Elizabeth Tai's Blog, page 12

5 Email Management Tips that will help you stay sane (Outlook Tips)

If I can get rid of email, I would, but emails are here to stay.

I count myself lucky. I spent the first 15 years of my career free of the tyranny of the email inbox. For some reason, my profession back then (journalism) wasn’t big on emails.

But when I entered the corporate sector, well, goodbye empty inbox!

Here are some rules I keep to stay calm amidst the email deluge:

Clear your inbox once a week

Inbox zero is not a myth. In my previous post, I outline how I keep my inbox empty at the end o...

I lost something in my pursuit for financial independence

I have a confession to make.

In terms of money management, I’ve come really far. In 2008, I had a six-figure debt and was living paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t have enough savings to pay my bills for a month if I lost my job.

Now, I have enough to last a year (or two) without a paycheck. Back in 2008, my network was probably in the negative. Now, it’s positively positive.

It took a lot of sacrifice, grit and discipline to get where I am today.

But I think I lost something along the way.

I think...

How I achieve Inbox Zero (Outlook tips)

When I entered the corporate world last year, one of the most difficult things I had to grapple with was email. Specifically, the infamous email deluge.

Believe it or not, in my 15 years as a journalist and subeditor, I didn’t have to deal with the scary amount of emails most corporates have to. We journalists (at least in my former newspaper organisation) prefer to march to a person’s desk and talk to people if we want to get things done. We’ve also long accepted that email is the way beuroc...

My struggle with work/life balance

Apparently, you don’t need fancy vacations to recharge. You can have “grab and go” moments throughout your workday instead.

I changed careers last year. From journalism —> Content strategy —> Public relations/Integrated Communications.

My job in public relations is a content strategy + marketing + event marketing + media relations. It has been an exciting but steep learning curve. Like Mount Everest steep.

But I’m amazed at the things I’m learning at such a short time. I count myself fortunate...

Visiting Kyoto circa 2005

Photo by Lukas.

Japan remains my one of my favourite destinations. In this #FlashbackFriday post, I repost a travelogue of a trip to Kyoto. It was for a fashion assignment. It was fascinating to see how fashion shoots were done but I got to enjoy beautiful Kyoto and Osaka at the same time.

February 23, 2005Kyoto, here I come!

So on Friday I will be flying off to Kyoto, the place where you can "see" Japan in a nutshell.

The last time I was in Japan was nearly five years ago. Despite the sheer nu...

Seoullo 7017: How to recycle old motorways

Once upon a time, it was a road for cars. Now, it’s a road for the people.

This former overpass, which called “Seoullo 7017” because it was first built in 1970, and then repurposed in 2017, is located near the Seoul Station. For 45 years, this route served as a transportation artery of Seoul but by 2006 it had serious safety issues and vehicles were prohibited from using it.

However, instead of tearing it down, in 2015 the city embarked on a unique project to turn it into a park and pathw...

2018: The Year of Change

My first thoughts when writing this post was: Holy crap, what a hell of a year!

First and foremost in most Malaysians’ minds would be the epic #GE14 (aka Malaysia’s 14th General Election).

Malaysia’s seismic shift

I think most Malaysians are still thinking, WTF just happened?

Dr. Mahathir is now our prime minister once more. We have a brand new Government run by Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional is the Opposition. I still do a mental whiplash when I read the word “Opposition” in the paper. My...

Remembering the Asian Tsunami

On Dec 22, indonesia was rocked by a surprise tsunami. Today, the number of dead is at least 429. This tsunami came a few days before the 14th “anniversary” of another deadly tsunami.

On Dec 26, 2004, the Asian Tsunami or the Indian Ocean Tsunami hit countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and even my country - Malaysia. In a matter of hours, 250,000 people in 14 countries died.

It felt like salt being rubbed into a wound; after the Asian tsunami, warning systems were put into place....

Can Malaysia's print media survive the Internet age?

The print media needs to figure out a new way to exist - fast.

2018 has been a tough year for print media in Malaysia.

Journalism, particularly print journalism, has been badly affected by what we call the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4). Print journalism isn’t handling the digitalisation of content very well. This year alone:

Malay Mail has ditched its print edition and have gone purely digital and will be letting go of employees.

Utusan Malaysia is also shedding employees.

And even if they...

How I use social media (tips for ordinary folks)

I think I’ve mentioned how much I hate the marketing sheen on blogs and social media these days. I’m like an old fart, lamenting on the “good ol’ days” where blogs seemed more genuine and heart-felt and nobody was trying to shill you their book/product/coaching services through every blog and social media post.

Most of the advice on how to use social media are catered to people who want to use it for marketing purposes.

However, what if you are just an ordinary Joe or Jane? How do you use soci...