Hello Reader, If you’ve ever wondered why some days flow while others feel like a slog, the answer might be above you—literally. In this week's episode of A Productive Conversation, I speak with Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a circadian science pioneer who’s spent decades researching how light affects our health, energy, and attention. He helped locate the human circadian clock and has led efforts to reshape the lighting environments we spend most of our time in. We explore how the wrong kind of light can silently sabotage your sleep, your focus, and your long-term health—and what simple shifts can get your internal clock back in sync. But there’s another layer to this conversation—one that doesn’t show up on a spectrum. It’s about the relationship we have with time itself. You don’t have to conquer time to connect with it. In fact, the tighter your grip, the more elusive it becomes. While Dr. Moore-Ede shows how light can reset your internal clock, the piece I share here offers a reflection on how loosening your grip on time might be the thing that helps you feel most aligned with it. Try this today: Take five minutes and step outside—no podcast, no scrolling. Just be in the light. Notice the rhythm of the day. Not to own the moment, but to meet it. That small shift? It’s a step toward time devotion. Talk soon, P.S. If this idea of syncing with your energy—not just your schedule—resonates, you’ll want to check out The Productivity Diet. It’s my latest book, and it explores how to align your focus, time, and tasks with the rhythms that actually work for you. You can get your copy here. |
The Lantern is a thoughtfully curated weekly email from Mike Vardy designed to help you craft a better relationship with time. Each edition brings you insights, inspiration, and practical tools through a simple yet powerful framework: Look (a thought-provoking video or visual), Listen (a compelling podcast or audio insight), and Learn (a deep dive into a key concept, article, or book). Designed to inform, inspire, and illuminate, The Lantern helps you navigate time with clarity and intention—without the overwhelm.
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 18 | June 30, 2025 Hello Reader, Last year, my 50th birthday didn’t quite go as planned. We had renovations happening—dust in the air, timelines shifting, rooms half-done. The idea of a big celebration faded quickly into background noise. And for a while, I felt a little disappointed by that. But as the day came and went, I realized something: maybe it wasn’t the party I missed. Maybe it was the marker—a moment to pause and say: This matters. I’ve made...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 17 | June 21, 2025 Hello Reader, Sometimes the fix isn’t finesse—it’s force. Not reckless. Not violent. Just… assertive. Immediate. Intentional. There’s a term for this in the physical world: percussive maintenance. You’ve likely done it. A smack on the side of an old TV to fix the reception. A gentle nudge to a stuck printer. That calculated tap to get something—anything—working again. It’s not precision engineering. But it works. The most famous...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 16 | June 14, 2025 Hello Reader, There’s been construction happening a few doors up from my house for months now. Not major, city-wide, earthmoving construction—just the slow, relentless transformation of a single home. A retrofit. A rebuild. But a little over a week ago—after a few days of being completely sidelined by a migraine—I finally felt like I could ease back into some focused work. And right as I did, the trucks came back. Engines idling....