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. 2, Issue 23 | August 1, 2026 Hello Reader, I use AI all over the place. ClickUp Brain inside my work management. Recipes built from whatever I dictate is actually in the fridge. Conceptual drafts of emails like this one. But there's a version of that story I want to be careful not to tell: the one where AI does most of it and I tidy up at the end. That's not what happens. I bring the fodder (the idea, the angle, the why) and I shape it as I go. AI carries bulk....
Hello Reader, Most months don't end. They get interrupted by the next one. We sprint through the last few days, or we ignore them entirely. Then Monday shows up wearing a new month's name and we wonder why nothing feels different. A month deserves a close. Not a ceremony. A close. Ten minutes and three questions will do it. What actually moved this month? Not what kept you busy. Busy and moved are different ledgers. Name one or two things that are genuinely further along than they were on...
Hello Reader, I took two weeks off this summer. No livestream. Nothing humming along in the background. And when I sat back down, the first thing my brain offered me was a hole to dig out of. Then I caught the assumption underneath it. Falling behind means there was a race, and that I agreed to run it. I hadn't. I'd just stopped. Those are different things. One carries debt. The other doesn't. We collapse the two all the time. A vacation. An illness. A launch. A stretch where life mattered...