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 things done.
301
Where The Action Is with J. Elise Keith
On this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by J. Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings and author of Where The Action Is: The Meetings That Make or Break Your Organization. We dive into an area of our work lives that can have a direct impact on our overall productivity both individually and organizationally. That area is... meetings.
31 min
302
Doing Project 333 with Courtney Carver
I'm excited that my friend Courtney Carver returns for this episode of the program. We focus our conversation around her book Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really is So Much More, which is a project I've undertaken and am still committed to several years later!
34 min
303
How to Start Ugly with Chris Krimitsos
I'm happy to welcome Chris Krimitsos as the guest for this episode. Chris is a father, husband, community builder, and ever-evolving innovator. He loves people and their stories and has leveraged his gifts of connecting others to build communities around entrepreneurship, podcasting, and multimedia.
34 min
304
How to Be a Successful Speaker with Grant Baldwin
On this episode of the program, I'm joined by Grant Baldwin. Grant is the founder of The Speaker Lab, a training company that helps public speakers learn how to find and book speaking gigs. He's also the author of the book The Successful Speaker: Five Steps for Booking Gigs, Getting Paid, and Building Your Platform.
40 min
305
Well-Presented with Mike Pacchione
On this episode, I'm joined by my good friend Mike Pacchione. Mike is a speaking expert who helps presenters find their voice on stage. Hint: putting yourself in your speech, while scary, is a bit of a secret weapon for making your speech memorable.
51 min
306
The Responsibility Ethic with Adam Kreek
On this episode, I'm joined "in studio" by Adam Kreek. A two-time Olympian, Adam holds 60 international medals, including Olympic Gold, and multiple hall of fame inductions. Adam’s new book, The Responsibility Ethic, teaches us the how of self-leadership, driving personal and professional results in individuals and organizations.
54 min
307
Accomplish It with Mridu Parikh
On this episode I chat with Mridu Parikh, founder of Life Is Organized and author of Accomplish It: 7 Simple Actions to Get the Right Things Done and Achieve Your Goals.
41 min
308
All You Have to Do is Ask with Dr. Wayne Baker
On this episode of the podcast, I welcome Dr. Wayne Baker as my guest. Focusing on social capital, social networks, generosity, and positive organizations, Dr. Baker has published six books and contributed to such outlets as Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive Magazine, and Sloan Management Review. A frequent guest speaker and management consultant, Dr. Baker is a co-founder and board member of Give and Take Inc., developer of the collaboration technologies based on principles in his book All You Have to Do Is Ask.
38 min
309
Finding Success in Your Sphere with Zvi Band
On this episode of the program I’m joined by Zvi Band. Zvi is the cofounder and CEO of Contactually, a leading CRM platform for relationship-oriented businesses, and author of "Success is in Your Sphere." An engineer, developer, entrepreneur, and startup advisor, Zvi has been named a Washingtonian Tech Titan four times.
44 min
310
Keeping Productive with Francesco D'Alessio
This week on the program I'm joined by a guest I've been looking to chat with for a long time. Francesco D'Alessio runs Keep Productive, a YouTube show dedicated to helping people find the most suitable productivity software for their work and life needs. From helping decision-making to curbing switching, Keep Productive is passionate about helping you make long-term decisions about your software.
39 min
311
Overcoming Overwhelm with Dr. Samantha Brody
On this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Samantha Brody. Dr. Samantha is a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist, and the founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, Oregon. For decades in her private practice and virtual consulting business Dr. Samantha has helped thousands of people transform their lives with her innovative, personalized approach. She is the author of Overcoming Overwhelm: Dismantle Your Stress from the Inside Out.
34 min
312
Freeing The Dream with Cliff Ravenscraft
On this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by Cliff Ravenscraft. For more than a decade, Cliff had been known as the Podcast Answer Man. He’s trained tens of thousands of individuals on how to successfully launch an audio podcast. Today, Cliff is a business and life coach. He mentors coaches, consultants, and thought leaders through the transition from their unfulfilling day job to their own responsible and profitable online business so that they can live the life of their dreams and do the work they feel most called to do in this world.
62 min
313
Starting Something Stupid with Richie Norton
On this episode of the podcast, I chat with Richie Norton. Riche is the award-winning, bestselling author of the book The Power of Starting Something Stupid (in 10+ languages) and Résumés Are Dead & What to Do About It. In 2019, Richie was ranked one of the world's top 100 business coaches by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith. He is an international speaker (including TEDx & Google Startup Grind) and serial entrepreneur.
51 min
314
Humor That Works with Andrew Tarvin
On this episode of The Productivityist Podcast, I'm joined by Andrew (Drew) Tarvin. Drew is the world’s first Humor Engineer teaching people how to get better results while having more fun. He is a best-selling author, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and FastCompany, and his TEDx talk has been viewed over 4 million times.
44 min
315
How to Win the Day with Kris Ward
On this episode, I speak with Kris Ward. Kris is the director of a marketing and branding company and it was through her work there that she learned a great deal about productivity versus being busy. Her work with other small business professionals lead to the creation of Win The Hour Win The Day.
44 min
316
Crowdsourcing Paris with J.H. Bunting
On this episode of the program I speak with J.H. Bunting about the life of a writer and the making of his ambitious new book, Crowdsourcing Paris: Memoirs of a Travel Adventure.
45 min
317
The Seven Longest Yards with Chris Norton
On this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Chris Norton. Chris is a speaker, author, adoptive & foster parent. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury playing college football. However, seven years later joyfully conquered the challenge of walking his wife, Emily, down the aisle of his wedding.
42 min
318
The Daily Decision with Brian Dixon
On this episode I'm joined by Brian Dixon, the author of Start with Your People: The Daily Decision that Changes Everything. As a podcaster, conference speaker, and business coach, Brian is passionate about helping high potential leaders and teams thrive in a world of overwhelming options.
48 min
319
You Are Awesome with Neil Pasricha
On this episode of the podcast, I have the pleasure of being joined by the author of The Book of Awesome Series, Neil Pasricha. Neil thinks, writes, and speaks about intentional living, and on this episode he's going to share with me some of his insights from the book You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life.
67 min
320
Metamorphosis with Steven L. Blue
On this episode I speak with Steven L. Blue. Steven is the best-selling author of five critically acclaimed books that target executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking to learn the secrets of success in the corporate world.
39 min
321
Revisiting and Reframing Automation with Wade F...
On this episode, I speak with Wade Foster. Wade is the CEO and co-founder of Zapier, a workflow automation tool used by over three million people to connect the work apps they use every day. Prior to Zapier, Wade worked as a customer development lead for The Idea Works, Inc. in Missouri. He is an alumnus of Y Combinator and has degrees in industrial engineering and business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
49 min
322
Becoming Indistractable with Nir Eyal
On this episode I'm joined by Nir Eyal, the author of what I consider to be the best productivity book I've read in a long time, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.
58 min
323
Bringing Gratitude with Karl Staib
I'm joined by my good friend and author of Bring Gratitude: Feel Joyful with Bite-Sized Mindset Practices, Karl Staib on this episode. We spend time speaking about the effects that gratitude can have on your productivity when you simply "bring it" into your life as much as possible.
46 min
324
How to Build Yourself More Time with Jaime Masters
I'm excited to welcome Jaime Masters as a guest on his episode of the podcast. Jaime is the host of Eventual Millionaire. She’s interviewed almost 500 self made millionaires and billionaires. She’s been a business coaching for over 10 years and has taught six and seven figure CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners how to double and triple their revenue. She has been featured in Yahoo Online, Inc.com, SUCCESS Magazine, Entrepreneur, Women's Health Magazine, Business Insider, and more.
30 min
325
BONUS EPISODE: It's International Podcast Day w...
This bonus episode celebrating International Podcast Day features a long-awaited return of the productivity banter between yours truly and my good friend and former co-host of Mikes in Mics, Michael Schechter.
41 min