Mike Vardy is a productivity expert and author of the upcoming book 'The Productivity Diet.' In this conversation, Mike shares the journey behind his new book and his passion for the Freewrite family of products. They dive into how he balances night owl productivity with family life and discuss the evolution of task management software like ClickUp. Mike also explains the importance of aligning productivity with personal rhythms and shares valuable insights on optimizing email and calendar management.
The Productivity Diet book emphasizes qualitative and quantitative productivity without sacrificing quantity, promoting a lifestyle approach to productivity.
Mike Vardy utilizes various tools like Drafts, Hemingwrite, and obsidian to capture, organize, and write his book content efficiently.
Understanding and honoring one's body clock for optimal productivity, aligning tasks with energy levels, and embracing unique biological rhythms can maximize efficiency.
Deep dives
The Productivity Diet: A Lifestyle Approach to Productivity
The Productivity Diet is a book that focuses on a lifestyle approach to productivity, authored by Mike Vardy. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding why we do what we do and how to prioritize the right tasks at the right time without sacrificing quantity. It introduces the concept of qualitative and quantitative productivity and provides recipes, rather than plays, to help individuals adopt a productive lifestyle. The book incorporates Mike Vardy's time crafting framework and emphasizes simple, flexible, durable, and sustainable ways to achieve true productivity.
Gathering Ideas and Capturing Notes
To start writing the book, Mike Vardy utilizes reading tools such as Readwise and Reader to gather material that resonates with him. He also receives input from members of his Creator's Guild. He uses Drafts as a central hub for capturing and consolidating notes and thoughts, often relying on the dictation feature to capture ideas on the go. While still exploring different options for note-taking, Mike mentions using Obsidian to transition from Drafts to a more permanent note repository, tagging notes related to the book title and expanding on them using his Hemingwrite device. Alternatively, he sometimes writes bullet points on index cards if he wants to detach from mobile devices.
Writing Process and Tools
Mike Vardy uses the Hemingwrite device, a digital typewriter, and writes the messy first draft directly on it. The completed drafts are then linked to Google Drive and stored in appropriate folders for each book. He mentions the challenge of finding the right software and is currently considering Obsidian for structuring and organizing his notes.
Considerations for iPad Usage
While Mike Vardy primarily relies on Mac-based workflows, he acknowledges the value of the iPad, especially for reading and capturing ideas using Dictation in Drafts app. However, he highlights the importance of considering the versatility and flexibility of tools across multiple platforms, and how well they integrate with his existing workflows.
The Importance of Working with One's Body Clock
The guest, Mike Vardy, emphasizes the significance of understanding and honoring one's body clock for optimal productivity. He discusses how he, as a night owl, has structured his work schedule to align with his natural energy levels. By allocating low-energy tasks to the morning and high-energy tasks to the evening, he maximizes his productivity. Mike encourages people to embrace their unique biological rhythms rather than forcing themselves into an early riser mold, noting that everyone's productivity peaks at different times.
The Benefits of Curating Personalized News with Apple News
Mike shares his enthusiasm for Apple News and its feature of creating custom news feeds. He appreciates being able to curate his news sources and topics, such as night owl content and time management, to keep up with specific interests. He mentions that Apple News Plus provides a balanced perspective by exposing him to various viewpoints. Mike believes that the app has not received enough recognition and intends to write more about the advantages of curating personalized news to challenge the notion that early rising is the only path to productivity.
Mike Vardy drops by the show to talk about the journey behind his upcoming book, his love of the Freewrite family of products, and how he runs his growing online business.
