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 principles you keep walking past
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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 the answer. Her definition of productivity stopped me, too. Not maximizing output. Recognizing your unique purpose and acting on it. That’s it. Which means everything you’re doing that isn’t connected to that purpose isn’t productive — no matter how busy it keeps you. We got into all of it in this week’s episode, and it’s one of those conversations that keeps surfacing after you’ve listened. Listen to this APC episode here See you later, P.S. At 9AM Pacific Time today, I'm hosting The READY Return — a FREE 90-minute live working session on YouTube, open to everyone. It's normally exclusive to TimeCrafting Trust members, but this one's public. If you want to recalibrate before the next season takes hold, this is the session. Click here to be part of it (and hit the notification bell so you don't miss out). |
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, There's a day for everything now, and on June 20 it's World Productivity Day — a day I found myself thinking out loud about during this month's Lantern Lyceum. I'll admit I went looking for something poetic in the date. I assumed it landed near the solstice on purpose: longest day of the year, most daylight we get, a tidy little nudge to make the most of it. Turns out... no. As far as I can tell, nobody's even sure where the day came from. What is clear is what it's for: getting...
Hello Reader, There's a particular kind of frustration that comes from knowing your relationship with time and productivity could be better — calmer, more intentional, less of a daily scramble — but not having a place to actually work on it. That place is TimeCrafting Trust. And until June 20th (World Productivity Day) your first month is $1. Here's a sampling of what a dollar gets you for a full month: The Monthly Challenge, a shared focus to work through with the community Weekly Check-Ins...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 2, Issue 14 | May 30, 2026 Hello Reader, "May" is a permission word. Not just the month — the word itself. "May I?" "You may." It's a modal verb, one of those quiet grammatical structures that signals possibility and allowance. When you say "may," you're either asking for permission or granting it. Which means we've spent an entire month named after the concept of being permitted to do something. And most of us didn't notice. We hustled through May. We planned,...