Prachi Tyagi is the Digital & Content Coordinator at Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, where she is part of the team building the new Choice Hotels website for Australia, New Zealand and India markets.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I have an unconventional background – with an undergrad degree in medical biotechnology, a masters degree in marketing communications along with a diploma in Mandarin.

My career really took off when I worked in marketing at a healthcare startup where I was able to get hands-on experience in building brand reputation strategies.

Over the years, I’ve become an untiring advocate for personal branding – whether it’s my blog articles or being invited as a guest speaker at my alma mater, the University of Melbourne.

In my current role as the Digital and Content Coordinator at Choice Hotels, I am part of the core team that develops and executes digital marketing campaigns for the Asia-Pacific region as well as creating website content.

2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

With the ongoing pandemic and Victoria in stage four lockdown, Melbournians have most definitely had to be more flexible and adapt to a long-term work-from-home lifestyle since the start of the year.

I start my day around 7:30AM with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and depending on when my team has our daily catch-up, I work on sorting priorities for the day and getting through my inbox.

In times like these when we could all use a little virtual socializing, some of my colleagues and I get together for a quick video yoga session in the mornings. After a quick lunch and a walk around the block, I’m back working through a list of actionable items in the afternoon.

My workday usually ends with a quick chat with my team on what we were able to achieve that day.

Our company recently expanded its footprint in other key territories, and this has facilitated more collaboration with international teams and working on more strategic projects. A chunk of my day also involves crafting fresh social media content that most appropriately features our properties and engages our target audiences.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

Thankfully, my company allows us to work remotely and we’ve been able to do so since the start of the lockdown in March. Although it was a bit of a struggle initially, I finally feel adjusted to my new routine, identifying the most productive hours and also making time for breaks.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

I feel work-life balance is extremely important regardless of what stage one is in life. It’s also a part of my life that I actively seek to nurture and enhance from time-to-time.

For me, the most prominent aspect of work-life balance is having a healthy mindset where you don’t bring your personal problems to work or vice versa.

5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

Like a lot of people in lockdown, there’s been heaps of experimental cooking and some gardening. I’m also fortunate to be getting quality time with my family and new husband (who I married in quarantine!).

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

Having been a massive Scrubs fan, currently, I am obsessed with the ‎Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald podcast. I also like to read up on No Mercy / No Malice, a blog by marketing professor Scott Galloway.

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

With all the cooking in lockdown, it’s safe to say I now have an app to store all the new recipes called “Recipe Keeper”.

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

I’d probably want to hear how parents are multitasking while working from home. It can’t be easy at all to manage kids by yourself while simultaneously taking time for your mental health.

It would be inspiring to get a glimpse in their life and how they manage kids, a household and a full-time job.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

It helps to keep in mind that everyone has different priorities and it’s completely alright to not be “productive” 24×7 as everyone is making this time in lockdown to be.

We all need a little empathy – now more than ever – to remember that as long as you’re moving in the right direction, it doesn’t matter how fast you get there.

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