My ITHAKA workday: Aparna Bankston

This article is part of ITHAKA’s employee workday series.

"A couple of years ago, we had to make a shift and learn how to work—and work effectively— remotely. It was an adjustment for me, but I absolutely love it now."??

6:00 – 7:15 AM – Getting started

I am one of those early-bird weirdos. I’m sometimes in a lot of meetings, so the first few hours of the day are the quietest for me. Logging in early—usually around 7:00 or 7:15, after my morning workout—allows me to truly focus. I’ve also found that it’s important to me to dress as if I were going to the office, even when I’m not.?

When we first shifted to remote work, I invested in creating a dedicated office space at home. I know this is a privilege and a luxury, and I do not take it for granted. My office space reflects me, so it's bright with open windows and has things in it that I love. The best part is the door that closes!

Since I help lead three teams, I have team members in every continental US time zone as well as contractors overseas. I usually start by catching up on messages, reviewing my calendar, and prepping for meetings. Today I have a retrospective so I’ll prep a Mural board and gather some metrics for insights into our sprint. For my Sprint Planning/Lock-In meeting I’ll pull the tickets we prepared together, draft our sprint goals, ensure we have some metrics to help determine our velocity, and peek at who might be out in case that has an effect on the work.?

8:00 AM – Breakfast, coffee & dog walk

After I get a little work done, I take a quick break to take my corgi out for her morning walk, give her breakfast, and then get myself some breakfast and coffee.?

9:00 AM to noon – Let the games begin

This is when my day really gets going. Most mornings I’m in standups, quick post-standup discussions, and code reviews. Today I also have the sprint planning meeting I mentioned.?

One of the nice things about our Ann Arbor office is the standing desks throughout the space. I now have one at home too so I can stand up throughout the day, especially after lunch, or use the walking pad during meetings I’m not facilitating. When I’m standing, I try to do some yoga stretches, arm stretches, or a quick breathing meditation. Regular breaks and regular movement are both vital to maintaining my mental health so I don’t feel overwhelmed or drained.

Noon – 1:00 PM – Lunch & dog walk

Time for a quick break to walk my dog and enjoy the sunshine. I try for at least 20–30 minutes (weather and meetings permitting) so we both get some movement and she gets to enjoy the outdoors. Then I make a quick lunch, which I typically eat at my desk (I’m still working on this!) before my afternoon meetings.?

1:00 – 4:30 PM – Meetings & focus time

My afternoons often include 1:1 meetings with the tech and team leads, my manager, and external team managers. These meetings ensure transparency about issues we need to escalate or risks we need to assess. Today I also have that retrospective I mentioned; we end that with clear action items so we are continuously improving our processes.?

After meetings I catch up on outstanding messages or action items like follow-ups from a team agreement session, reviewing some new quarterly goals, drafting OKRs, and roadmaps, or providing a feedforward for a team member.?

I typically end my day around 4:30 or 5:00. This always means another, longer walk for my dog—corgis require a lot of movement to stay active and not be bored, and the movement is great for me, too.

Working from home was a shift for me, but it’s now something I absolutely love and I don’t take it for granted. I’ve learned how to keep a routine and treat each day as a workday, not a work-from-home day. Of course, it’s important to remain social. I love that I also have the option to go into the office, which I am trying to do more so that I can see my coworkers in person. Sometimes a few of us meet at a cafe or coffee shop with Wi-Fi. I also create social hours with my teams so we can have a little unfocused fun from time to time! Having this flexibility in where I work has been great for my productivity and mental health. As a result, I lead my teams more effectively as we contribute to ITHAKA and our mission.