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 pull on your attention
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Hello Reader, October is ADHD Awareness Month. And since attention is such a central part of that conversation, I wanted to take a moment before the month gets into full swing to tap into yours. Firstly, the last week's edition of The Lantern was missing its LOOK, LISTEN, and LEARN section. I’ve fixed that and you can read it in full here. But I also want to share something deeper—because attention is both fragile and powerful. In The Productivity Diet I introduced the Spheres of Attention—Noticing, Awareness, Focus, and Concentration. They give you a way to place intention behind where your attention goes, rather than letting algorithms, headlines, or notifications decide for you. Here’s the truth: news, media, and social platforms aren’t simply informing us—they’re competing for us. And if we’re not deliberate, we slide from meaningful engagement into endless distraction. That’s why it’s helpful to know which sphere you’re in.
If you’d like to explore this further, I’ve unpacked how these spheres apply to news, media, and more in this article. And if you have further (or deeper) challenges with attention – such as ADHD – then I encourage you to check out my latest course in the TimeCrafting Trust community, TimeCrafting and ADHD. The point isn’t to withdraw from the world. It’s to engage with it—without being consumed by it. Take a few minutes this week to notice: Where is my attention right now? — Mike P.S. All month long, A Productive Conversation will feature conversations that connect with ADHD Awareness Month. First up is my discussion with the author of Extra Focus, Jesse J. Anderson. You can listen to it 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, Robert Redford would have turned 90 today. It's the first birthday since he died last September at Sundance, the place he built and never left. I keep coming back to a scene of his that has nothing to do with mountains. In The Candidate, he plays Bill McKay, a guy who runs for Senate mostly because he's told he can't win. So he says what he actually thinks. And then he starts climbing in the polls. So he says a little less of what he thinks. He gets slicker. He gets handled. He...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 2, Issue 25 | August 15, 2026 Hello Reader, Tomorrow, a show called Lanterns arrives. And every Saturday, something called The Lantern arrives in your inbox. I figure that small collision is as good an excuse as I'll ever get to finally tell you why this newsletter has the name it has. Call it lighting my own lantern the night before theirs comes on. Some history first, because I've been waiting for this one a long time. Fifteen years ago there was a Green...
Hello Reader, Most of the rules you live by were never chosen. They arrived with a job, a family, a version of you from years ago, and they've been running quietly ever since. Some still serve you. Some just have seniority. And here's the trouble with rules, even the good ones: a rule is a switch. On or off, kept or broken. Miss the 6 AM workout once and the day feels cracked. Miss it twice and the streak dies, and the practice usually dies with it. Rules fail loudly, and they take things...