PM Talks S2E7: Sustainability

🚨 The Forge Your Future Challenge is back – August 7–9, 2025! Join yours truly, Mike Vardy, for this free 3-day experience to reconnect with what matters, regain control of your time, and set your future in motion. Just two hours a day for three days—no fluff, just focus. Save your spot now: https://mikevardy.com/forgeyourfuture This episode is the latest in our monthly series, PM Talks, where I’m joined by my friend and fellow thinker, Patrick Rhone. This time around, we dig into something that often gets overshadowed by its louder cousin: sustainability. From routines and rhythms to systems and seasons, we talk about what it really means to sustain—across time, attention, and action. Patrick and I explore the real difference between consistency and sustainability, and how too many people mistake momentum for something lasting. We share stories about summer, parenting, gardening, and even the war against weeds—all as metaphors for figuring out what’s actually worth sustaining. Six Discussion PointsWhy consistency often gets more attention than sustainability—and why that might be a generational biasThe subtle but critical difference between momentum and long-term viabilityHow unsustainable systems mask themselves through short-term resultsThe role of short-term maintenance in supporting long-term sustainabilityGardening as a metaphor for attention, patience, and the reality of diminishing returnsWhy paper systems and analog tools often outlast their digital counterparts Three Connection PointsPatrick Rhone’s workGet Chris Ducker’s book, The Long Haul LeaderGet The Productivity Diet by Mike Vardy on Amazon This episode reminded me—again—that sustainability is about more than staying the course. It’s about choosing what’s worth continuing. Whether you’re managing time, energy, or a tomato plant, the wisdom is in knowing your limits and working with them, not against them. I hope this episode helps you rethink not just what you're doing, but whether you can—and should—keep doing it. 📘 Grab My New Book: The Productivity Diet: A Practical Guide to Nurturing your Productive Potential If you’re looking to build a sustainable, personalized productivity practice that actually sticks, my latest book is for you. It’s available now—wherever books are sold. Learn more at mikevardy.com/lit or request it at your favorite local bookstore.