We are thrilled to announce that Mike Vardy, also known as “The Productivityist,” will be joining us as at Running Remote in Lisbon. Along with David Allen, Mike will take you on the Productivity hacks and deep work  journey this 25th of April.

With over 15 years of experience in the personal productivity and time management space, Vardy has gained recognition as one of the top thought leaders in this field.

He is the creator of the TimeCrafting philosophy and framework and has coached hundreds of clients using his productivity strategies. He has been featured in major publications such as Lifehacker, Fast Company, HuffPost, Inc., and Forbes.

Mike is an international speaker and has taught productivity practices on popular online platforms such as CreativeLive, Skillshare, and LinkedIn Learning, where his courses are among the most popular in the business category. 

Additionally, he hosts a conversational podcast called A Productive Conversation with Mike Vardy, which has been downloaded over 5 million times and has featured guests such as Seth Godin, Brian Tracy, Keith Ferrazzi, and Gretchen Rubin. 

With all this knowledge and expertise, we can’t wait to hear what Mike has to say at Running Remote. 

Continue reading to find out how can you start optimizing your remote productivity.

Q1: What is the question you get asked the most about remote work?

Mike: It’s “How do you track time management when everyone is distributed?” My answer is that you don’t focus on tracking time… you shift your focus to tracking results. 

The hourly concept is in the process of vanishing. It’s about time we track the things that matter most… results and outcomes.

Q2: What trend in remote management are you most optimistic about?

Mike: The ‘leaning towards async work’, which will lead to less friction and more flow. And as that happens, productivity in both a qualitative and quantitative manner will benefit. 

Q3:Where do you see remote work in 3 years? 

Mike: It’ll be like the term “social media marketing” which sexy guy added to the realm of marketing overall. 

Remote work will not require the adjective to be emphasized. It’ll just be blended into work overall.

Q4: What’s the best way to work? Async or sync, fully remote or hybrid? 

Mike: It honestly depends on the nature of the work. I think deep work – the kind of work that requires as much concentration as possible – thrives more in an asynchronous environment. 

Maintenance work is the type that can be managed both asynchronously and synchronously. 

I honestly believe, that while business isn’t always personal, productivity is. And that means the best way to work will be a nuanced approach, involving different ways to get the work done.

Where do you see AI coming into play with remote work over the next year? Any impact? 

Mike: AI is going to have an impact, but it’s hard to figure out where that impact will be felt the most. The bottom line is that we shouldn’t be afraid of it because the genie is out of the bottle. 

But, like a genie coming out of a bottle, if you’re not specific enough with what you want AI to do you may not get what you wished for. I believe that AI will be able to handle more mundane tasks and free us up to do tasks that require more nuance and taste — that human touch. 

But I also think that AI can be used as a springboard for ideas. There’s lots of possibility and potential. It’s just a matter of what we do with that.

>> Want to see Mike Vardy on stage in April 2023? Grab your ticket now