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.
What LEGO quietly taught me about time
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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: this is exactly what I’ve been trying to do with TimeCrafting. TimeCrafting isn’t about rigid schedules or perfectly optimized days. It’s not a productivity “set” with a finished picture on the box. It’s a collection of well-designed pieces—themes, attention paths, rituals, reflections—that can be assembled and reassembled depending on the season you’re in. LEGO doesn’t demand that you follow the instructions forever. TimeCrafting doesn’t demand that either. You can sort the pieces. You can follow a guide. You can freestyle. You can take it apart and start again tomorrow. That’s not a flaw. That’s the point. Both systems respect something most tools ignore: people change. Your energy shifts. Your responsibilities evolve. Your attention moves. A system that only works when conditions are perfect isn’t a system—it’s a fantasy. LEGO survives dropped pieces, missing bricks, half-built ideas, and sudden interruptions. TimeCrafting is designed the same way. You don’t “fail” because a day went sideways. You don’t throw the whole thing out because one piece didn’t fit. You just reach for a different brick. That’s why TimeCrafting emphasizes durability over precision, rhythm over rigidity, and intention over optimization. It’s meant to be played with, not obeyed. And maybe that’s the quiet lesson here: The most useful systems don’t try to control you. They give you just enough structure to help you create something that actually fits your life. See you later, P.S. If you’ve ever felt like productivity systems ask too much certainty from an uncertain life, that’s exactly the tension TimeCrafting is designed to hold. The pieces are there when you’re ready to build... and The Productivity Diet can help you get started. Get your copy 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, There’s a moment in this PM Talks episode—our final one of Season 2—where the conversation drifts toward legacy. Not in a grand, carved-in-marble way. More like: What are we actually building when we simply do the work in front of us? I used to think legacy was something you could design with enough precision—like a workflow or a well-structured calendar. But the longer I’ve been doing this, the more obvious it becomes: I don’t control my legacy. None of us do. Legacy is the...
Hello Reader, Every weekday morning, I eat oatmeal. Steel-cut oats, cooked in the Instant Pot ahead of time. Nothing fancy. Nothing Instagram-worthy. On a recent call with my mom, I mentioned this in passing. Her response was immediate and unfiltered: “That’s gross.” I laughed. Because... that's fair. Oatmeal isn’t exactly thrilling. And no, it’s not my favourite breakfast either. But that’s kind of the point. Here’s the thing: oatmeal is foundational. It’s the default I don’t have to think...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 50 | February 7, 2026 Hello Reader, I rewatched tick, tick… BOOM! on January 26—the day Jonathan Larson’s story begins—and it hit differently this time. Not because of the ambition. Not because of the urgency. But because of how devotion shows up when it’s left unquestioned. Jonathan isn’t lacking focus. He’s drowning in it. His attention is fiercely committed to the work, to the clock, to the idea that this must happen now or it won’t happen at all....