in bed early so I can wind down, relax and rest up for the day ahead.