A Productive Conversation
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 th...
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PM Talks S3E2: Poise Under Pressure in a Fractured Moment
<p>This episode is the latest in our monthly PM Talks series, where Patrick Rhone and I step back from tactics and tools to explore the deeper questions that shape how we live, work, and show up. What we planned to discuss was poise—but what we actually talked about was something more urgent.</p><p>Recorded in real time as events were unfolding in Minneapolis and St. Paul, this conversation became about moral clarity, civic responsibility, and what it means to stay aligned when neutrality no longer feels like an option. This isn’t a polished debate or a tidy...
Thom Gibson Talks About Work-From-Home Fatherhood, Six-Hour Workdays, and Sustainable Family Rhythms
<p>Working from home sounds simple—until kids, calendars, meals, meetings, and relationships all collide. In this episode, I sit down with Thom Gibson, a work-from-home dad and social media strategist, to talk honestly about what it really takes to make remote work and family life coexist.</p><p>Thom is the founder of WFH Dads, and his perspective is grounded not in theory, but in lived experience—raising two young kids, navigating shared schedules with his wife, and building a workday that leaves room for presence, not just productivity.</p><p><br>Six Discussion Points</p>How Thom transitioned into...
Brad Stulberg Talks About Sustainable Excellence, Mastery, and Doing What Truly Matters
<p>This week on A Productive Conversation, I sit down with Brad Stulberg, author of The Way of Excellence, to explore what excellence really means in a world obsessed with efficiency, optimization, and performative productivity. Brad has spent years studying sustainable excellence across sport, leadership, creativity, and life—and this conversation digs into why excellence is neither perfection nor hustle, but something far more human.</p><p>Brad and I unpack the difference between true excellence and what he calls “pseudo-excellence,” why metrics often outlive their usefulness, and how habits like routine, curiosity, and gumption play a central role in meanin...
Brad Farris Talks About Leadership, Presence, and Scaling Beyond the $1M Agency Plateau
<p>There are moments when a conversation slows you down in the best possible way. My discussion with Brad Farris was one of those moments—a reminder that growth isn’t just about doing more, faster, or harder, but about becoming the kind of leader who can sustain momentum without burning everything down in the process.</p><p>Brad has spent decades working alongside agency and expert-firm owners, helping them move past the $1M–$2M ceiling and into healthier, more durable growth. What stood out to me wasn’t just his experience—it was his insistence that the real work happens in...
PM Talks S3E1: Honesty
<p>This episode is the first installment of Season 3 in our monthly PM Talks series, where Patrick Rhone and I slow things down to explore the ideas that quietly shape how we live and work. This time, we start with an act of honesty right out of the gate—being transparent about when the episode was recorded—and let that openness set the tone for everything that follows.</p><p>From there, the conversation unfolds into something deeper. We talk about honesty not as a moral stance, but as a practical one—especially when it comes to time, commitments, and the st...
Chris Bailey Talks About Intentionality, Values, and Finishing What You Start
<p>In this episode of A Productive Conversation, I sit down once again with author and researcher Chris Bailey to explore what it really means to live—and work—intentionally. This conversation centers on his latest book, Intentional: How to Finish What You Start, and the decade of curiosity that led him there.<br>We dig into why goals often fail us, how culture shapes our relationship with productivity, and why values—not habits, hacks, or willpower—sit at the core of meaningful progress. This isn’t a surface-level productivity chat. It’s a thoughtful examination of why we do what we do...
A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE: The 12 Tips of TimeCrafting
<p>This is a reflective, solo episode where I share twelve essential TimeCrafting tips—not as rules or resolutions, but as orienting ideas you can return to whenever your days feel scattered or misaligned. Think of this as a pause at the edge of the calendar year, and an invitation to relate to time differently. These tips are meant to be lived with, not completed. You don’t need all twelve. One idea is often enough to begin again. Whether you’re closing out a year or simply noticing that your relationship with time feels off, this episode offers a ground...
Productivity A to Z with Erik Fisher: Volume 2 (Part 1)
<p>In December 2024, Erik Fisher and I sit down to explore the alphabet of productivity — a tradition that started as a one-off idea and has now become an annual ritual. This year, we dove back in to see how our thinking has shifted, sharpened, or completely transformed. Turns out, a lot can change in a year… especially when life, work, and expectations rearrange themselves without asking permission.</p><p>In this special episode of A Productive Conversation, Erik joins me to unpack the first half of our A-to-Z list – the second part is featured on Eriks' podcast, Beyond the to-Do List...
Faisal Hoque Talks About Humanity, AI, and What Comes Next
<p>This time on A Productive Conversation, I sit down with someone who has spent decades at the intersection of technology, leadership, and what it means to remain truly human. Faisal Hoque isn’t just writing about AI from afar—he has lived inside this world for more than thirty years. From founding multiple companies to advising global organizations and government agencies, he brings a rare blend of deep technical expertise and grounded philosophical clarity.</p><p>In this conversation, we get into his newest book, Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI, and explore the place where innovation meet...
PM Talks S2E12: Legacy
<p>This episode marks the final PM Talks conversation of the 2025 calendar year, and it’s a fitting one: Patrick and I explore legacy — not as something we engineer, but as something that unfolds in the stories others tell about us. As always, this episode is part of our monthly PM Talks series, and it might be the most reflective note we’ve ended on so far.</p><p><br>We talk about time, presence, family, uncertainty, and the way small choices echo long after we’re gone. This one weaves philosophy into the everyday in a way that feels real, gr...
