

A Productive Conversation
Mike Vardy
Hosted by productivity strategist Mike Vardy, A Productive Conversation offers insightful discussions on how to craft a life that aligns with your intentions. Each episode dives into the art of time devotion, productiveness, and refining your approach to daily living. Mike invites guests who are thinkers, doers, and creators to share their strategies for working smarter and living more intentionally. From practical tips to deep dives on mindset shifts, this podcast will help you reframe your relationship with time and find balance in a busy world.
Subscribe and join the conversation—because a productive life is more than just getting things done.
Subscribe and join the conversation—because a productive life is more than just getting things done.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 30, 2014 • 14min
Simply Executing with Josh Long
🚨 The Forge Your Future Challenge is back – August 7–9, 2025!Join yours truly, Mike Vardy, for this free 3-day experience to reconnect with what matters, regain control of your time, and set your future in motion. Just two hours a day for three days—no fluff, just focus. Save your spot now: https://mikevardy.com/forgeyourfutureMike is in conversation with Josh Long, an incredibly prolific and productive writer, builder, and designer. The thing about Josh is that he focuses on quality over quantity, and that's just one of the things discussed during this episode. (Seth Godin's name comes up as well.) Relevant Links http://joshlong.cc/about/ (About Josh Long) http://executebook.com/ (Execute - A book by Drew Wilson & Josh Long) http://patterns.co/ (Patterns) https://cheddarapp.com/ (Cheddar) https://simplecast.fm/ (Simplecast) http://twitter.com/joshlong (Josh Long on Twitter) Want to send Mike an app, book, or something similar to discuss on the show? Email him at podcast@productivityist.com and he'll give it a look. Want to listen on Stitcher? http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=53149&refid=stpr (Click here.) Support The Productivityist Podcast by becoming a patron! http://www.patreon.com/Productivityist (Click here) to visit The Productivityist Podcast's Patreon page and see what perks await those who pitch in a buck or more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
📘 Grab My New Book: The Productivity Diet: A Practical Guide to Nurturing your Productive PotentialIf you’re looking to build a sustainable, personalized productivity practice that actually sticks, my latest book is for you. It’s available now—wherever books are sold. Learn more at mikevardy.com/lit or request it at your favorite local bookstore.

Sep 23, 2014 • 21min
The Best Kind of Paper Pushing
🚨 The Forge Your Future Challenge is back – August 7–9, 2025!Join yours truly, Mike Vardy, for this free 3-day experience to reconnect with what matters, regain control of your time, and set your future in motion. Just two hours a day for three days—no fluff, just focus. Save your spot now: https://mikevardy.com/forgeyourfutureIn this episode, Mike talks about why he still loves and uses paper. He also talks about several paper-based approaches worth exploring, including Ryder Carroll's Bullet Journal and his own creation: The Strikethrough System. Relevant Links http://patrickrhone.com/dashplus/ (The Dash/Plus System by Patrick Rhone) http://www.neuyear.net/products/pre-sales-beta-week-dominator (The Week Dominator by NeuYear) http://bulletjournal.com/ (Bullet Journal by Ryder Carroll) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1562027630/bullet-journal-journaling-at-the-speed-of-life (Bullet Journal — Kickstarter) http://www.eisenhower.me/ (EISENHOWER.me) http://www.1101.com/store/techo/2015/planner/detail_cover/c_hpr.html (Hobonichi Planner Book) http://davidseah.com/node/the-emergent-task-planner/ (The Emergent Task Planner by Dave Seah) http://www.productiveflourishing.com/free-planners/ (Free Planners from Productive Flourishing) http://relay.fm/penaddict (The Pen Addict) http://www.productivityist.com/blog/the-strikethrough-system (The Strikethrough System by Productivityist) Want to send Mike an app, book, or something similar to discuss on the show? Email him at podcast@productivityist.com and he'll give it a look. Want to listen on Stitcher? http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=53149&refid=stpr (Click here.) Support The Productivityist Podcast by becoming a patron! http://www.patreon.com/Productivityist (Click here) to visit The Productivityist Podcast's Patreon page and see what perks await those who pitch in a buck or more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
📘 Grab My New Book: The Productivity Diet: A Practical Guide to Nurturing your Productive PotentialIf you’re looking to build a sustainable, personalized productivity practice that actually sticks, my latest book is for you. It’s available now—wherever books are sold. Learn more at mikevardy.com/lit or request it at your favorite local bookstore.

Sep 16, 2014 • 30min
Tasking, Tracking, and Tactics with David Sparks
🚨 The Forge Your Future Challenge is back – August 7–9, 2025!Join yours truly, Mike Vardy, for this free 3-day experience to reconnect with what matters, regain control of your time, and set your future in motion. Just two hours a day for three days—no fluff, just focus. Save your spot now: https://mikevardy.com/forgeyourfutureMike and guest David Sparks (better known as MacSparky) talk about task management, habit tracking, and plenty of other tactical stuff - all in a shade under 30 minutes! Relevant Links http://www.macpowerusers.com/2014/08/24/210-task-management/ (Mac Power Users #210: Task Management) https://www.omnigroup.com/video/omnifocus-setup-panel-and-qa (OmniFocus Setup Panel and Q&A) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/napkin-concise-image-annotation/id581789185?mt=12&uo=4&at=10l66s (Napkin: Concise Visual Communication) http://lift.com/ (Lift) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/day-one/id422304217?mt=12&uo=4&at=10l66s (Day One) http://macpsarky.com/ (MacSparky) http://twitter.com/macsparky/ (@macsparky on Twitter) Want to send Mike an app, book, or something similar to discuss on the show? Email him at podcast@productivityist.com and he'll give it a look. Want to listen on Stitcher? http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=53149&refid=stpr (Click here.) Support The Productivityist Podcast by becoming a patron! http://www.patreon.com/Productivityist (Click here) to visit The Productivityist Podcast's Patreon page and see what perks await those who pitch in a buck or more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
📘 Grab My New Book: The Productivity Diet: A Practical Guide to Nurturing your Productive PotentialIf you’re looking to build a sustainable, personalized productivity practice that actually sticks, my latest book is for you. It’s available now—wherever books are sold. Learn more at mikevardy.com/lit or request it at your favorite local bookstore.

Sep 10, 2014 • 24min
A Hard Habit App to Break
🚨 The Forge Your Future Challenge is back – August 7–9, 2025!Join yours truly, Mike Vardy, for this free 3-day experience to reconnect with what matters, regain control of your time, and set your future in motion. Just two hours a day for three days—no fluff, just focus. Save your spot now: https://mikevardy.com/forgeyourfutureMike dives into the world of "habit tracking" apps, which also encompasses routines, rituals, and goals that we want to develop and foster. Relevant Links http://www.productivityist.com/blog/how-to-score-productivity-touchdowns (How to Score Productivity Touchdowns During Football Season) http://www.macpowerusers.com/2014/08/24/210-task-management/ (MacPowerUsers: Task Management) http://inoveryourhead.net/flossing-more-important-than-brushing-dentists-say/ (Flossing Your Teeth More Important Than Brushing, Dentists Say) http://www.productivityist.com/blog/the-3-things-seinfeld-does-that-ive-built-into-my-own-workflow (The 3 Things Seinfeld Does That I’ve Built Into My Own Workflow) https://www.lift.do/ (Lift) http://5by5.tv/mikesonmics/129 (Tony Stubblebine on Workflowing #129) http://habitlist.com/ (HabitList) http://thinklegend.com/commit/ (Commit) http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret (Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity secret) Want to send Mike an app, book, or something similar to discuss on the show? Email him at podcast@productivityist.com and he'll give it a look. Want to listen on Stitcher? http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=53149&refid=stpr (Click here.) Support The Productivityist Podcast by becoming a patron! http://www.patreon.com/Productivityist (Click here) to visit The Productivityist Podcast's Patreon page and see what perks await those who pitch in a buck or more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
📘 Grab My New Book: The Productivity Diet: A Practical Guide to Nurturing your Productive PotentialIf you’re looking to build a sustainable, personalized productivity practice that actually sticks, my latest book is for you. It’s available now—wherever books are sold. Learn more at mikevardy.com/lit or request it at your favorite local bookstore.

Sep 3, 2014 • 31min
Talking TaskClone with Troy Christmas
🚨 The Forge Your Future Challenge is back – August 7–9, 2025!Join yours truly, Mike Vardy, for this free 3-day experience to reconnect with what matters, regain control of your time, and set your future in motion. Just two hours a day for three days—no fluff, just focus. Save your spot now: https://mikevardy.com/forgeyourfutureOn the first official episode of the podcast, Mike talks about Meeting Hero, Checkmark 2.1, and Dave Ursillo's new book. He also has a conversation with Troy Christmas of TaskClone. Relevant Links http://www.meetinghero.com/ (MeetingHero) http://www.productivityist.com/blog/look-less-meeting (A Look at LessMeeting) http://www.productivityist.com/blog/the-one-meeting (The One Productive Weekly Meeting You're Not Having (But Should)) http://blog.builtbysnowman.com/post/96004041192/checkmark-2-1-with-snoozing-and-improved-recurring (Checkmark 2.1) http://www.productivityist.com/blog/review-checkmark-2-for-ios (Review: Checkmark 2.0) http://amzn.to/1Cnj2nh (Big Apple, Black Sand and The Midnight Sun by Dave Ursillo) http://www.taskclone.com/ (TaskClone) Want to send Mike an app, book, or something similar to discuss on the show? Email me at podcast@productivityist.com and I'll see what I can do. Support The Productivityist Podcast by becoming a patron! http://www.patreon.com/Productivityist (Click here) to visit The Productivityist Podcast's Patreon page and see what perks await those who pitch in a buck or more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
📘 Grab My New Book: The Productivity Diet: A Practical Guide to Nurturing your Productive PotentialIf you’re looking to build a sustainable, personalized productivity practice that actually sticks, my latest book is for you. It’s available now—wherever books are sold. Learn more at mikevardy.com/lit or request it at your favorite local bookstore.

Aug 28, 2014 • 12min
Greetings and Salutations
The podcast discusses what to expect from the new solo effort, including ideas and how listeners can contribute. They explore concepts like flexible payment options and building support, while also discussing new ventures, keeping the podcast short, and interactive elements.