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 41 | December 6, 2025 Hello Reader, You may be familiar with the phrase “it is what it is.” A shrug dressed up as wisdom. A way of stepping back when life doesn’t bend. But there’s another line — harder, steadier — that Robert De Niro delivers in The Deer Hunter. Holding up a single rifle round, he says:“This is this.” Not resignation. Recognition. Where “it is what it is” lets you drift away from the moment, “this is this” places you squarely inside...
Hello Reader, Every December seems to carry a strange kind of whiplash. One moment we’re rushing — to wrap things up, to get things ready, to tend to the endless little pieces that somehow all become “urgent” at the same time. (If you were paying close attention to my emails yesterday you might've caught a glimpse of me falling prey to that too.) And then, almost abruptly, we’re supposed to pivot into rest. Into stillness. Into presence. It’s a familiar tug of war. And if we’re honest, most...
Hello Reader, Before Monday arrives — and before inboxes start filling up with last-minute reminders from everywhere — I wanted to send a quiet breakdown of the two Black Friday offers I’m sharing this year. This isn’t a pitch. Just clarity, so you can decide what fits where you are right now. The 12 Days OF TimeCrafting Black Friday Bundle What it is: A twelve-day sequence of small, meaningful tools delivered from December 26 through January 6 — audio, video, prompts, short guides, and a few...