Displaying All Posts by Mike Vardy

Uncertainty: An Interview with Jonathan Fields

On this special episode of the Work Awesome podcast, Mike Vardy chats with the Career Renegade himself, Jonathan Fields.

Jonathan is a highly-demanded speaker and accomplished author, whose latest book, Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance, drops this week. This new work discusses the aspects of uncertainty that hinder people, as well as how to overcome uncertainty when it is holding you back. And that just scratches the surface of this incredibly motivating and inspiring book.

During this interview, the topics of uncertainty is explored — a great primer for a book that is sure to awaken many people who aren’t living to their fullest because of being afraid of what lies beyond…and propelling them forward to face uncertainty head-on.
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Podcast 24 – Podcasting Passion with Myke Hurley

Mike Vardy 29th July Podcast Leave a Comment

On this episode of the Work Awesome podcast, outgoing Podcast Prodigy Mike Vardy chats with a man of many podcasts, Myke Hurley.

Mike is the man behind The Podcasting Project, which is the hub for the podcasts he is involved with (including Enough: The Minimal Mac Podcast, which he co-hosts with past Work Awesome podcast guest Patrick Rhone).

Along with the number of podcasts that Myke is involved in, he manages to work a full time day job — and the discussion on this episode revolves a lot around how one can fuel their passion while still working a job 40+ hours a week.
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Podcast 23 – Mac at Work with David Sparks

Mike Vardy 11th July Podcast Leave a Comment

This week’s episode of the Work Awesome podcast features David Sparks. David hosts the popular Mac Power Users podcast, maintains a regular posting schedule on his MacSparky website and finds time to work as a full time lawyer. How does he do it? You’ll have to listen to find out…
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Podcast 22 – The Power of Paper with Adam King

Mike Vardy 24th June Podcast 1 Comment

This week’s episode of the Work Awesome podcast features Adam King. Adam is a highly-respected online writer, as evidenced by his inclusion in the Read & Trust network, and last month he sparked a bit of a renewed interest for many in the power of paper-based productivity with his piece entitled “The Daily Rind”.

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Podcast 21 – Connect and Revolutionize with Pace and Kyeli Smith

Mike Vardy 3rd June Podcast 1 Comment

This week’s podcast features Pace and Kyeli Smith of The Connection Revolution. In this interview, they discuss the power of connecting with yourself and your true passions, which can go a long way in revolutionizing the way you work and live.

Pace and Kyeli are going to be attending this weekend’s World Domination Summit, as hosted by Chris Guillebeau and his team of dedicated volunteers. The summit (known as #WDS on Twitter) is going to bring 500 like-minded people from across the globe to Portland, Oregon for an truly inspiring weekend — and the connections that will be forged and the revolutionizing of lives that will take place are right up Pace and Kyeli’s alley.

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Podcast 20 — Staying Focused with Eddie Smith

Mike Vardy 20th May Podcast 2 Comments

The Work Awesome podcast welcomes Eddie Smith, the man behind the popular productivity site Practically Efficient. He describes himself as “an actuary, a thinker, an efficiency experimenter and a blogger—all in one.” Eddie’s work has attracted the attention (and praise) of many popular internet writers, including those who contribute to the Read & Trust network and Merlin Mann.

Eddie and Work Awesome podcast prodigy Mike Vardy discussed a wide variety of productivity-related topics during this interview, well before Eddie had added the newest addition to his workflow: his child. We may shoot for a follow-up interview in a few months to see how he’s adapted. . .
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Podcast 19 – From Writer to Entrepreneur: Jen Bilik

Mike Vardy 6th May Podcast 2 Comments

This week’s guest on the Work Awesome podcast is Jen Bilik, the founder, CEO and “head honcho” of Knock Knock. Knock Knock makes fun (yet practical) productivity tools, so if you’re new to the world of productivity tools or simply want to make getting stuff done more entertaining, then give Knock Knock a try. I’ve got a few of the file folders they make, and they’ve raised both eyebrows and laughter when they’ve caught attention from my colleagues.

Jen was gracious enough to give me plenty of time to discuss how Knock Knock works, along with her own work habits. The podcast is one of our longer ones, but it really gives you an inside look as to how an idea that may seem off-the-cuff goes from concept to finished product. I think you’ll be as surprised as I was.
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Episode 18 – Jason Womack: Work Awesome Podcast

Mike Vardy 22nd April Podcast 15 Comments

On this week’s episode of the Work Awesome podcast (the first under new ownership, I might add), we start a new era. A new theme will greet listeners as they tune in, but a familiar voice can still be heard as host.

I continue my journey with this site in my new role as Podcast Prodigy, and every other week the Work Awesome podcast will bring tips, tricks, interviews and more. This week, I had the opportunity to speak with Jason Womack, noted productivity expert and author. Jason is one of the principals at The Womack Company, a company that aims to help those in all walks of business (and in life) “level up” their productivity.

Jason recently inked a book deal with Wiley Publishing, and his first book under its banner, Your Best Just Got Better, will hit bookshelves later in 2011.
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ProjeLead: Another Contender in the Project Management Software Market

Mike Vardy 5th April Software 1 Comment

Project management software has become a more integral tool for businesses in recent years, and another contender has come to our attention in recent weeks: ProjeLead.

ProjeLead touts itself as:

“…a simple open source tool that will make project managers focus more on their project than on their project management tool.”

Originally created to meet the internal needs of our project managers and consultants, ProjeLead has been offered as a free download since early 2009 under an Open Source license. The response from its user base has been quite positive and while we’re yet to give it a full review, they are gaining traction in what is a very crowded space.
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Contest: Win 1 of 5 Unlimited EasySign Packages

Mike Vardy 4th April Software 4 Comments

We covered EasySign Mobile a few weeks back here at WorkAwesome and they’ve altered their user interface even more recently in order to enhance the overall user experience. What is EasySign, exactly?

EasySign is an application that promises to make filling in and signing documents on an iPhone or iPad a cakewalk.

I’ve been using the service ever since we covered it…and it’s been incredibly convenient. If you haven’t given it a look yet, check out our overview of the app and give it a try.
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WorkAwesome Podcast: Episode 17 – James Shelley

Mike Vardy 3rd April Podcast 1 Comment

This week’s guest on the WorkAwesome podcast is James Shelley. James is a highly-regarded online writer, offering articles on productivity and time management — as well as attention and willpower. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

That said, James is also a storyteller and speaker. He has spoken to high school students about the challenges the world has to offer as well as looking at lifestyles choices and decisions that need to be made. These kind of musings don’t just apply to the youth of today; we all can learn from James’ work online. His work at JamesShelley.net is a great place to start.
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Workspace Before + After Competition – The Winners!

Mike Vardy 2nd April Site News 6 Comments

It’s been a couple of weeks since the Workspace Before + After Competition closed to entries…and the winners have now been chosen! Each of them presented us with a photo of their workspace before the transformation and after, and suffice to say, the “after shots” definitely show a marked improvement over the “before” ones. Each of the winners made different types of changes — some big and some small. Our hope is that any of the changes will result in more awesome work coming from our winners.

Each of the winners will receive 200 business cards from MOO. Below is each of the winners’ photos — along with a brief description of what makes their “new-look workspace” far more awesome than their old one.

1. Kevin Wammer

BEFORE

“Thanks to your blogpost I finally decided to clean up my desk. Since it is in my bedroom I usually throw my sweatshirts on it. I decided to close my Macbook and to use only the larger screen. I threw away a couple of magazines and sorted my books (…and yes, those are Envato books!).”

AFTER

“I still have to find a way how to make it even more minimalistic but I finally took the time to clean this mess. (By the way, it took me two cups of coffee to get through this…) I didn’t change much but I think it looks clean enough.”

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