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.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
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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 before. Prepping dinner in the afternoon before your brain checks out. Sending a quick heads-up to a collaborator instead of just hoping for the best. These aren't glamorous moves. But they're what makes a day actually work. I talked through it in depth on the latest PM Talks series episode of A Productive Conversation with my longtime collaborator Patrick Rhone. We went deep: the history of the word, why speed culture pushed it out of the conversation, what prudence looks like in the age of AI, and Patrick's perfect line from his circus rigging work ("slow is smooth, smooth is fast") which might be the most compressed definition of practical wisdom I've heard. Listen to The Wisdom in Waiting: Rediscovering Prudence The through-line in all of this: the best productivity move often isn't a new system. It's a well-placed decision made earlier than you think you need to make it. Nobody applauds the prudent choice. You just notice, looking back, that things went more smoothly than they might have. That's the whole game. See you later, P.S. If this kind of thinking resonates, TimeCrafting Trust is where it becomes a practice. New members can join for $1 for the first month — but only until June 20th. Grab the offer 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, Eight years ago today, we lost Anthony Bourdain. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Not just because of the anniversary, but because of a piece I came across that's stayed with me. It was written just two days after his death by J.D. Roth, someone who, like me, admired Bourdain deeply and found himself unsettled in ways he couldn't quite shake. In it, Roth shares something Bourdain said in a Wall Street Journal interview not long before he died. When asked whether he...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 2, Issue 15 | June 6, 2026 Hello Reader, There's a quote you've probably seen attributed to Picasso: "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." It's not actually Picasso — it's most credibly traced to a psychiatrist named David Viscott — but that's not what interests me about it. What interests me is that it's not even the full quote. The version that circulates drops the middle line. What was originally written reads:...
Hello Reader, Heather Jo Kennedy didn’t hedge the subtitle of her book. Not “principles of productivity you might be overlooking” or “probably overlooking.” Just: principles of productivity you’re overlooking. Full stop. And she’s right. Every principle in the book is almost too simple to take seriously... which is exactly why most of us walk right past them. Gratitude. Identity. Clarity. Finishing. The basics we assume we’ve already handled because they don’t feel sophisticated enough to be...