Mike Vardy

A white twin-bell alarm clock reads about 3:00 on a nightstand, sharply in focus, while a person lies awake in the blue-lit background, covering their head with a pillow — the frustration of trying too hard to sleep.

The Harder You Try to Sleep, the Worse You Sleep

The harder you try to fall asleep, the more stubbornly awake you stay. Sleep coach Shimin Ooi of Sleep Reset explains why effort backfires — and why permission, not pressure, is what finally lets rest in.

A target-style diagram of four nested rings — noticing on the outer edge, then awareness, then focus, with concentration at the center bullseye — illustrating the four spheres of attention from Mike Vardy's framework.

The Spheres of Attention and the Slide You Never Notice

Distraction was never the real problem. In this solo episode, Mike Vardy maps the four spheres of attention — noticing, awareness, focus, and concentration — and shows why learning to move between them, not living in any one, is the actual skill.

A Newton's cradle with four silver balls hanging at rest and a single red ball pulled back in preparation — a visual metaphor for prudence: the deliberate pause before action that makes everything that follows more effective

Why Prudence Is the Productivity Word We’ve Been Missing

Prudence has almost vanished from our vocabulary — but it hasn’t vanished from our lives. In this PM Talks episode, Patrick Rhone and I dig into what prudence actually means, why speed culture pushed it out, and why it might be the most underrated productivity virtue we have.

analog clock representing slow communication and the difference between time and temporality

What We Get Wrong When We Try to Manage Time

Dawna Ballard has spent decades studying time and human communication. Her research reveals why slowing down is often the fastest strategy — and what we get wrong when we treat speed as the goal.

A framed 'embrace grace' sign beside a literary Paddywax candle, reflecting the idea that practicing grace is an intentional daily discipline.

Grace Is Not a Soft Skill — It’s a Daily Practice

Grace gets dismissed as soft, but it might be the most load-bearing skill in a productive life. In this post — and in the latest episode of PM Talks — Patrick Rhone and I explore what it really means to practice grace: in travel, in relationships, in the face of change, and most importantly, toward yourself.

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