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.
In Praise of a Boring Breakfast
|
Hello Reader, Every weekday morning, I eat oatmeal. Steel-cut oats, cooked in the Instant Pot ahead of time. Nothing fancy. Nothing Instagram-worthy. On a recent call with my mom, I mentioned this in passing. Her response was immediate and unfiltered: “That’s gross.” I laughed. Because... that's fair. Oatmeal isn’t exactly thrilling. And no, it’s not my favourite breakfast either. But that’s kind of the point. Here’s the thing: oatmeal is foundational. It’s the default I don’t have to think about. I know it’ll be there. I know it’ll do its job. And I know it’ll get me through the morning without requiring a decision before I’ve even fully woken up. What does change is what I add to it. Different berries. Sometimes nuts. Occasionally something unexpected. The base stays the same, but the experience shifts just enough to keep it from feeling monotonous. That’s the balance I’m after: consistency without boredom. Working from a default removes friction. No scanning the fridge. No debating options. No “what do I feel like today?” first thing in the morning. The decision has already been made. And here’s the quiet truth: once you remove friction, you make room for variation where it actually matters. Oatmeal may not be my favorite—but it tastes better than a lot of alternatives. (Soylent, anyone?) More importantly, it respects my energy, my attention, and my time. It does what it’s supposed to do. That’s how I think about a lot of things now—not just breakfast. Defaults aren’t about settling. They’re about supporting. You build something reliable, then layer novelty on top by choice, not by necessity. And that’s how small, unremarkable decisions stop draining you... and start carrying you instead. See you later, P.S. Tomorrow I'm facilitating a workshop titled The Strategic Journal: How Reflection Becomes a System for The Grand Connection's Grand Productivity Group and it'd be great if you would join us. Click here to make that happen. |
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. II, Issue 1 | February 28, 2026 Hello Reader, This week, my body made a decision before I could. I got sick. Not mildly under the weather, either. I'm talking flat-on-my-back, fever-that-won’t-break sick. I don’t get sick often, so when I do, it feels intrusive. Ill-timed. Tonight was supposed to be opening night of my son’s musical. He’s playing a major supporting role. I’ve heard the songs drifting through the house for weeks. We’ve been counting down. And I’m...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 52 | February 21, 2026 Hello Reader, Haruki Murakami wrote a memoir called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which is about running. Except it isn’t. It’s about rhythm. Repetition. Solitude. The quiet insistence of will. Murakami wakes early. He runs long distances. He writes with a discipline that borders on monastic. I do none of those things. I am not a runner. I am not an early riser in the romanticized sense. But I do walk. And when I...
Hello Reader, There’s a moment in this PM Talks episode—our final one of Season 2—where the conversation drifts toward legacy. Not in a grand, carved-in-marble way. More like: What are we actually building when we simply do the work in front of us? I used to think legacy was something you could design with enough precision—like a workflow or a well-structured calendar. But the longer I’ve been doing this, the more obvious it becomes: I don’t control my legacy. None of us do. Legacy is the...