Brit gal Liz Hover is the Digital Media Manager at the National Screen Institute (NSI) in Winnipeg. She’s been named one of the world’s top “125 fearless female bloggers.” Liz teaches social media marketing and blogging to students at NSI and also manages the organization’s website. If you dig dogs you’ll love Liz’s dog’s blog Hi, I’m Sadie Shih Tzu.

What time do you get up and moving? What are the first few things (work/business/personal) that you do each morning?
I get up everyday at 5:30 a.m. Even on the weekends. The first thing I do is switch on my laptop which lives on the dining-room table. While I’m waiting for it to do its thing, I go outside for a cigarette. Yes – I’m one of THOSE people. Then I read a lot of emails. I usually also check the Daily Mail website (a British tabloid newspaper).

I get up everyday at 5:30 a.m. Even on the weekends.

When do you first check your email? And how many emails do you get a day?
I check my email as soon as my computer will let me. I probably get around a couple of hundred emails a day. I have two accounts myself and one for my dog, Sadie. I always check my work email too.

Do you have any tips for dealing with email? (Any techniques or tools you use?)
If I don’t read and action an email straight away it usually gets forgotten. I make a point of reading and replying straight away. Whenever I think, ‘I’ll read that later’ I don’t so it’s now or never.

I subscribe to email updates from lots of design, social media marketing and pet blogs. If the email is still in my inbox unread after a couple of days, I’ll delete it. Of course I check its importance but ultimately if I couldn’t find time to read it, it loses its relevance.

What time do you usually arrive at the office? And what does your typical day look like?
I’m at the office anywhere between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. First thing I do is grab a glass of water (I never drink coffee!).

Log on to my computer and open up Outlook to see what has arrived in my inbox since earlier that morning.

I read A LOT. I subscribe to zillions of blogs and websites – both film and TV industry news and social media marketing stuff.

I read A LOT. I subscribe to zillions of blogs and websites

So a large part of my day is spent reading through emails. Sometimes what I read might become a blog post or I’ll post it to NSI’s Facebook or Twitter.

I don’t think I really have a typical day.

Working as a website manager can often mean I’m very reactive – waiting for things from others. I might have to edit a bunch of stories for our website. Or I might have to fix sponsorship logos on our site.

I use Photoshop a lot. I don’t think there’s a day when it isn’t open on my computer. I might be creating a small ad for our website or resizing a photo for someone’s blog post. Opening up Photoshop is almost as routine as opening Outlook.

Three times a week I see a personal trainer for an hour between 11:30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. I do a lot of sitting in my job so exercise is super important. In the summer months I cycle to and from work but we get snow for half the year so regular exercise is essential for me. I do a lot of running, skipping and weight training.

I do a lot of sitting in my job so exercise is super important.

I rarely go out for lunch. It’s usually eaten at my desk (sushi or salad). And that’s just the way I like it. Invite me for wine after work if you want a meeting with me J I prefer to carry on working while I eat.

I tend to work very quickly. While I’m waiting for a photo to open, I’ll be checking NSI’s Twitter account or reading emails. I think the idea of multi-tasking is a myth. I can’t read emails and listen to a webinar at the same time. I usually fill small gaps of time with lots of little things.

Our office tends to wrap up around 5 p.m. I won’t stay much later than that because if I have more stuff to do, I’ll do it at home.

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