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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 t

PM Talks S3E9: What Problem Does This Actually Solve?
Sep 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 45:46
Cover of The Innovator's Dilemma
The Innovator's Dilemma
Clayton Christensen
clayton christensen a number i think it was in the innovator's dilemma ▶ tap to play from here
The Five Kinds of Work Stress (with Amy Leneker)
Sep 2026 · 2 books
0:00 / 32:09
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Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Method to Lead and Live with Less Stress and More Joy
Amy Linaker
your book cheers to monday the surprisingly simple method to lead and live with less stress ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Procrastination Proof
Procrastination Proof
John Acuff
about his book procrastination proof ▶ tap to play from here
Why a Retreat Is Part of the Work, Not a Reward for It
Aug 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 27:13
Cover of Creative Quest
Creative Quest
Questlove
and i remember reading the book uh creative quest by quest love and he talks about micro meditations ▶ tap to play from here
The Jolts That Make Us Quit — and the Ones Worth Ignoring (with Anthony Klotz)
Aug 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 44:58
Cover of Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters
Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters
Anthony
upcoming book as we're recording this jolted why we quit when to stay and why it matters ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Innovator's Dilemma
The Innovator's Dilemma
Clayton Christensen
clayton christensen you know innovator's dilemma you talk about him there ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Radical Candor
Radical Candor
Kim Scott
kim scott who's wonderful she wrote radical candor ▶ tap to play from here
The Difference Between an Aha Moment and a Full-Blown Epiphany (PM Talks S3E8)
Aug 2026
0:00 / 44:12
Why Logic Alone Can't Explain the Human Mind (with Tom Griffiths)
Aug 2026 · 8 books
0:00 / 38:34
Cover of Algorithms to Live By
Algorithms to Live By
Brian Christian
when your previous book algorithms to live by right that was the one that i i look at that book in in the context of your body of work when it comes to writing and then the laws of thought ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
and that's what's summarized in the book thinking fast and slow ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
kinda like persig's work uh in you know in his in zen and and and his other work ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Goal
The Goal
Eliyahu M. Goldratt
the theory of constraints from the book the goal ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day
How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Arnold Bennett
arnold bennett's book how to live on twenty four hours a day which is a hundred and ten year old book ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Future Shock
Future Shock
Alvin Toffler
unlike say alvin toffler's future shock which is an old like his wife had to rewrite it ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Alchemist
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
cord of allegorical or fable type type books that aim to teach us something ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of An Investigation of the Laws of Thought
An Investigation of the Laws of Thought
George Boole
he wrote this book called an investigation of the laws of thought that title is obviously echoed by my title here ▶ tap to play from here
Why "Life Is" Might Be the Only Sentence You Need (with Gary John Bishop)
Jul 2026 · 4 books
0:00 / 38:47
Cover of Time and the Art of Living
Time and the Art of Living
Robert Grudin
this is reminding me of sections of robert gruden's book time and the art of living ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Soundtracks
Soundtracks
Jon Acuff
the other thing he's talking about is soundtracks the john acup book you know the idea of the the things we keep replaying in our head again and again ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life
Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life
Gary John Bishop
we get back to the the kind of the book that you're most known for on fuck yourself ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Now What? Your Life, Your Truth, and Your Way Forward
Now What? Your Life, Your Truth, and Your Way Forward
Gary John Bishop
and now we're into now what ▶ tap to play from here
The Goal Was Never Inbox Zero (It Was a Quiet Mind)
Jul 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 22:01
Cover of Deep Work
Deep Work
Cal Newport
he's a computer science professor at georgetown right for the new yorker wrote deep work among others ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Slow Productivity
Slow Productivity
Cal Newport
we just finished uh in my time crafting trust community our time crafting trust community talking about the book's slow productivity ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of A World Without Email
A World Without Email
Cal Newport
and again cal wrote a book called the world without email ▶ tap to play from here
Why Procrastination Is Emotional, Not a Discipline Problem (with Robin J Emdon)
Jul 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 52:25
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Get Resultsology: The Science of Getting Stuff Done
Robin J. Emden
so it's get resultsology the scientist of getting stuff done ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Wanting
Wanting
Luke Burgess
luke burgess talks about this in his book wanting ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
all so you're right we it's so i mean i've said this before and this is not new but we don't just learn about we don't just learn what to do from the people that are in our purview our stories or whatever especially our parents we also learn what not to do like th i won't do that i won't do that and it it is fascinating um but you can't in in my experience that stuff you it doesn't you sometimes you get the epiphany and when you get the epiphany it's important to sit with it ▶ tap to play from here
Within Tolerance (PM Talks S3E7)
Jul 2026 · 2 books
0:00 / 44:15
Cover of Enough
Enough
Patrick Rhone
part of the reason why they motivated me to write enough is because ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Future Shock
Future Shock
Alvin Toffler
in his book future shock he talks about this term over choice ▶ tap to play from here
Why You Can't Outwork Bad Sleep (with Shimin Ooi)
Jul 2026
0:00 / 40:35
What You're Not Measuring Is Costing You (with Dr. Henry Cloud)
Jun 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 49:05
Cover of Boundaries
Boundaries
Dr. Henry Cloud
boundaries of course uh is is one of your your works ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Necessary Endings
Necessary Endings
Dr. Henry Cloud
well the short version is i wrote a book called necessary endings ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Power of Moments
The Power of Moments
Chip Heath and Dan Heath
have you read the power of moments by chip and dan heath ▶ tap to play from here
Paying Attention to Your Attention
Jun 2026 · 7 books
0:00 / 50:10
Cover of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
Nir Eyal
this book called in indestractable by nir eall which came out in two thousand nineteen ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction
Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction
Chris Bailey
my friend chris bailey wrote a book a number of years ago called hyper focus how to be more productive in a world of distraction ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Answers to Distraction
Answers to Distraction
Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey
so this is from edward m hallowell and john j rady and it's called answers to distraction ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Driven to Distraction
Driven to Distraction
Dr. Hallowell
so they wrote the book called driven to distraction ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Art of Noticing
The Art of Noticing
Rob Walker
rob walker has written a great book i don't have in front of me here right now but it's called the art of noticing ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Undimmed
Undimmed
Cecily Mack
cecily mack who wrote the book undimmed ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Score Takes Care of Itself
The Score Takes Care of Itself
Bill Walsh
i r remember reading the score takes care of itself by bill walsh ▶ tap to play from here
The Art of Pacing: Why Slowing Down Is a Long Game Strategy (with Elizabeth Svoboda)
Jun 2026 · 4 books
0:00 / 40:50
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Productivess
Mike Vardy
my new book is called productivess ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Excellent Sheep
Excellent Sheep
William Deresiewicz
he wrote a book called excellent sheep and b excellent sheep is basically about when you get really really good at performing a specific thing ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Meditations
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
meditations right because it was just his drink ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving
The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving
Elizabeth Svoboda
the book is called the art of pacing a guide to balancing short term term demands with long term thriving elizabeth ▶ tap to play from here
The Principles You're Already Overlooking (with Heather Jo Kennedy)
Jun 2026 · 4 books
0:00 / 41:22
Cover of Ego Is the Enemy
Ego Is the Enemy
Ryan Holiday
ryan holliday talking about that by the way if you read the book i think another problem is people don't read deeply enough they look at what they see up front and then they they just say oh well the ego must be the enemy like maybe read the book ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Score Takes Care of Itself
The Score Takes Care of Itself
Bill Walsh
i read the score takes care of itself by bill walsh a number of years ago ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Outward Mindset
The Outward Mindset
The Arbinger Institute
there's a great book by the arbinger institute called the outward mindset ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Start Finishing
Start Finishing
Charlie Gilkey
a start finish by a start finishing by charlie gilkey ▶ tap to play from here
Letting Go of "Normal" to Finally Try Again (with Steve Kamb)
Jun 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 42:59
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Productivess
Mike Vardy
my new book is called productivess and mike vardy dot com slash productiveness is where you can get it ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Soundtracks
Soundtracks
Jon Acuff
timecrafting trust community book club about john incuff's book soundtracks ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Tiny Experiments
Tiny Experiments
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
anne lore covered it in her book tiny experiments ▶ tap to play from here
The Wisdom in Waiting: Rediscovering Prudence (PM Talks S3E6)
Jun 2026
0:00 / 53:22
Sometimes Wrong, Never in Doubt: The Confidence That Comes From Doing the Work (with George Barrios)
Jun 2026
0:00 / 56:19
Why Playing the Odds Beats Beating the Odds (with Kyle Austin Young)
Jun 2026
0:00 / 30:46
Intention or Inertia: What Intentional Living Actually Looks Like in Practice
May 2026
0:00 / 47:26
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