Tabitha

5.45 AM 

Pressing snooze is not an option if I want to get my work out in today. Motivating myself to get up can be very difficult especially in winter but I know by now that for my health, wellbeing and performance at work this is the best way to start my day. So, I pull myself out of bed, put on my gym clothes and smash out a good leg session at my local gym.

7.00 AM  

I drive back home, have a shower and then decide what to wear for the day – a decision that can take too long sometimes! The dress code at the office is business attire so I usually wear a shirt, pants and a blazer. After getting dressed I turn my attention to brekky!

8.00 AM 

After finishing a protein shake and usually porridge or eggs I grab my bag and jump into the car. I am very fortunate to be able to use the amazing lease program Daimler has to offer so I really enjoy my drive to work in a Mercedes-Benz. The drive to work is about 25-30 mins in traffic so I also love listening to a good podcast on the way.

8.40 AM

I drive in the gates of Daimler HQ at Mulgrave and I don’t think I ever get sick of doing so, seeing the Mercedes-Benz star from the end of the street always reminds me of the amazing brand I get to work for. This is a good time to arrive - any later and the only parking spots left are right at the back of the car park!

9.00 AM 

I walk into the office and say good morning probably about 15 times before even reaching my desk, everyone loves a good chat which creates a really nice vibe in our office. I sit down at my desk and power up my laptop. 

9.15 AM 

I don’t last long without a coffee! I go to the kitchen and make my morning latte – probably my favourite part of the day! We recently got a new fully manual coffee machine installed which is amazing so we can make proper coffee any time we want. 

9.30 AM

Basically, I live on emails! It can feel very overwhelming sometimes opening outlook and seeing the emails pile in but using my ‘work in progress’ document really helps me prioritise and know exactly what I have going on. I work for the Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus brand in a marketing team where there is only two of us – literally just me and my manager! There is always so much to do so I have had to become very organised and good at prioritising. I get to work across pretty much every aspect of marketing including events, campaigns, merchandise, press advertising, sponsorship and dealership support. 

10.00 AM 

After replying to the more urgent emails and ensuring I have noted down all the action items from the inbox I start on a few morning tasks. My main priority this morning is to gather the content for a dealer network update. This update we send out every 6 weeks to keep our dealers informed about what is going on in the Mercedes-Benz business. 

10.30 AM

Before being able to really get into this I have one of our sales team staff come and ask for some merchandise for an urgent event happening in two days. So before long I am on the phone to our merchandise supplier organising merchandise to be delivered to Sydney in time for an event. Whilst I am organising this, I have another call from a dealer staff member that requires access to some creative assets they are wanting to use in an upcoming issue of a local magazine. 

11.00 AM

After sorting this out, I get a reminder that I have a meeting in 30 minutes. So before attending this meeting I try and respond to a few emails so they don’t build up! A few of these are from my manager with tasks that need completing such as getting some banners and branded items ready for an event, replying to some inquiries that we have received from dealerships as well as organising some gifts for important customers who recently attended an international trip we organised. 

11.30 AM

We have a meeting with our creative agency where we discuss our work in progress and any deadlines we have coming up whether that be submissions for magazines, assets for campaigns or even event signage and brochures. 

12.30 PM

After this I get back to even more emails so I look at my list of things and try to work on the tasks that take top priority – things like requests from senior managers, organising purchase orders to keep track of the budget and moving along creative projects that have emerging deadlines. 

1.30 PM

Usually around this time I will try and find a gap in my day to grab some lunch. Sometimes I bring lunch but today I walk over to the café to get a little bit of fresh air. The café has pretty good food and you can usually find everything from lasagne and pastas, to salads, curries and roasts. Today I decide to get a wrap which the café staff make to order. 

2.00 PM

Back to the desk I try and finally get back to the first task I set out to do today. I finalise putting together the content for the communication and send it to my manager for approval. I get onto replying to more emails and working through tasks such as putting together event briefing documents, approving creative collateral and monitoring sponsorship contracts. 

3.30 PM

I join my manager for a meeting with our events agency to discuss an upcoming event. We make decisions about location, accommodation, flights and everything else that goes into creating an event program. 

4.30 PM 

My manager has replied to me with changes that are required for the communications piece. But before actioning these, a staff member from the engineering team requires a technical label for one of our products as soon as possible. Therefore I brief in our creative agency to get this started. 

5.00 PM 

Back to the dealer communications piece, I read over it again and make all the necessary changes before forwarding on for final approval. I also reply to emails that have come in throughout the afternoon, one about organising a meeting tomorrow for our merchandise stock, one about a video required for a Mercedes-Bens Bus event and another one from my manager about requiring an update on our incentive program that I get to take the lead on. 

5.40 PM 

I try and get as much work done as possible as I know more will come through in the morning! I usually try and leave no later than 6 most of the time when we’re not in the middle of peak event times. 

6.30 PM 

Finally arriving home, I get into some comfy clothes and cook dinner. 

7.30 PM 

After eating dinner I open up my own laptop and catch up on university work - I am trying to complete my double bachelor’s degree part time. I am very lucky that Daimler and my manager are incredibly supportive of me finishing my degree and therefore allow me to leave a little early some days to attend night class. Tonight I have to work on a group assignment as we have a deadline coming up early next week. 

9.00 PM 

After working on this I try and fit in a little bit of time to catch up on bachelorette with my roommates. 

10.00 PM 

I try and go to bed reasonably early because I know I have to be up soon ready to do the day all over again!