A day in the life of Master of Digital Media student Vaishali Gauba
Vaishali Gauba is a Master of Digital Media student at Toronto Metropolitan University. For her Major Research Project (MRP), Vaishali is building a life-coaching platform by using and upgrading the best digital media tools and practices. She also works full-time as a marketer for a financial services company on Bay Street. Vaishali is an international student from India. Before her MDM journey, she worked as a freelance content strategist and digital marketer with clients from across the world and is a former journalist. She lives in downtown Toronto, and spends her time studying, working, and exploring a variety of cuisines and natural escapes in the city. Let’s find out about her typical day.
6:30 AM
I love starting my day early and in the silence of the morning. I use this time for light exercise, watering my plants, journaling, listening to music, and pouring a large cup of coffee for myself. I then get settled at my desk to review my calendar for the day, write one hour non-stop for my MRP, and kick the day off.
8:30 AM
I am a breakfast person so I prepare a hearty breakfast for myself while either reading or watching Netflix for around 20 minutes, and fuel up for the day.
9:00 AM
Today is one of the days I’m working from home. So, I catch up on work emails and tasks. This usually involves picking up a project that I’m working on, having meetings with my manager, and pitching a few new content ideas. In between, I’m reading the news, downloading readings about life coaching for my MRP, and researching which life coaches I can interview.
10:00 AM
I now have the Collaborative Workshop and Research Method class at the Roger Communications Center. It’s an exciting and highly useful course because it’s setting us up for the MRP, which is due at the end of the summer. During the class, we had a visit by the librarian, who took us through all the resources available to us at the library that we can use for the MRP. We then did some brainstorming for the tech implosion exercise, which helps us break up various dimensions of our MRP. Overall it was a super engaging class today!
1:00 PM
It’s time for my weekly meeting with my MRP supervisor Dr. Lorena Escandon. I take her through my progress for the week. She helps me revise my application for the Research Ethics Board. We discuss the agenda for next week.
3:00 PM
After wrapping up lunch, I pick up work again in the second half. This can vary from writing detailed thought leadership articles around topics like diversity and gold mining for my company or preparing and polishing internal marketing materials. School-wise, I sent out a handful of emails to life coaches asking if I can interview them for my MRP. I’m hopeful that I will hear back from at least a couple of them. I have already interviewed two life coaches in Toronto, and it’s been highly insightful. In this summer semester, MRP is the centre stage, and I’m not taking any classes, so it’s crucial to stay self-motivated and organised.
While working on a group project for Digital Media Environments.
5:00 PM
The work day wraps up with the deliverables for the day. I am meeting one of my University friends for coffee. I miss meeting the entire cohort as we did in the Fall and Winter semesters! But we’re all working hard together on planning for and organising our Industry Day and ensuring it’s a success.
The MDM 11.0 cohort on the last day of the Fall semester.
7:00 PM
Usually, I head to the gym in my condo building around this time but today I decided to switch things up and go for a puppy yoga class. It was so relaxing and I made the most adorable friends.
The best type of workout there is!
8:15 PM
I come back to my apartment, shower, and prepare for the next day to go into the office. My meal, snacks, and outfit for the next day are ready. I then cook dinner or enjoy the dinner prepared by my wonderful flatmate, accompanied by some Netflix.
10:30 PM
I close the night with some leisurely reading - right now I’m reading My Gita by Indian author Devdutt Pattanaik. I make sure to review my morning routine on my calendar right before sleeping so my mind can visualize and be prepared for another productive yet calm morning!
Another day, another grind. Take it easy, and do the things you love!