I’m Mike Vardy, and I help people build a better relationship with time — not by controlling it, but by working with it. Through my writing, courses, and community, I explore how intention and attention shape a more meaningful life — one rooted in the original idea of productiveness over productivity.
I’m sick and tired of this…
I’m writing this at 12:26 in the morning. I’ve just finished writing several other pieces, spent time working on my Daily Theme tasks already, and I’m about to head off to bed after a really productive day.
That’s why I’m sick and tired of people saying that night owls aren’t productive.
Whether it’s imperative to align your body clock with the magic hours of sleep or night owls simply not existing, there is a stigma against night owls and their ability to not just be productive but to sustain productiveness throughout the day.
I’m a productive night owl. Have been for nearly all of my life. And I want to break that stigma and help night owls be just as productive as their early bird counterparts.
If you’re a night owl then reply to this email and let me know. I’d love to hear from you because I know I’m not the only one that’s sick and tired of this.
See you later,
Mike
P.S. I’ve already developed a short email series for night owls, so if you’d like to receive that just click here and you’ll be good to go.
The Practice of Productiveness
I’m Mike Vardy, and I help people build a better relationship with time — not by controlling it, but by working with it. Through my writing, courses, and community, I explore how intention and attention shape a more meaningful life — one rooted in the original idea of productiveness over productivity.
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 44 | December 27, 2025 Hello Reader, There’s a particular sound that shows up at the end of a year. It isn’t bells or carols. It isn’t noise. It’s quieter than that. It sounds like a song you’ve heard a hundred times suddenly landing differently. Like listening to Time by Pink Floyd and realizing the clock in the background isn’t theatrical anymore—it’s personal. Or hearing Dreamer by Supertramp and recognizing that the dream being sung about feels...
Hello Reader, Yesterday I noticed something about the jade plant on my study's deep window sill. It’s been in the same pot for a long time. I water it on a steady cadence. I make sure it gets light. And yet—it looks exactly the same. No new leaves. No visible growth. Just… alive. It struck me that this is exactly what this week is for. With Christmas only a few days away, and the calendar folding in on itself, this isn’t a week for expansion. It’s not a week for reinvention or big pushes or...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 43 | December 20, 2025 Hello Reader, There are moments when a line lands in your mind with the weight of something you didn’t realize you’d been carrying. A sentence, a phrase, an image that turns out to be a pressure valve — releasing something that’s been quietly building. That happened to me this past Sunday morning. I was in the middle of a working session, the kind that starts slow and honest before the rest of the day wakes up. And out of nowhere,...