Day in the life of a 20-something year old designer
Hello and welcome to my space! Today, I’m sharing a day in the life of a UX Designer. If you’re new here, I work at Societe Generale, where I build digital financial tools and products, and facilitate design workshops. It’s a busy job, but I love it! Amidst the hustle, I take time to reflect and write about my experiences, usually with an Iced Vanilla Latte in hand.🥤
Waking up 😴
I typically start my day around 7–7:30 AM. Although I’d like to wake up earlier to have more personal time in the morning, 7 AM currently works well for me. It allows me to accomplish several tasks early, ensuring a smoother remainder of the day.
Morning cup of coffee ☕️
After waking up, the most important activity for me is drinking nearly a liter of water. During this time, I also water some of the house plants and prepare my French press for coffee. I enjoy changing the type of coffee I make each day, experimenting with different blends and roast profiles. This keeps each morning’s cup of coffee unique with a different aroma, flavor, and texture.
Making breakfast 🥪
I make it a point to prepare my own breakfast, usually sticking to a weekday routine. My usual choice is a blueberry smoothie. It’s easy to prepare, quick to consume, and gives me sufficient time to prepare lunch.
Making lunch for work 🍱
Over the past few weeks, I’ve made an effort to bring packed lunches to work as part of a shift towards healthier eating. I’m convinced that productivity and overall fitness, both mental and physical, start with mindful, wholesome nutrition.
Getting ready and off to work 🚝
I commute to work by metro because it’s sustainable, affordable, and efficient. It takes me 25 minutes to get to my office, during which I usually listen to music or read a book that I find hard to put down.
Reaching office and starting the day 👨💻
Work starts at 10am. The first thing I do upon logging in for the day is checking for any messages received since yesterday. I also go through my emails in the initial 15 minutes to identify and flag the important ones.
10:15–10:30 AM Team huddle 🤝
Every morning, our team meets to share our daily tasks, project updates, and to address any blockers. I am currently managing four different projects simultaneously, so daily planning and prioritization are critical to avoid overlaps and manage the extensive workload. It took me a while to figure out effective time and energy management, but it now forms the core of my workday.
Planning the tasks for the day 📝
Typically, I concentrate on one or two projects each day, outlining the critical tasks I need to accomplish for each. These projects are digital products that I’m developing, so much of my work revolves around UX, constructing user flows, Information Architectures (IAs), and creating wireframes and mock-ups.
11AM — 12:30PM Focused work 💪
Having set my daily work schedule, it’s time to start. Today, my focus is on two projects. One is in the initial stages, involving a lot of user persona and task flow creation. The other is in the design stage, requiring substantial wireframe creation. This balance, allowing a variety of tasks throughout my day, helps prevent monotony and keeps projects engaging.
Lunch break 🫕
Lunch is my time to take a brief respite from work and interact with my colleagues and teammates over my packed meal. Today’s lunch includes grilled chicken, a vegetable salad, and some rice — a simple and healthy choice that keeps me satiated and energized for work!
Afternoon & work continues… 📈
One might assume that a good meal would prompt a leisurely afternoon, but in the office, it’s often the contrary for me. Given the numerous meetings and my popularity, I converse with many people in a day! This is also enjoyable as I interact with various individuals daily, learning about numerous topics.
It’s 3:30 PM and work goes on!😪
Since most of my projects involve stakeholders based in Europe, my afternoons align with their mornings. As a result, my afternoons are usually filled with meetings, project updates, and design demos.
Time for a breather…🍳
I typically finish my work for the day around 4:30–5PM. If I’m in the office, I’ll go for a walk, meet with some work friends, and spend some time in the cafeteria. If I’m at home, I’ll either take a 15–20 minute power nap before starting my workout, which usually consists of 30–40 pushups (though I’m working towards increasing this to 100 daily).
I will follow this up with a quick snack, which consists of a fruit or two and lots and lots of water!
Log-off time, and out for a stroll 🚶♂️
While my official workday ends at 6pm, I typically finish by 5:30pm and log off. At that time, I check our groceries to see if anything is needed for the house, then prepare for a walk around the neighborhood.
I currently live in Indiranagar, a popular neighborhood in Bangalore. It hosts a variety of cafes, pubs, restaurants, and shopping brands, making it an ideal place for someone in their twenties. My house is located near these vibrant spots, which makes my evening walks refreshing amid the lively atmosphere.
I will walk for around 45 to 50 minutes. Sometimes, when the mood strikes, I grab a coffee from one of my preferred spots, the “Tribal Brew” coffee truck on 100ft road. The majority of my evening stroll involves meandering around the neighbourhood, holding my IVL, and casually window-shopping at the upscale stores. 😛
Shower & dinner time 🧼 🍲
After the workout and long walk, I return home. By this time, my roommates have usually returned from their respective offices and dinner is almost ready. I play some music, take a quick shower, and then have dinner. I prefer to eat early, usually finishing by 8:30–9PM.
Post-dinner we have some chores to get done in the house, like cleaning the kitchen counter, the stove and do the dishes which is something we will split between the three of us.
I will also usually prep for my lunch for the next day, marinate some chicken and chop and ready a salad.
Winding down and calling home 🏠 📞
After completing all these chores, I will call my parents and tell them about my day. I will also speak with a few friends and spend some time with the friends in my house. We typically watch a humorous movie or show, anime, or indulge in a YouTube binge-watching session.
Me time & sleep 📖 🥱
I aim to finish all my chores and be in bed by 10 PM, although sometimes it extends to 10:30 PM. At this point, I put away my devices, set my alarms for the next day, and unwind with a book before sleep. Currently, I’m reading “Exhalation,” a captivating book filled with short stories encompassing history, culture, futurism, speculative and alternative futures, technology, and human behavior. These diverse and intriguing stories make it the perfect read for me, as I quickly lose interest in monotonous books.
About 10–15 pages in, I start to feel sleepy. However, if the story is particularly engaging, I can’t put the book down, even if my eyes struggle to stay open. With that, I end my day and go to bed by 11PM, excited and ready to repeat the same routine the next day! 💪
