A day in the life of... PR maven and mother-of-two, Tjin Lee
The managing director of Mercury Marketing & Communications makes sure her day is purposefully spent – whether it is family, work or meaningful initiatives.
Tjin Lee with her son Jake, five, who enjoys mathematics, art and playing with Lego. (Photo: Tjin Lee)
As the founder and managing director of Mercury Marketing & Communications and mum to two energetic and curious boys Tyler, eight, and Jake, five, Tjin Lee certainly has her hands full.
Yet the powerhouse behind Singapore’s key fashion events such as the Audi Fashion Festival and Singapore Fashion Week also carves time out for meaningful initiatives. She mentors female entrepreneurs under CRIB (Creating Responsible and Innovative Business), speaks up against undue educational pressure on children under the Life Beyond Grades movement and has advocated for support for the events industry during the pandemic.
Lee recently moved into a ground floor unit of a black-and-white walk-up, together with her husband John Lim, who runs his own commodities company, their sons and a helper. Here’s a sneak peek of what a day in her life is like.
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8AM
Wake up, usually to the sound of Tyler belting out Disney songs from the next room! Kick off the day with a detox juice. During Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), I took time to get healthier and cut some weight. I’ve since dropped 3.8kg on a “reset and detox” diet plan with Reculture.
9AM
Help Tyler with his latest passion project. He now enjoys making YouTube videos. It’s usually a stop-motion video, or one where he talks about his favourite toys. He’s just started his own YouTube account, and enjoys creating content. I am supportive of this, as our children are digital natives, and filming helps him develop confidence and nurture his public speaking skills.
10AM
Zoom call. This is the time I set aside for the first call of the day. It varies between team catch-ups and client meetings.
11AM
Unboxing and content creation. I usually spend half-an-hour to an hour each day supporting relevant local brands in the form of pro bono Instagram stories. My priority is to support the members of social enterprise CRIB, which has about 300 members. It’s so important to support local businesses at this time. With tourism at a standstill, many will fold if we don’t share and spread the love.
11.30AM
Art or imagination project with my younger son Jake. We usually craft and paint. Today, we are painting a wooden block puzzle from Lil Wonder Trails. My two sons have extremely varied interests, so it’s challenging to engage them both in the same activities at the same time. Jake enjoys mathematics, art and playing with Lego. Tyler likes singing, creative self-play and watching and making YouTube videos.
1PM
Lunchtime. This is an ideal time for me to embark on a detox programme, as my usual work and social schedule won’t permit. My current diet with Reculture consists of an oil-free, sugar-free, carb-free meal. I have had friends, two at a time, join me on several occasions throughout the lockdown. They come to my home and are happy to accompany me while I have my detox meals. These occasional social meetings are what really add joy and a sense of normalcy to my days at home.
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2PM
Potting, repotting and enjoying my little gardens on the balconies. I never thought I would enjoy gardening quite as much as I do, but watching my plants grow in the last year while not being able to travel and spending so much time at home, has been very satisfying.
3PM–5PM
This is usually the scheduled time of my afternoon Zoom work calls. I’m very fortunate to have the support of both neighbours and my mum-in-law who are often able to help with the boys while I need to work. My mum usually reads to them in the afternoons while I’m on calls, or they will go upstairs to draw and bake with my neighbour Auntie Alice.
If there is no one available to take them, I will allow some screen time. I encourage them to play with educational apps such as KooBits, an online mathematics programme, which follows our Ministry of Education curriculum and encourages learning through gamification. Jake loves to play with Osmo, which is more interactive than simply watching a screen. He’s currently playing a coding game on Osmo.
5.30PM
In bid to reset my health, I am attempting to commit to 30 minutes of exercise several times a week. It’s a slow start, but every journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a first step! I am trialling the CruCycle bike right now. Having a bike at home is convenient because I can get changed into my workout gear and start exercising, no excuses! The CRU instructors are also really inspirational, and after every workout I feel refreshed and rejuvenated.
7PM
Dinner time. This is such an important family time – no books or devices while we switch off for dinner. I watched Seaspiracy on Netflix recently, and it was a wake-up call. I really encourage everyone to watch this if they can. Even though it’s sensational journalism, many of the facts and sources remain relevant. I am trying to cut down the fish and meat consumption in the household. We’ve ordered plant-based crispy nuggets, meatballs and fish fingers for the boys from Tuckshop.sg. They can’t really seem to tell the difference!
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8PM
After dinner and shower time for the kids, we play games, and the boys are allowed some TV time. They currently enjoy games like Dinosaur Bingo, Memory Game and Uno. Tyler also enjoys virtual play dates, where he sometimes FaceTimes his best friend and they hang out in his room.
10PM
I’ll read to the kids and put them to bed, before finally being able to indulge in my own destressing and unwinding moment. This usually just means taking my time to enjoy my beauty products at home, lighting my Jo Malone candles (English Pear & Freesia is my favourite scent) and putting on my Spotify playlist in the living room. I usually enjoy a little cocktail treat ordered from Kiki’s Reserve or Smoke & Mirrors, or we make our own sake tonic cocktails!
1AM
Bedtime. One of my favourite times of the day. With all the extra time staying home last year, we invested in a really comfortable and cooling latex mattress from Heveya, as well as bamboo and Tencel sheets. These bedding details make a huge difference in keeping cool during this hot season. Brands I love for bedsheets are Sunday Bedding and Easven – both make eco-friendly cooling sheets in gorgeous shades and are local businesses I love to support!
