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.
One week in...
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Hello Reader, A week ago, the calendar changed. That distinction matters more than we admit. The first seven days of a year are often loud: intentions declared, plans announced, energy projected forward. But a week later, something quieter shows up. Reality. Habit. Drift. Friction. Familiarity. This is where the year actually begins. Not with resolution, but with recognition. So here’s a better question than “How am I doing so far?” What has this first week revealed? About your relationship with time. You don’t need to fix anything yet. You don’t need a new plan. You just need to notice. Because clarity doesn’t come from trying harder at the start. It comes from seeing clearly... and early enough to choose differently. See you later, P.S. If this question of what truly deserves your attention is on your mind, I’ll be facilitating a session on January 13 with the Grand Productivity group hosted by Garland Coulson that looks beyond the to-do list and toward more meaningful progress. You can get your free guest pass here. |
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, A few days ago, I had one of those sideways realizations—the kind that doesn’t arrive with a bang, but settles in and refuses to leave. It happened while I was thinking about LEGO. Not as a toy. Not as nostalgia. But as a system. LEGO works because it does something deceptively simple: it gives you structure without prescribing outcomes. There are pieces. Constraints. A logic to how things connect. But what you build—and how you build it—is up to you. That’s when it clicked:...
Hello Reader, Years ago—eons ago, it feels like now—I had a calendar made of bubble wrap. Every day was a bubble. At the end of the day, you popped it. Sometimes I’d pop it with satisfaction. Sometimes with relief. Sometimes with a little frustration that the day didn’t quite become what I hoped. But here’s the thing: once it was popped, it was done. No saving it. No hoarding it. No pretending it could be reused. Time... made tactile. Later on, that idea evolved into something more...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 48 | January 24, 2026 Hello Reader, There’s a moment in our relationship with time when efficiency stops being the problem. The systems work. The habits hold. The work gets done. And yet something feels thin. The question shifts from “How do I get more done?” to “What am I actually responsible for?” That’s where auteurship enters. An auteur takes responsibility not just for making the work, but for its intent, its shape, and the time it demands. Not...