Greetings, dear LOADer! If you’re reading this, welcome to a day in my life as a Full Stack Developer at LOAD. How rude of me — I haven’t even introduced myself! 😅
Hey there! I’m Francisco Gamelas, 22 years old, born and raised in the land of moliceiros, fishing traditions, delicious ovos moles, and home to the LOAD family headquarters.
Introductions done! Let’s kick off another great day at our company!

8:30

This is where my day technically begins — procrastinating in the “valley of blankets” thanks to the cold mornings around here. By around 8:50, I finally convince myself to get up. Since I lay out my clothes the night before (because I know myself all too well and I always end up staying in bed just a little longer), I get dressed, brush my teeth and sort out my hair. That’s the ideal plan, anyway — it doesn’t always go that smoothly, and some days I end up running late for our daily stand-up.

9:10

Our daily stand-up kicks off — the moment where everyone shares what their day is going to look like. Since I’m often running behind and I live close to the office, I usually end up joining it either from home before I leave or on my way there. 😂
I hop on my electric scooter and head to my second home, where the magic happens, and good vibes are always the rule.

9:25

I arrive at the office, and if the daily is still going, I jump straight in. Once the meeting wraps up, I head back to my workstation and get everything set up for another day full of challenges. First, I check our Slack channels to catch up on anything that may have been shared by the team.
With everything up and running, I open JIRA — our project management platform — review the tasks lined up for the day, and get to work.

11:00

Snack time — energy levels need topping up! Since we’re in internship season, I make sure to support our interns with whatever they need. Having been in their shoes just two years ago, I know exactly what it’s like to struggle at the start and to get your head around how a company operates.

12:00

After a solid debugging session, I finally get back to my own tasks. I’ve been working on a logging service for an application I’m developing for one of our clients — but I can’t say much more than that (top-secret 🕵️).

14:20

After a proper team lunch — as is tradition on Fridays — we head back to the office to get back at it. I start by catching up with Miguel, my PM, on the project’s progress and the tasks on my plate. After that, I get into some more specific logging work related to the authentication services on the client’s platform.

16:30

Time for a short break — some stretching, a good coffee and a few biscuits to recharge. After the break, I put the finishing touches on what will be the data consultation interface I mentioned earlier and tidy up the content structure. I also take the opportunity to review my open pull-requests, go deeper into the technology I’m working with, and figure out where I can improve — all to have something solid and well-organised ready for demo.

17:30

It’s 17:30 and I circle back to Miguel to talk through the project’s progress and have a (very healthy, obviously 😂) debate about possible improvements and how to structure the task. Seeing my PM happy is always a good sign — it means I’m on the right track. I get everything prepped for next week, jot down a few notes on what I need to tackle come Monday, and start packing up, leaving my workspace tidy for the next working day.

18:30

Given that our work is, in a way, quite sedentary — we spend a lot of time sitting in front of a screen — I get home and pack my bag for the gym.

After a long and productive day at work, and a gym session that somehow always feels twice as long as it is, there’s nothing better than spending some time with my girlfriend, unwinding, recharging, and getting some rest. It’s been a fantastic experience working here at LOAD — I’ve learned so much, shared knowledge and experiences, and above all made real friends, not just work colleagues. As someone once told me: “We’re not better or worse than anyone else — we’re just different.” And I think that’s exactly what makes us so unique and genuine in everything we do.

That’s all for today — hope you enjoyed the ride! If my day sounds like your kind of thing, feel free to reach out and who knows, maybe you’ll join this amazing family of LOADers. Hasta! 👋

Kind regards, Francisco Gamelas