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Hello Reader, I’ve been thinking about John Lennon again — not the icon, but the man who kept reminding us that time isn’t something you conquer. It’s something you learn to move with. There’s the line everyone knows: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Quoted to death, sure, but only because it keeps proving itself right. Lennon wasn’t warning us; he was inviting us to loosen our grip. But the line that hits me most now is this one: “Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.” That’s Lennon cutting through the cult of efficiency decades before we had a name for it. A reminder that meaning comes from engagement, not output. Lennon felt the rhythm of time instead of trying to outpace it. And maybe that’s the nudge we need — to spend our hours with intention, not intensity. See you later, P.S. If you want a calmer, clearer path into 2026, join me and Garland Coulson tomorrow for The Grand Connection Grand Productivity Group session where we’ll share six of our favourite zero-cost tools to help you regain focus, simplify your workflow, and bring a bit more ease into this busy season. Click here for more details and to register. |
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...