Procrastination is a word we know all too well. I even procrastinated a bit before writing this. No one is a stranger to it. It presents itself to us as a familiar friend, but it can be the start of a creative demise.

It creeps up on us and distracts us with enticing endeavours. Sometimes these activities are so mundane we wouldn’t think about them unless we had something more important to do.

How do we stop this? How do we resist the urge to dust shelves and count beans? Procrastination often comes as a subconscious defence. There is something troubling about the task at hand, you avoid it.

It might be a small hiccup or a monumental obstacle, but you avoid it all together because it is the comfortable thing to do. We often do what we are good at because it is our comfort zone. Straying outside of it will leave us open to dangers of criticism, rigorous thinking and labour.

When faced with a problem, the first thing we must do is acknowledge it. Common advice is not clichéd advice. To overcome problems we must break them down into achievable tasks.

If one of those problems is writing, then the Azura team has got you covered! Download our free ebook to find out how to captivate you audience!

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It will happen to all of us. At some point we will come across an obstacle that prohibits us from putting our best work forward.

A creative block can come from different things. We usually face an obstacle that requires us to more effort into solving. Whether we acknowledge that or not, we begin to feel discouraged or unsure about the project. Instead of thinking of a block a prohibitor, take it as a challenge to push your creative limits.

Upcoming deadlines and expectations can cloud our mental process, but think of all of these restrictions as a guideline to push you. Rather than trying to let these factors impede your progress, use them to your advantage.

Is a deadline too close? Then, simplify your piece and make sure your bottom line is prominent. A piece needed to incorporate more blue? Then, why? If it was supposed to convey a specific emotion then try to find an alternative way to display that.

Still blocked? Then maybe you need help reaching your audience. Learn how to captivate your audience with our free ebook:

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What’s #GivingTuesday? It’s an international day where we support charities that give back to our community.

What is a better charity to support than one that supports our children – our future.

BIG On Learning ( B.O.L.) is a non-profit organization in the British Caribbean, whose mission is to provide innovate educational facilities in Anguilla.

They have a number of programs that are inclusive, even for the differently-abled. B.O.L. is developing a Multi-Purpose Education Center that will include the  B.O.L. (Blended Online Learning) H.U.B. (Home School Under Branches Of Learning).

The  H.U.B. will provide solutions for children with special needs, which is an area that is currently underserved in Anguilla.

You can support BIG On Learning by donating here.

You can judge a book by its cover. It’s quite important.

Paradise Restored is a concise book that details how to improve you organisational structure. Sustainability is not just a buzzword in business – it applies to everything, including human resources.

The book gives you the real reason why retaining millennials is important and more importantly, how to do it. It’s raw honesty is complimented by the real0life stories Kent Wessinger vividly paints and the evidence-back data he provides.

After living in the Caribbean for over 20 years, he has in-depth knowledge of the region, which has one of the highest migratory rates in the world. From his research, he determined the cause and applied it to different demographics.

The restoration of paradise comes from the idea that all businesses are inherently innovative, we just need to find a way to reclaim its stature. The lush greenery that adorns the cover is symbolic of abundance, wishing the reader prosperity.

Get your copy here.

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The truth is, you already have paradise. The only problem is that it has faded into obscurity. In order to restore your company or organisation to its pinnacle (and exceed it) you must start with an open mind.

Paradise Restored is a no-frills book that tells you how to do just that. Success is determined about your ability to adapt and work with millennials, the largest population sect in the world.

Everyone ponders on how they can improve what they are doing, but no one really knows what to do.

Find Your Motivation

What motivates you?

This is the first thing you should ask yourself. Answer truthfully, as you will gain a lot of insight about yourself. Knowing what motivates you allows you to acknowledge the reason behind what you are doing. While it may seem like a simple question, it can be quite challenging for some.

Set Goals

Now you have to set realistic goals. What do you want to accomplish? Keep this list within reason and clear. Saying you want to change the world with your inspirational videos might be noble and come from the best of interests, but it is vague (and subsequently, unattainable). Stating that you want to produce content that highlight the challenges of at-risk communities is more realistic. However, saying that you want to write investigative reports about at-risk youth for a newspaper is much more specific.

Practice

This is the piece of advice you get all the time, but you know it’s true. You cannot correct what has not been done.

Take Strategic Risks

Putting yourself out of your comfort zone is one of the greatest – and scariest – things you can do. If you fail, you will learn from it. If you succeed, then you should celebrate. Remember why you do what you do and take pride in going on a journey.

Lots of people have difficulty getting through to an audience is an especially difficult task if you don’t know how. Download our ebook How To Write To Captivate An Audience and you’ll get easy-to-read tips.

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Paradise Restored takes readers on a journey through the current generational gap. In any developing economy, it is vital to retain your millennial resources. Currently, millennials are the largest sect of the population. Dr Kent J. Wessinger’s experience and evidence-backed research help you navigate the confounding path to restoring your organisation to its height and beyond.

Stay updated on this book by subscribing here.

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Maybe, maybe not.

Social media is run by an onslaught of user-generated content. Even though some of the content comes under constant criticism. Right now, videos have taken over most platforms – Instagram has IGTV, Facebook has Facebook Watch and LinkedIn is heavily promoting #LinkedInVideo. These are all great features, but is great content being promoted through these features?

What’s your message?

Now that is easier to publish content online, being a “creator”is easier than ever. Candid moments are a great way to connect with you audience, but ask yourself, do I have a message worth sharing?

What’s your medium?

Finding your message is only one part of the equation. Finding your medium is also important. How do you best express yourself? Videos might be popular, but some people communicate best with words. For some, podcasts are much more effective. Of course, you have to keep your audience in mind and think about the best way to reach them.

What’s your plan?

Keeping an outline will ensure that what you do has a structure. What’s the point of publishing content, if no one can digest it? A plan doesn’t need to be a five-page rigid outline, but just a few key elements that you want to incorporate. Keep it simple and you’ll be fine.

Get the ebook, How To Write To Captivate An Audience, to help you master the art of courting your audience.

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Finding dust in your home is no fun, and it often seems that no matter how much you clean, it keeps coming back.

Dust is made up of all kinds of particles including plant pollen, dead skin cells, and fibers from clothing and paper. When it accumulates, it’s annoying and can wreak havoc on asthma and allergy sufferers. To make matters worse, with dust come dust mites.

While it’s impossible to completely rid your home of dust, here are some easy tips for keeping it at bay.

Change your bedding once a week.

Dust mites love to dwell in sheets, pillows and mattresses. Encasing your mattress and box spring in an allergen-proof cover, in conjunction with washing your bedding once a week, should be enough to keep bug-a-boos at bay.

Keep tidy closets.

Garments stored in closets shed lots of fiber. So unless you want a blast of dust confetti each time you open the closet door, it’s best to store things in garment bags, plastic containers and boxes.

Remove clutter from floors.

Don’t ignore piles of clothing, toys, magazines, books or anything else on the floor. Cleaning around them won’t take care of the dust that has settled in or around them.

Stop using these.

Feather dusters are cute and retro, but they do a horrible job of removing dust. Even if you follow recommendations to stroke the surfaces with the feathers instead of “tickling” them, the dust will fall out of the feathers as you walk through the room. Use your vacuum’s soft-bristled dusting attachment to clean drapes or curtains, mini-blinds, and baseboards. Switch to a damp microfibre cloth for other surfaces and rinse it repeatedly. Both the vacuum and the wet cloth ensure you’re getting rid of the dust, not just moving it around.

Air purifiers.

If you have severe allergies or asthma symptoms, an air purifier can be very beneficial — but that doesn’t mean you can ditch the duster! While they filter dust particles, they don’t take care of dust mites.

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Who isn’t guilty of being an unpleasant person to be around every now and then? We all have our good days and bad days, so it happens. But if you’re noticing that your negativity has become a constant thing that’s starting to affect your relationships, it’s never too late to turn it all around.

“What you think is what you become.” The actions you take every day can also play a role in helping you become a happier and less toxic person. So here are some habits you should pick up, because you can turn it all around:

Tell the truth

Everyone fibs now and then – and that’s fine. Keeping the brutal truth about your feelings to yourself can even be good for your relationships sometimes. (Your mom doesn’t really need to know what you think of her fashion sense).

Mind your own business

Toxic people love drama. Gossiping, telling people what to do, and getting in the middle of things makes a toxic person come alive with excitement. Sure, you’re only trying to help – keep telling yourself that. But eventually, people aren’t going to confide in you anymore, and will start to drift away from you, for their own self-preservation.

Shut down negative thoughts

It’s a cliché because it’s true: hurt people hurt people. When you listen to the toxic voices in your head – the ones that tell you you’re the worst and no one loves you – you become the hurt person lashing out at everyone else, trying to make them feel as bad as you do. Of course, you don’t do this consciously. But when you feel terrible about yourself, it’s hard not to let that bleed out into the rest of your life. So, if you suffer from pessimistic thinking and negative self-talk, shut that shit down. You’re not so bad. You’re human, and we’re all our own most toxic people sometimes.

Take care of yourself

All of the previous points can be boiled down to this one, really. The key to having good relationships is kindness, and that includes your relationship with yourself. Being honest, keeping the focus on yourself, practicing moderation with social media and self-care indulgences, and not allowing negativity to take over your thinking are all ways of being kind to yourself.

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