Rifka Samsudeen

6.00 AM – Wake up and out the door

Good morning! Don’t let the smile fool you, I’m not the best morning person so I need all the time possible in the morning to get me out of bed and looking presentable for work!

My morning time is usually me scrolling through my phone for 20 mins to catch up on any key news that has happened overnight. But mostly, it’s me very slowly getting around the house as I try to warm up for the day ahead.

This was a particularly cold morning in my suburb, so the grass was super frosty. But I tried to make the most of it and enjoy the cooler weather while it lasts.

PS – taking these pics did mean I had to run to eventually catch my bus! Lucky for me it wasn’t yet super packed, so I got a seat on the bus.

My commute usually takes about an hour to get into the city, so I fill my time with music or podcasts. You would think I’d use the time productively, but my motion-sickness usually says no to anything other than the casual scroll of TikTok.

7.30 AM – Breakfast event

This morning I was lucky to attend an event hosted by OzHarvest called ‘Only One Earth’ where OzHarvest founder/CEO Ronni Kahn AO spoke with Dr Anika Molesworth and Damon Gameau on what it means to live sustainably and greener lifestyles.

The Finish brand are currently partnering with OzHarvest on our purpose activations so it was an opportune moment to attend this event in acknowledgement of World Environment Day!

This breakfast event was absolutely breathtaking! We got to hear from these amazing speakers on their passions and what drives them to continue to work towards a better future.

Meeting Ronni and Dr Anika was very much a pinch-me moment cause it’s not often that you get to meet your heroes.

I left this morning feeling so inspired and fulfilled after hearing from them and the wider community It really amped me up for big day at work!

9.00 AM – Arrive at work

When I first arrive at work, I spend around 10 mins setting up my laptop and checking my emails to see what has landed overnight. Since I work on a global brand, we do get a fair few emails overnight to account from our brand counterparts in Germany and Amsterdam.

I also use this time to get an understanding of how my day is stacking up and where we have any key meetings. We’re lucky that Reckitt have a ‘Meeting Free Wednesday’ afternoon blocked out for us. So you always have time blocked out in your week to have time to concentrate and get out a bunch of work.

9.15 AM – Coffee run

The next important step is always COFFEE! We’re spoilt for choice near our office but nothing beats a morning Kingswood coffee.

It is super popular so make sure you get in early.

I love these morning coffee runs because you can head out with just about anyone in the office and get to know them or catch up. This morning, I head out with my team and a couple of new starters (we have to show them the good coffee!).

9.30 AM – Team Meeting

Every week, we have an overall team WIP (stands for “Work in Progress”) where we chat through priorities for our Brand for the week and how we’re tracking on our projects. The Finish team is split up based on the segments that we work on so this is an opportunity for us to come together and talk through the whole brand.

I have WIPs scattered throughout the week with different stakeholders but this full team one is my favourite as I get to see what is happening on the other side of the brand and give updates on how my projects are tracking along.

10.00 AM – 11.00 AM – Meetings

The rest of my morning was scattered with meetings where my manager and I head into calls with our sales team. Working in the brand is never in isolation so you’re always in communication with your sales, supply, and cross-functional team (Trade Marketing, Regulations, R&D, Legal teams). It takes a large team to make our products come to life!

We chat through upcoming activations, sales progress and also give them an update on the projects we’re working through.

Between meetings, I get to enjoy this spectacular view. Sydney really put on a show today!

11.15 AM – sneaky snack runs

In anticipation of a busy afternoon and a birthday amongst our mix, Garnet (another ABM working on the Vanish brand) and I head down to get some snacks and a birthday cake.

We run down to the many amazing bakeries near us and make panicked calls to the birthday girls’ friends to make sure we pick up something they like!

12.10 PM – LUNCH

By 12, my stomach is grumbling and I’m keen on some lunch. To beat the cold, we head out for some Pho with anyone else who’s keen on some soup.

This really hit the spot and we even get to bring out the cake and surprise them on their birthday

1.30 PM – catching up on work

After lunch, we all head back to the office and got to work! As I mentioned earlier, Wednesday afternoons are meeting-free so you can really push out a bunch of work.

For me this week, it was all about progressing some new product artworks that we’ve been working through.

3.30 PM – Drag Bingo

As we head into the afternoon, we’re all getting excited and changing outfits as we prepare for our Pride Month celebrations. Our Wellbeing committee have gone above and beyond to organise a ‘Drag Bingo’      

It’s a great way for us all to unwind, celebrate and come together after a busy couple of weeks! I must admit I was getting a bit too competitive with the bingo, but wasn’t able to come away with a win. Regardless, we had such a fun afternoon.

6.00 PM – unwind w/ the grads

Following on from the event, the grads and I head out for dinner to keep up with the celebratory mood!

We wrap up the night and head home in anticipation of a great rest of the week.

Thanks for joining me for a day in my life as Reckitt grad 😊