Welcome, person from Twitter! I’m Mike Vardy.
If you’re here you are likely debating whether or not to follow me on Twitter. If the verifiable blue checkmark alone didn’t reel you in, then perhaps it was my take on time or productivity that has you deliberating hitting that “follow” button.
But there are some things you should know about how I operate on Twitter before you commit to adding me to your following list:
- From mid-August 2022 through to early September 2022, I’m taking part in a challenge that will have me writing “atomic essays” on Twitter for 30 straight days. You can read all of these essays on my Social Blog as well as on Twitter. That said, I will be tweeting other stuff during that timeframe but I wanted to give you a heads up about this challenge first. If you decide you want to take on this challenge, you can sign up for a future Ship 30 for 30 challenge here.
- I tend to use Twitter in the same way a stand-up comedian uses an open mic night. That is, I test material on Twitter. Most of what I tweet about will be related to my area of expertise (time, productivity, attention, etc.). But some stuff will be about things far outside of those realms. Either way, I’m paying attention to how people react and interact with what I share. If I hear or see nothing, I’ll ponder what I shared some more before possibly putting it back out there again. Sometimes it’ll just go back into the vault, never to return to the Twittersphere.
- Speaking of tweeting outside of my areas of expertise, I do have a working knowledge of objects like sports, pro wrestling (note I didn’t bundle it with “sports”), comedy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Universe (such as it is), Star Wars, being a dad, app-related stuff, and a few other things. If you like that sort of stuff, you’ll probably enjoy my feed more than if you only like productivity and time-related stuff.
- I am getting into writing Twitter threads, but they are essentially just longer extensions of me testing material. I will get into conversations surrounding these threads, but I want to make sure you know what threads represent to me right out of the gate.
- Actor Michael Shannon has some pretty clear thoughts on engaging with people who have opposing views. “I know they say you should reach across the aisle and all that crap, but to me it feels like putting your hand into a fan.” I’m not saying I’m not welcome to open discussion on Twitter about polarizing topics BUT if I stop chiming in I want to assure you of something: All that means is I don’t feel like ‘sticking my hand into a fan’ and not that I am acquiescing to whatever was last tweeted in the exchange. Take it as a sign that you’ve stretched my open-mindedness to its limits.
- I realize that Point Number Five may have put you off, and that’s fine. I waited until sharing it as the fourth point because I rarely get that deep into things on Twitter, anyway.
- I really like Twitter. So much so, that I think it’s a great place for conversation. In fact, that’s why comments on this blog are off. Want to chat with me about something? Let’s do that on Twitter.
Another way to connect with me is to subscribe to my email list. I send a weekly email called ATTN: that offers helpful insights, ideas, and more around productivity and time. I also send occasional email broadcasts when I’ve got something cool going on. Plus you’ll get The TimeCrafting Starter Kit, which will help you get started with the method and philosophy when you subscribe and other free stuff.
You can subscribe by clicking here.
Lastly, this page is inspired by John Scalzi’s welcome message to his potential followers, which I discovered thanks to Josh Spector’s For The Interested daily email.