INSIDER: A day in the life of Australian Institute of Management WA chief executive Gary Martin

I jump out of bed at 3.45am. It takes me about 45 minutes to get ready but that’s only because I move around slowly and keep as many lights off as I can so I don’t wake the rest of the house up. I’m in the car by 4.30am and the first stop is getting a coffee via the McDonald’s drive-through, seeing as no other places are open at that time. I’m usually at work just before 5am and the reason I get to work early is because I like to have at least two hours to catch up on emails and post on social media. We’re a relatively small team and so the first thing I do when I get to the office is unlock the doors, turn on all of the lights and get the coffee machines running. From there until lunchtime, my schedule is filled with face-to-face meetings, either internally or externally. Depending on the day, I have fixed times to meet one-on-one with my staff too. Although I have a general pattern, no day is really the same and that’s what I love about what I do. I run an open-door policy so there are a lot of unscheduled meetings. I think it’s very important for staff members to see you present and know they are free to have a chat. Sometimes those informal meetings are really important to helping someone proceed with a particular job, and get encouragement and directions. I don’t have a full meal at lunchtime and instead opt for smaller snacks, like fruit and nuts, throughout the day. I’m more inclined to take small 10-minute breaks than take a full hour at lunch. Between 1pm and 3pm, I like to get back to my emails and work on my opinion pieces for The West Australian. I also get a lot of engagement on my LinkedIn account so I like to factor in some time in the afternoon to reply to comments. I always try go back and thank people for a comment and also engage with others. I like to leave the office between 4.30pm and 5pm to beat the traffic. I will usually log back in from my home office and work for another hour before dinner time. I have two daughters who love to cook and dinner is usually ready by the time I’m finished up with work. While we have the television on in the background, we always eat dinner on the dining table. The biggest thing that winds me down is having dinner with other people and hearing what has happened in their day. Jumping into those conversations puts the working day behind me. I try not to check my emails at this time and I’m trying this digital detox where I put my phone on charge in another room between 6.30 and 8.30pm. If there’s time and I have the energy, I might go for a 30-minute walk after dinner. I mostly watch news and current affairs. I’m in bed by about 9pm.

INSIDER: A day in the life of Australian Institute of Management WA chief executive Gary Martin

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