POSITIVE AFFIRMATION
As we begin to close out the year, I am ever-more coming to peace with what my life is and what it can be. Acceptance and hope, in a delicate balance. When it strikes right, darn does it feels great.
THANK YOU’s
Janette S. for leaving a very nice tip on Buy Me A Coffee.
INTRO
Please welcome Mike Vardy! I’ve been following Mike for awhile now, and he’s always a source of great knowledge and pushing the boundaries when it comes to the world of productivity. Look for him on Twitter at @mikevardy, his podcast A Productive Conversation, and his site https://productivityist.com.
“I am THE Productivityist. Helping busy, driven people filter their focus + craft their time better than ever.”
OUR INTERVIEW
What question have you outgrown?
For Mike, the number one question people ask him is, “what app should I use?” And for this question, let’s not confuse “doing productive” and “being productive.” You want to make sure there’s as little friction as possible, especially between analog and digital. In the end, “what app should I use” is actually not the right question.
What are you looking for in a relationship?
It’s the best possible relationship with… time. He’s looking for a relationship with time and fostering, deepening that. By having a better relationship with time, Mike beleives he’ll be able to have that deeper relationship with those in his life, those he interacts with, including the folks in his TimeCrafting community.
Lifehacks, inbox zero, etc., were all meant to “speed up the right things, in order to slow down.” The goal is really to be more in the moment, not just get through things quickly. Sustain the time in order to be more in the moment.
What’s your key to achieving?
Managing time is futile. The key is to manage the things that are able to managed, such as our attention and our expectations. Create boundaries, which means manage yours and others expectations.
Productiveness is better than productivity. There’s a qualitative aspect to productiveness, whereas productivity could become an endless checking off of things to do. This is how you can “win the day.”
PEACE - Process, Effort, Attention, Cadence, Expectation
- Mike Vardy
References:
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
Creative Quest by Questlove
How do you know you’ve had a productive day?
Did I live up to my theme for the day? For Mike, he sets a theme for each day. For example, his theme on the day of recording this podcast is ‘Media.’ So he asks himself, did he accomplish that, and if the answer is yes, then it was a productive day.
Another method Mike uses is to write in his journal each night. As the day unfolds, it may not seem like it was productive, but often times after reflecting and writing in the journal, we can see that perhaps there was more productiveness than we thought.
Mike takes it to the next level and actually read his journal for the past year. If you’re already positing on social media, might take a few minutes for yourself.
Journaling is one of the most undervalued and underutilized productiveness tools out there.
- Mike Vardy
WRAPPING IT UP
What Keeps Me Up
Knowing I don’t have as much time with my kids, as they’re growing up.
What’s Making Me Happy
A more balanced, content life. It may seem backwards, that content is ‘a layer below happiness’ on the scale than happy, but it’s a sustained happiness, a constant simmering of being happy.
CLOSING STATEMENTS
Intention versus attention.
- Mike Vardy
Again, big thanks to Mike for carving out so much of his time to make this podcast happen. Please check out productivityist.com/kit, get a free starter kit on TimeCrafting, cause if you’re not going to manage your time, then craft it. Get a walkthrough on how to do this in his 20+ page PDF free download.
EP03: Interview with THE Productivityist, Mike Vardy!