For most (if not all) of us, hard work is our key to success. In order to do well, we’ll have to put in the effort and time. And in most cases, being strict and demanding high standards from yourself is good. After all, it is this discipline that drives us to learn and improve continuously.

However, in our quest to constantly become better versions of ourselves, we can unknowingly become too harsh at times. …

As an avid reader, I used to force myself to read every book cover to cover. Even if I wasn’t enjoying myself, I would refuse to pick up another book until I finished the book I was currently reading.

After all, every author deserves a chance. Maybe the book will begin to pick up after the chapter I was reading. Or maybe the book would be able to teach me a lesson even if I wasn’t enjoying it. Armed with a thousand different reasons, I would always venture forward to finish the book I had started to read.

Yet, as responsibilities started to pile up, I found myself having lesser time to read. Unlike in the past, I could no longer spend countless days reading on my bed without a care in the world. …

Nowadays, being ‘woke’ is all about appearing fashionable.

Whenever a humanitarian, or environmental crisis happens, individuals race to share Instagram posts before tweeting a few words to show ‘solidarity’. A few days (or sometimes weeks) later, everything goes back to normal and the crisis forgotten (even if it hasn’t even been solved).

And even though I wish that I’ll be able to claim that I’m different, the truth is that I fall into this category of ‘woke’. Apart from issues relating to mental health and the environment (my two ‘pet issues’ that I care deeply about), I often find myself attempting to show support for a certain cause before completely and conveniently forgetting about it the following week. …

In 2020, America was set to see more than 3.2 million deaths. With an increase of at least 400,000 deaths when compared to 2019, 2020 is quickly becoming the deadliest year in US history.

And even though the number of deaths normally increase in most years, 2020’s increase amounts to a 15% rise, the largest single year percentage increase since 1918. Additionally, with the amount of Covid-19 related deaths rising continually, 2020's increase might be much more than 15% after accounting for the months at the end of the year.

What’s with the increase?

As expected, the amount of deaths due to the coronavirus played a large part in the increase. With over 330,000 deaths, Covid-19 has become the third leading cause of death (behind only heart disease and cancer). …

As a blogger (and web content writer), content generation is arguably the most important part of the process. Without interesting content, even the best writer would be unable to attract readers. Furthermore, with an unsustainable content generation strategy, one would find it difficult to retain readers.

And as I developed my own personal content creation recipe, I found myself wondering if content spinning was a legitimate content generation strategy that I could adopt.

After all, as a freelance writer, I was once hired to spin content as part of another blog’s content generation strategy. …

As writers, all of us have our very own pet topics. Some of us spend most of our time writing about technology. Others might prefer to stick to writing advice for other writers. For me, I like to use my writing platform to share about the environmental issues and the possible solutions that we can adopt.

And sticking to a niche (or even a few here on Medium) is completely normal. In fact, many writers will claim that a niche is necessary for writing success.

However, I believe that a niche isn’t necessary here on Medium. Focusing too much on a particular topic limits your voice and forces you to look at issues from a singular perspective. …

Defined as the “persistent difficulty with sleep initiation, duration, consolidation or quality”, insomnia causes an individual to be unable to get a full night’s sleep be it through difficulty in falling asleep or the inability to remain asleep.

With insomnia affecting between 10 to 20% of adults worldwide (and nearly 50% of the geriatric population), sleepless nights are something that many of us will struggle (or have been struggling) with. Furthermore, as sleep is closely related to our life expectancy, beating insomnia should be on the top of many of our to-do list

And because not many of us want to rely on medical means (like sleeping pills), here are some natural remedies that might help improve you overcome your sleepless…

Our surrounding environment plays a massive role in our mental health. For example, clutter negatively affects our mental state. Being exposed to sunlight helps our body release serotonin, allowing us to feel happier.

And as our cities become more advanced, there have been alarming concerns that our new environments might affect us detrimentally. Apart from factors such as smaller living spaces and cookie-cutter cubicle workspaces, many have begun to worry that the loss of green spaces might be affecting our mental state detrimentally.

As a result, the availability of green spaces is becoming a huge consideration as communities attempt to boost urban dwellers’ mental health. …