Despite their rich cultural diversity, cities are severely lacking in biodiversity — and air pollution is a primary driver — Dubbed the “most serious environmental risk worldwide” by a group of Latin American scientists in 2019, air pollution in urbanized areas is only one example of the far-reaching environmental alterations brought on by humanity’s inhabitation of the Earth. But the reality is alarming.

Routines and schedules are often mistaken for one another, but the distinction is crucial — It’s 9:00 A.M. on a frigid Tuesday in January, the promising optimism and naiveté of a new year still hovering around me like a stratus cloud, infiltrating my workspace, my home, my state of mind. As a mother of a 10-month-old baby girl, I am intimately familiar with the balancing…

Grit ensures you stick to your goals, but what if your goals don’t align with your full potential? — Success isn’t money. Success isn’t fame. Success isn’t merely climbing the top of the corporate ladder. Or achieving “entrepreneur” status. Or even being the best at what you do. Maybe you’re a renowned scientist. Or a heart surgeon who saves lives. Or a published author. Maybe you’re the president of…

And why I won’t advise you to adopt mine — Today, I’d like to write about an important, albeit overlooked behavioral habit that, when executed consistently and properly, contributes substantially to one’s productivity. Evening routines. Of course, productivity is not the sole measure of success. But there tends to be a positive correlation between the two. In terms of increasing…

Proactive steps you can take today to improve your wellbeing — Start each morning with physical activity. Even light physical activity will do the trick. A walk, yoga, strength training, housework, gardening, grocery shopping. Whatever you choose, physical activity has a myriad of health benefits, ranging from lower risk of cardiovascular disease to healthy BMI to improved mental health. Besides, unless…

How healthy are you, really? Using the 8 pillars of wellness to evaluate your health — Being healthy carries with it a myriad of associated behaviors — eating leafy greens, exercising regularly, taking care of yourself, and avoiding toxic habits such as smoking, binge drinking, and abusing drugs. But in reality, wellness is far more than that. One predominant model of wellness is comprised of 8…

Understanding the complicated relationship between work and time spent “messing around” — It might seem counterintuitive to take time away from work if your ultimate goal is to increase your productivity, but that might be exactly what you need. As a writer, you have no doubt faced the crippling creative anguish of writer’s block. Staring blankly into the depths of an empty…

Why that’s a good thing, and how you can take advantage of it — When I wake up at 5:00 AM, stumbling out of bed and dragging myself weakly across the room, an important stage in the circadian rhythm cycle begins. …

What it’s like living with OCD — On the morning of October 17th, I awoke to the whistling gusts of wind and the frenzied storm of crunchy autumn leaves tumbling across the grass outside my window. …