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.
June matters differently this year.
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Hello Reader, My daughter comes home from university tomorrow... for one month. Not the whole summer. One month. And one of those weeks, I'll be away at a conference. So the math is already doing what math does. There's a stat that floats around parenting circles — the kind that lands differently once your kid is actually gone. By the time a child leaves home, the percentage of lifetime time a parent has left with them is somewhere in the single digits. Not the teens. Single digits. I've been sitting with that number. She'll work a bit. She'll see her friends. That's exactly what she should do. But when she's present with me, I want to be present with her. Not half-present, not glancing at a task list, not mentally somewhere else. So I'm taking a step back in June. Not away from my work... but I'm letting that awareness shape how I show up for all of it. The writing. The videos. And the community. You'll see what I mean starting June 1st. — Mike P.S. While I'm being more intentional about where my attention goes this month, I'm also thinking about what I build next... and that starts with you. If you haven't filled out this short survey yet, click here. I'd love your honest take. |
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.
Hello Reader, I'm sending this to you from somewhere over the Rockies. I've been in Boise the past week for Kit's Craft + Commerce conference. Fully immersed, mostly present, doing what needed to be done. My themed days kept me focused. My attention to what mattered most kept me grounded. But my horizontal themes? Mostly set aside. That's not failure. That's what a travel week looks like when you're doing it right. The point of TimeCrafting isn't to maintain perfect consistency regardless of...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 2, Issue 16 | June 13, 2026 Hello Reader, I found out recently that Shel Silverstein wrote several songs for Dr. Hook's first two albums. Most people know Silverstein through Where the Sidewalk Ends, or maybe "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash. But "Cover of the Rolling Stone"? "Sylvia's Mother"? That was him too. The first instinct is to say that doesn't fit. Which is exactly the wrong instinct. It fits perfectly — it just requires you to look at the right...
Hello Reader, There's a word I've been sitting with lately: Prudence. It sounds old-fashioned, maybe even a little prim. But the original definition — mid-14th century — has nothing soft about it. Prudence means intelligence, discretion, foresight, and the practical wisdom to see what's suitable before you commit to action. It's one of the four classical cardinal virtues. And it's something most of us are already practicing — we've just never called it that. Laying out your clothes the night...