DI FA – In our new series “A day in the life of FA,” our FA colleagues tell about a typical working day and how they “live” our FA’s values. First up is Maximilian “Max” Berger (32), who lives by the motto, “Don’t believe everything you think.” Max has been working for DI FA as an information manager since 2018. And this is what his day looks like.

Maximilian’s day – 15 March 2021

My day starts early, very early.
My alarm clock rings at 5:30 am and my day begins. First, I am greeted by my lab, Oskar. Then I hit the shower. I still wear a button-down shirt and jeans to work, even though I’m working from home. For me, it’s just part of going to work, part of my ritual.

6 am is first breakfast, usually muesli and a glass of juice. I like to read the printed edition of the local newspaper, Nürnberger Nachrichten (Nuremberg News). Right now, though, I’ve usually been reading a magazine about the Dolomites, which I’d like to climb this year.

I start work at 6:30 am. I use the first hour to get organized and plan my day. I map out appointments, prioritize my to-do list, and work through my email inbox so I know what’s a head of me.

After a 30-minute walk with Oskar, I’m back on my computer at 8 am. I’m lucky to have a nice big apartment with a separate home office. I’ve got a height-adjustable desk, an ergonomic chair, and many other amenities in there. But most importantly, there’s a window that lets daylight in and I have a place where I can really focus and get my work done. From 8 to 11:30 am, I power through. No checking my cell phone, no breaks – except maybe to check the mail. I often start with a SharePoint meeting. As DI FA’s intranet coordinator, I am jointly responsible for the SharePoint migration, so I pick up its latest status each day.

11:30 am is lunch time. I usually eat leftovers from the night before. Evenings, I cook twice as much as I’ll need for dinner so I can just heat up the rest for lunch the next day. After lunch, it’s back out for another walk with Oskar.

From 1 pm onward, I’m back at my desk and work continues. This year, I’ve been focusing on my own professional development.
Right now, I’m studying up on WinCC Uniﬁed. I’ve been involved in a job rotation program since February 2021. WinCC Uniﬁed is a new working environment for me to continue to grow and develop my technical expertise. I have a regular meeting with my 14 colleagues from the Nuremberg Young Managers’ Group in the afternoon. We talk about the latest status of various projects, use mind mapping to develop new ideas, and just talk about our week. At 4 pm it’s time to knuckle down again, this time to work on my English with Coach Armin of Global Learning Campus. He helps me improve my technical English and get rid of my mistakes.

Sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 pm I sign off for the day.

After work, my days look pretty similar lately. Either we go out for a run right away and Oskar gets to run off his energy or he gets to enjoy some Max-free time while I go for a bike ride through the woods. After my (or our) workout, I meet up with friends if possible and we might cook dinner together or just go for a walk. Otherwise, I like to read, cook, and just hang out with my dog.

At 10 pm Oskar and I take another quick walk around the block, and 10:30 pm is lights out, time to sleep.

About Max:

Max’s responsibilities: Coordinator for DI FA intranet, DI FA SiemensWorld and web pages for automation products

Other activities: Member of Nuremberg Young Managers’ Group, first aider

Motto: “Bait the hook to suit the fish, not the fisherman.” and “Don’t believe everything you think.”