#Ultradian rhythms

[blusmarty]

How to Hack Your Sleep Cycle for Better Productivity

https://books2read.com/u/3Jk9KA

[bloomzone]

bloom i LOVE your page it has gotten me so much more productive and motivated and disciplined than i used to be !! BUT ive been STRUGGLING with the afternoon slump omg 😭😭

i keep thinking yea ill workout or check off something from my to do list but as soon as its 3 i get this intense need to just lay down and sleepp 😭 and i knock out from 3 to like 5 or 5:30

what do i dooo i wanna be more productive and ive tried to sleep properly at night but i still feel that afternoon slump hitting me hardd 😞

omg angel, first of all THANK YOU your message made my whole heart smile. knowing that my page helped you feel more productive and disciplined?? that’s everything to me like fr thank you so so so much I love u 💌

🗒️ : also just wanna say i’m really sorry if this message feels short or if it took me a while to reply. i’m in the middle of exam season right now and barely keeping up with my inbox, but i didn’t want to leave you hanging or make you feel ignored. ur message genuinely meant a lot to me and i’m sending you hugs and kisses 🩷

okay angel let’s start with this because it’s so important and so many people need to hear it about the afternoon slump :

about that 3PM slump hear me out that dip in energy, the way your brain just goes fuzzy and everything suddenly feels heavier? it’s so biologically normal. like, science-backed, body rhythm, real-life normal. you are not a robot you’re a human and your brain literally needs breaks throughout the day. especially in the afternoon, most people hit a natural dip in their focus, alertness, and energy. it’s called an ultradian rhythm, and it means your body is working properly, not failing. don’t let productivity culture make you feel guilty for needing a breather girl this is a biiig no . you’re not lazy, you’re not behind, and you’re definitely not broken. feeling that slump actually means you were doing something before it means you used your energy. now your body’s just gently saying, “let’s pause for a moment.” you’re still on track. you’re still doing amaaaaazing. let that moment be part of the plan, not the end of it. rest is part of the process please please I'm begin u and a lot of ppl to understand this !!

you need to work with it gently, kindly, wiiiisely and that’s where these tips come in :

﹙ ✿ ﹚ Set a check-in alarm

This is not a pushy productivity hack. It’s a kind invitation back to your focus.Set it for 3PM or 3:30, and when it rings, just ask yourself:

“What did I want from today? What matters right now?”

Sometimes just hearing that bell pulls you back to your path with love instead of pressure.

﹙ ✿ ﹚ Choose ONE non-negotiable task.

You don’t need to conquer your whole list. Just choose the one thing that, if it gets done, you’ll feel proud.

It can be as small as “clean my room” or “study 1 lesson” ....

Doing that one thing protects you from ending the day in regret, and helps you stay in integrity with yourself.

﹙ ✿ ﹚Break your work into microscopic steps.

Feeling stuck often comes from seeing the whole mountain and thinking you need to climb it all at once.

So don’t. For exaaaample Break “study history” into “open notebook,” then “highlight today’s topic,” then “review one paragraph.” the same thing go with all ur tasks

Each tiny step is progress. Each moment you start is a win. And the smaller the step, the more likely your brain says “okay, we can do that"

﹙ ✿ ﹚Schedule your rest

Don’t just collapse on your phone and then feel guilty afterward (and u will burnout and get headache .. by experience 😭 ). Say it clearly:

“I’m resting from 3:30 to 4:15. I deserve this. I’m coming back after.”This transforms rest from “procrastination” into intentional restoration.

It’s the difference between zoning out and truly recharging.

﹙ ✿ ﹚ Keep your to-do list in your line of sight.

Not hidden in your bag. Not buried in an app. Put it in your visual space.

Your brain craves visual reminders that’s why Post-its, whiteboards, and even just a notepad on your desk can keep you grounded.When you can see your list, your goals stay alive in your space, not just in your head.

﹙ ✿ ﹚ Fuel your body with small, real energy.

Often, a slump isn’t just mental it’s physical. Low energy? Check your hydration. Check your blood sugar.

A handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, or even warm tea eating sweets fruit especially like strawberries banana... can literally change how alert and focused you feel.It’s not just “eat healthy” it’s “honor your body’s signals before you push your mind further.”

﹙ ✿ ﹚Shift your environment even just a little.

Your brain craves variety to reawaken its focus. So change one small thing:

• Sit somewhere else go out ur room and sit on another room

• Environmental shifts signal your brain: “we’re starting something new now.” And that can snap you gently out of your fog.

﹙ ✿ ﹚ Move your body with intention.

No workout required. Just movement. Stand. Stretch. Reach to the ceiling. Touch your toes.

Movement resets the nervous system. It tells your body: “we’re still alive. we’re okay. let’s keep going.”

Even walking around the room or dancing for one song can refresh your brain in ways sitting never will.

﹙ ✿ ﹚ Create a (ur own) power-down ritual for the slump.

Instead of resisting it, lean into it on your terms. Make 3PM your check-in time with yourself.

Light a candle. Open your planner. Reread your morning intention.

Treat this “slump” as a sacred hour where you recalibrate instead of shutting down.

﹙ ✿ ﹚Talk to yourself with grace, always.

It sounds cheesy, but your inner voice is your daily soundtrack.

If you shame yourself for being tired, you deepen the slump.

But if you say, “hey, it’s okay. we’re just resting, not quitting” you give yourself permission to continue.

Be your own soft coach, not your harshest critic.

you’ve got this angel . i’m cheering for you always. 🍀🪄

@bloomzone

[the-un-named-gallery]

Wu Wei

I leave articles in open tabs in

my window all the time.

I'll read it.

Eventually.

Hey, remember to read that thing.

A new friend named Joe tells me

to rest. And rest is good.

But I'm no good at it.

I can do nothing - but

in the way of laziness and having

nothing strategic about it.

The physical and those sore knees.

The mental and those ultradian rhythms.

The emotional and speaking our sincerities.

The social and pleasing nameless crowds.

The spiritual and seeing the stars through the trees.

The creative and brain thunder storms.

Watts called it "not forcing".

And how?

The recipe has two parts:

Allowance

Surrender

(7.3.24)

[mnrpardiman]

Chronobiology is the scientific study of biological rhythms and their mechanisms. It explores how living organisms, including humans, plants, animals, and even microorganisms, adapt their biological processes to the timing of environmental cycles such as day and night, tides, seasons, and lunar phases.

Key Concepts in Chronobiology:

1. Biological Rhythms: These are cyclic patterns in biological processes or behaviors. They are categorized based on their frequency:

Circadian Rhythms: Approximately 24-hour cycles, like the sleep-wake cycle.

Ultradian Rhythms: Shorter than 24 hours, such as heartbeats or hormonal release.

Infradian Rhythms: Longer than 24 hours, such as menstrual cycles or seasonal behaviors.

2. Circadian Clock:

This is an internal mechanism that helps organisms maintain a roughly 24-hour cycle, even without external cues.

It is regulated by a "master clock" in the brain, specifically in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which is synchronized by environmental light and dark cycles.

3. Zeitgebers: External cues, like light, temperature, and food availability, that help synchronize biological rhythms with the environment.

4. Chronotypes: Individual variations in circadian rhythms that determine whether a person is a "morning person" or a "night owl."

5. Disruptions in Chronobiology:

Jet Lag: A temporary misalignment of the circadian clock due to rapid travel across time zones.

Shift Work Disorder: Chronic disruption caused by working non-traditional hours.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Depression linked to seasonal changes in light exposure.

Applications of Chronobiology:

Medicine: Timing treatments (chronotherapy) to align with biological rhythms for better efficacy and reduced side effects.

Agriculture: Optimizing planting and harvesting schedules based on plant rhythms.

Sleep Science: Understanding and treating sleep disorders.

Workplace Productivity: Designing schedules that align with workers' natural rhythms.

Chronobiology is a multidisciplinary field, drawing from biology, neuroscience, psychology, and even physics to understand how time influences life.

[usedcarheaven]

In Chronobiology, an ultradian rhythm is a recurrent period or cycle repeated throughout a 24-hour day. In contrast, circadian rhythms complete one cycle daily, while infradian rhythms such as the menstrual cycle have periods longer than a day. The Oxford English Dictionary's definition of Ultradian specifies that it refers to cycles with a period shorter than a day but longer than an hour.[1]

The descriptive term ultradian is used in sleep research in reference to the 90–120 minute cycling of the sleep stages during human sleep

Nick Aristovulous

Ultradian Rhythm, in Psychology Today Magazine, 1977

[cleverhottubmiracle]

The expression “TMI” was first coined by a Wall Street Journal reporter in 1988, though it wouldn’t really enter our popular lexicon (and promptly explode!) until a decade later. The abbreviation for “too much information” refers to an overload of info, particularly anything that is personal in nature. Like, say, sharing the details of your infant’s poop composition on a triple date? Or, perhaps, sending the picture you snapped of the golf ball-size cyst your dermatologist removed from one buttock cheek to your girlfriend group chat? These are examples of my own acts of TMI (a core part of my personality that I chalk up to my reporter brain’s intense need for as many granular details as possible). This kind of behavior, once an exception, has now become the norm. We all reveal TMI, even when it comes to health care. And the growing market for comprehensive diagnostic tests and devices is just another example of information overload.“COVID led to a thirst for knowledge,” says Richard Chang, cofounder and COO at New York’s Extension Health, the longevity-focused arm of the “integrated health ecosystem” Hudson Health, which also includes pain clinic Hudson Medical and psychiatric care Hudson Mind. That thirst for knowledge has led to a deluge of services that prominently position diagnostics—which can include anything from blood and fecal testing to full-body scans to postural alignment exams—in their approach to keeping people healthier for longer. There are at-home products too: In the past decade, technology has given us more tools to access and interface with our health data on a daily basis, like Apple watches and Oura rings.“Wearables are giving people access to data they couldn’t easily get before,” says Mark Hyman, MD, the cofounder of health management platform Function Health, “but they can’t get under the skin.” In the past few years, though, we have seen the emergence of blood and urine home-testing brands that do, like Everlywell, and Prenuvo, a $2,500 full-body scan for the one-percenters. Now there’s a new wave of companies going deeper on diagnostics, and aiming to build long-standing relationships with the people seeking them out.With Function Health, members get access to an extensive assessment that includes five times more lab testing than you’d receive during a typical annual physical; routine bloodwork usually includes a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel, TSH, vitamin D, iron panel, prostate specific antigen (for men over 50), and hemoglobin A1C (for those with risk factors for diabetes). Since the company’s launch last summer, Dr. Hyman says, they’ve had more than 150,000 people sign up.Extension Health relies on diagnostics as a baseline to inform the direction of prescribed therapeutic treatments, such as NAD IVs or peptide therapy, which are far different than what your general medicine practitioner would point you to.Whether more information is actually better in this context is up for debate. Andrew Ahn, MD, a physician researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Harvard Medical School, remains relatively skeptical about the purported benefits of these comprehensive panels of biomarkers. “There are significant biological and analytical limitations to be considered,” he says, noting that biomarkers obtained in blood do not always reflect what is happening at the tissue or cellular level.For example, serum testosterone may not accurately represent its activity in muscle or brain tissue. Taking single measurements of hormones—like cortisol, IGF-1, or leptin, which have circadian and ultradian rhythms that cause them to fluctuate throughout the day—can be misleading. Then, says Dr. Ahn, there are analytical limitations with different testing methods yielding varying results from the same biomarker. For instance, measuring testosterone by immunoassay can differ from what you get via mass-spectroscopy.Despite skepticism from traditional health care providers, these newer businesses appeal to many types of people, not just the most woo-woo among us. Chang reports that the adopters of Extension Health thus far bridge various demographics: There are those who first came to their heritage practice to alleviate specific symptoms and are now looking for ongoing care; there are the hardcore biohackers; there are the customers who have issues (such as Lyme disease, long COVID, or autoimmune conditions) that traditional health care has overlooked or been unable to fully address.Then there are what Chang calls “the weekend warriors,” who are newly curious about longevity and just dipping their toes in. Love.Life, the longevity center opened a few months back by Whole Foods founder John Mackey (who has shifted his focus from improving our diets to optimizing the preventative health experience), will likely see plenty of those weekend warriors, thanks to its location in a very well-trodden strip mall—a stone’s throw from a Whole Foods, fittingly—just outside LA.I’d put myself in that last category. I’ve had Lyme disease and some health issues that my doctors haven’t been able to suss out, but they are mostly in the rearview. At the end of last year, this warrior spent a number of weekends subjecting herself to blood draws, various scans, and poking and prodding, all in the name of longevity and satiating my aforementioned biological need for details. I devoted two mornings (spaced two weeks apart to allow for a greater breadth of results) to fasting and lengthy blood draws (performed at my local Quest Diagnostics) for analysis by Function Health. My multiple vials were carted off to be tested for more than 100 biomarkers, from hormonal and metabolic to thyroid and immune regulation. An extensive and detailed assessment of my levels—conducted by Function’s clinical care team, a group of MDs—arrived in my inbox weeks later.At Extension, I tried the 3D postural-alignment scan, which is advanced imaging technology that takes a series of pictures as you spin around on a platform to determine where the imbalances are in your body. (As a Libra, this was deeply relevant for me.) The test confirmed that my left hip is slightly off-kilter, something I’ve felt since being pregnant six years ago and carrying my daughter lopsided, and something my former pelvic floor therapist and my current trainer have repeatedly pointed out. Source link

[norajworld]

The expression “TMI” was first coined by a Wall Street Journal reporter in 1988, though it wouldn’t really enter our popular lexicon (and promptly explode!) until a decade later. The abbreviation for “too much information” refers to an overload of info, particularly anything that is personal in nature. Like, say, sharing the details of your infant’s poop composition on a triple date? Or, perhaps, sending the picture you snapped of the golf ball-size cyst your dermatologist removed from one buttock cheek to your girlfriend group chat? These are examples of my own acts of TMI (a core part of my personality that I chalk up to my reporter brain’s intense need for as many granular details as possible). This kind of behavior, once an exception, has now become the norm. We all reveal TMI, even when it comes to health care. And the growing market for comprehensive diagnostic tests and devices is just another example of information overload.“COVID led to a thirst for knowledge,” says Richard Chang, cofounder and COO at New York’s Extension Health, the longevity-focused arm of the “integrated health ecosystem” Hudson Health, which also includes pain clinic Hudson Medical and psychiatric care Hudson Mind. That thirst for knowledge has led to a deluge of services that prominently position diagnostics—which can include anything from blood and fecal testing to full-body scans to postural alignment exams—in their approach to keeping people healthier for longer. There are at-home products too: In the past decade, technology has given us more tools to access and interface with our health data on a daily basis, like Apple watches and Oura rings.“Wearables are giving people access to data they couldn’t easily get before,” says Mark Hyman, MD, the cofounder of health management platform Function Health, “but they can’t get under the skin.” In the past few years, though, we have seen the emergence of blood and urine home-testing brands that do, like Everlywell, and Prenuvo, a $2,500 full-body scan for the one-percenters. Now there’s a new wave of companies going deeper on diagnostics, and aiming to build long-standing relationships with the people seeking them out.With Function Health, members get access to an extensive assessment that includes five times more lab testing than you’d receive during a typical annual physical; routine bloodwork usually includes a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel, TSH, vitamin D, iron panel, prostate specific antigen (for men over 50), and hemoglobin A1C (for those with risk factors for diabetes). Since the company’s launch last summer, Dr. Hyman says, they’ve had more than 150,000 people sign up.Extension Health relies on diagnostics as a baseline to inform the direction of prescribed therapeutic treatments, such as NAD IVs or peptide therapy, which are far different than what your general medicine practitioner would point you to.Whether more information is actually better in this context is up for debate. Andrew Ahn, MD, a physician researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Harvard Medical School, remains relatively skeptical about the purported benefits of these comprehensive panels of biomarkers. “There are significant biological and analytical limitations to be considered,” he says, noting that biomarkers obtained in blood do not always reflect what is happening at the tissue or cellular level.For example, serum testosterone may not accurately represent its activity in muscle or brain tissue. Taking single measurements of hormones—like cortisol, IGF-1, or leptin, which have circadian and ultradian rhythms that cause them to fluctuate throughout the day—can be misleading. Then, says Dr. Ahn, there are analytical limitations with different testing methods yielding varying results from the same biomarker. For instance, measuring testosterone by immunoassay can differ from what you get via mass-spectroscopy.Despite skepticism from traditional health care providers, these newer businesses appeal to many types of people, not just the most woo-woo among us. Chang reports that the adopters of Extension Health thus far bridge various demographics: There are those who first came to their heritage practice to alleviate specific symptoms and are now looking for ongoing care; there are the hardcore biohackers; there are the customers who have issues (such as Lyme disease, long COVID, or autoimmune conditions) that traditional health care has overlooked or been unable to fully address.Then there are what Chang calls “the weekend warriors,” who are newly curious about longevity and just dipping their toes in. Love.Life, the longevity center opened a few months back by Whole Foods founder John Mackey (who has shifted his focus from improving our diets to optimizing the preventative health experience), will likely see plenty of those weekend warriors, thanks to its location in a very well-trodden strip mall—a stone’s throw from a Whole Foods, fittingly—just outside LA.I’d put myself in that last category. I’ve had Lyme disease and some health issues that my doctors haven’t been able to suss out, but they are mostly in the rearview. At the end of last year, this warrior spent a number of weekends subjecting herself to blood draws, various scans, and poking and prodding, all in the name of longevity and satiating my aforementioned biological need for details. I devoted two mornings (spaced two weeks apart to allow for a greater breadth of results) to fasting and lengthy blood draws (performed at my local Quest Diagnostics) for analysis by Function Health. My multiple vials were carted off to be tested for more than 100 biomarkers, from hormonal and metabolic to thyroid and immune regulation. An extensive and detailed assessment of my levels—conducted by Function’s clinical care team, a group of MDs—arrived in my inbox weeks later.At Extension, I tried the 3D postural-alignment scan, which is advanced imaging technology that takes a series of pictures as you spin around on a platform to determine where the imbalances are in your body. (As a Libra, this was deeply relevant for me.) The test confirmed that my left hip is slightly off-kilter, something I’ve felt since being pregnant six years ago and carrying my daughter lopsided, and something my former pelvic floor therapist and my current trainer have repeatedly pointed out. Source link

[chilimili212]

The expression “TMI” was first coined by a Wall Street Journal reporter in 1988, though it wouldn’t really enter our popular lexicon (and promptly explode!) until a decade later. The abbreviation for “too much information” refers to an overload of info, particularly anything that is personal in nature. Like, say, sharing the details of your infant’s poop composition on a triple date? Or, perhaps, sending the picture you snapped of the golf ball-size cyst your dermatologist removed from one buttock cheek to your girlfriend group chat? These are examples of my own acts of TMI (a core part of my personality that I chalk up to my reporter brain’s intense need for as many granular details as possible). This kind of behavior, once an exception, has now become the norm. We all reveal TMI, even when it comes to health care. And the growing market for comprehensive diagnostic tests and devices is just another example of information overload.“COVID led to a thirst for knowledge,” says Richard Chang, cofounder and COO at New York’s Extension Health, the longevity-focused arm of the “integrated health ecosystem” Hudson Health, which also includes pain clinic Hudson Medical and psychiatric care Hudson Mind. That thirst for knowledge has led to a deluge of services that prominently position diagnostics—which can include anything from blood and fecal testing to full-body scans to postural alignment exams—in their approach to keeping people healthier for longer. There are at-home products too: In the past decade, technology has given us more tools to access and interface with our health data on a daily basis, like Apple watches and Oura rings.“Wearables are giving people access to data they couldn’t easily get before,” says Mark Hyman, MD, the cofounder of health management platform Function Health, “but they can’t get under the skin.” In the past few years, though, we have seen the emergence of blood and urine home-testing brands that do, like Everlywell, and Prenuvo, a $2,500 full-body scan for the one-percenters. Now there’s a new wave of companies going deeper on diagnostics, and aiming to build long-standing relationships with the people seeking them out.With Function Health, members get access to an extensive assessment that includes five times more lab testing than you’d receive during a typical annual physical; routine bloodwork usually includes a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel, TSH, vitamin D, iron panel, prostate specific antigen (for men over 50), and hemoglobin A1C (for those with risk factors for diabetes). Since the company’s launch last summer, Dr. Hyman says, they’ve had more than 150,000 people sign up.Extension Health relies on diagnostics as a baseline to inform the direction of prescribed therapeutic treatments, such as NAD IVs or peptide therapy, which are far different than what your general medicine practitioner would point you to.Whether more information is actually better in this context is up for debate. Andrew Ahn, MD, a physician researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Harvard Medical School, remains relatively skeptical about the purported benefits of these comprehensive panels of biomarkers. “There are significant biological and analytical limitations to be considered,” he says, noting that biomarkers obtained in blood do not always reflect what is happening at the tissue or cellular level.For example, serum testosterone may not accurately represent its activity in muscle or brain tissue. Taking single measurements of hormones—like cortisol, IGF-1, or leptin, which have circadian and ultradian rhythms that cause them to fluctuate throughout the day—can be misleading. Then, says Dr. Ahn, there are analytical limitations with different testing methods yielding varying results from the same biomarker. For instance, measuring testosterone by immunoassay can differ from what you get via mass-spectroscopy.Despite skepticism from traditional health care providers, these newer businesses appeal to many types of people, not just the most woo-woo among us. Chang reports that the adopters of Extension Health thus far bridge various demographics: There are those who first came to their heritage practice to alleviate specific symptoms and are now looking for ongoing care; there are the hardcore biohackers; there are the customers who have issues (such as Lyme disease, long COVID, or autoimmune conditions) that traditional health care has overlooked or been unable to fully address.Then there are what Chang calls “the weekend warriors,” who are newly curious about longevity and just dipping their toes in. Love.Life, the longevity center opened a few months back by Whole Foods founder John Mackey (who has shifted his focus from improving our diets to optimizing the preventative health experience), will likely see plenty of those weekend warriors, thanks to its location in a very well-trodden strip mall—a stone’s throw from a Whole Foods, fittingly—just outside LA.I’d put myself in that last category. I’ve had Lyme disease and some health issues that my doctors haven’t been able to suss out, but they are mostly in the rearview. At the end of last year, this warrior spent a number of weekends subjecting herself to blood draws, various scans, and poking and prodding, all in the name of longevity and satiating my aforementioned biological need for details. I devoted two mornings (spaced two weeks apart to allow for a greater breadth of results) to fasting and lengthy blood draws (performed at my local Quest Diagnostics) for analysis by Function Health. My multiple vials were carted off to be tested for more than 100 biomarkers, from hormonal and metabolic to thyroid and immune regulation. An extensive and detailed assessment of my levels—conducted by Function’s clinical care team, a group of MDs—arrived in my inbox weeks later.At Extension, I tried the 3D postural-alignment scan, which is advanced imaging technology that takes a series of pictures as you spin around on a platform to determine where the imbalances are in your body. (As a Libra, this was deeply relevant for me.) The test confirmed that my left hip is slightly off-kilter, something I’ve felt since being pregnant six years ago and carrying my daughter lopsided, and something my former pelvic floor therapist and my current trainer have repeatedly pointed out. Source link

[vshrproaacademy]

Well-Planned But Unproductive? Here’s the Fix

In the fast-paced world of executives and managers, effective time management is key. Many spend hours creating perfect schedules, only to fall behind and feel overwhelmed. The issue isn’t planning—it’s the gap between planning and execution. If your well-structured plans aren't leading to real productivity, you're not alone. The Time Management Blueprint addresses three major pain points to help bridge this gap. Let’s dive in!

1. Well-Planned, Poorly Executed

You start your day with a detailed schedule, but by mid-morning, urgent emails, unplanned meetings, and last-minute requests throw everything off track. Sound familiar?

The problem isn’t your ability to plan—it’s the rigidity of the plan itself. A common mistake executives make is filling their schedule without allowing flexibility for unexpected changes.

Solution: Plan for Adaptability

Allocate buffer time between tasks for handling urgent matters.

Use the Time Blocking method to group similar tasks together, minimizing context switching.

Implement the 2-Minute Rule—if a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately to avoid cluttering your to-do list.

By designing a flexible schedule, you ensure that deviations don’t derail your entire day.

Case Study:

Sarah, a Senior Marketing Manager, faced constant disruptions that threw her off track. She adopted buffer times, time blocking, and prioritized peak productivity hours for deep work. Within days, Sarah regained control of her schedule and completed more high-impact tasks, reducing her stress and increasing efficiency.

2. Energy Levels Don’t Match Task Demands

Even with a structured plan, you might find yourself staring at an important report at 3 PM, feeling drained and unable to focus. Why? Because time isn’t the only resource that needs management—energy is just as critical.

Solution: Align Tasks with Energy Peaks

Identify your peak productivity hours (morning, midday, or evening) and schedule high-priority tasks accordingly.

Use the Ultradian Rhythm technique—work in 90-minute focused sessions followed by short breaks.

Prioritize deep work (strategic thinking, problem-solving) during your peak energy periods and schedule low-energy tasks (emails, admin work) during slumps.

When you work with your body’s natural energy cycles, you accomplish more in less time, reducing burnout and frustration.

3. Too Many Tasks, Not Enough Progress

Despite a well-structured plan, do you end your day feeling like you were busy but not productive? This happens when low-impact tasks consume too much time, leaving little room for strategic goals.

Solution: Focus on High-Impact Activities

Apply the 80/20 Rule: Identify the 20% of tasks that generate 80% of results and prioritize them.

Use the Eisenhower Matrix to differentiate between urgent vs. important tasks.

Set daily MITs (Most Important Tasks)—three key tasks that, if completed, will make the day a success.

Shifting from a task-oriented mindset to an outcome-driven approach ensures that your time is spent on what truly moves the needle.

Case Study:

James, a CEO of a fast-growing startup, was bogged down by meetings and small tasks. He applied the 80/20 Rule and the 2-Minute Rule, delegating tasks effectively and prioritizing strategic decisions during peak energy hours. This shift allowed him to focus on company growth, driving his business forward.

Final Thoughts: Turn Planning into Productivity

Effective time management isn’t just about creating a perfect schedule—it’s about bridging the gap between planning and execution. By implementing the Time Management Blueprint, you can: 

✅ Design a flexible schedule that adapts to real-life challenges ✅ Align tasks with your energy levels for peak performance ✅ Prioritize high-impact work that drives real progress

The key to mastering productivity isn’t just about managing time—it’s about managing yourself within the time you have. Try these strategies today and watch your efficiency and effectiveness soar!

Take the Next Step Toward Smarter Time Management

If you’re ready to move beyond time-consuming plans that don’t deliver results, it’s time to adopt a smarter approach. The Time Management Blueprint is just the beginning. By focusing on adaptability, energy alignment, and high-impact activities, you can achieve more with less stress.

Looking for more hands-on strategies? Our course, How to increase your productivity by time management?, provides actionable insights and practical tools to help you work smarter, not harder.

Besides, these are useful tips if you want to cultivate your skills as a leader:

Leadership Development Guide: Watch Strategy (Yes, it's Free)

Process Improvement Toolkit: Download PDF (Yes, it's Free)

Workforce Flywheel Framework Training: Watch here (Yes, it's Free)

Tools for HR Leaders Access Here (Yes, it's Free)

Productivity and Time Management for Managers and Leaders: Here (Yes, this is exclusive)

References:

Smith, A. (2022). Adapting to the Unpredictable: The Art of Flexible Time Management for Professionals. Journal of Productivity and Leadership. Link

Brown, C. (2021). Harnessing Peak Performance: Aligning Energy with Task Demands in Leadership Roles. Leadership Excellence Review. Link

Taylor, J. (2020). The 80/20 Principle in Time Management: Maximizing Impact with Minimal Effort. Business Efficiency Quarterly. Link

Davis, K. (2023). From Overwhelm to Achievement: Prioritizing What Matters in Time-Pressed Workdays. Executive Performance Insights. Link

Author Information:

My HoaPassionate Learning & Program Officer VSHR Pro Academy

[blue-opossum]

Four Women in a Bank, Old Man Dropping Keys

        Four Women in a Bank, Old Man Dropping Keys

       Saturday morning, 12 October 2024

        I happily meander into an empty, undefined white space that illogically implies an unknown sizeable bank in an unknown location, though I am the only one present. I remain cheerful while feeling a sense of freedom. However, I soon deliberately create and define a dream narrative of intrusion, a natural lifelong habit.

        This intuitive decision comes from one of two possible scenarios that always define the foundation of coming to my senses - my dream self perceiving protoconsciousness as intrusive, especially at my perceived home (whether or not it models real-world features or has any legitimate recall) or, in this case, perceiving my dream self as intrusive within protoconscious space. [1]

        I find myself sitting in a room with four unfamiliar women. Two sit on their own near different walls, perpendicular to each other. Another couple of women sit together, facing the other two. They talk about a security guard that I supposedly got past (even though there were no dream characters until this vivid scene begins to unfold).

        They seem puzzled and are interviewing me regarding the security guard and how I got past him. (Again, I never saw him.) I cheerfully tell them I have been coming here for three years, and no one has ever been here. [2] They remain puzzled.

        In the next scene, I approach a state closer to liminality and become more aware of my sleeping position. An unfamiliar man stands at a counter, ready to write a deposit or withdrawal slip for the bank. He drops several coins and keys. Soon, I am on the floor (sleeping position) and start picking up the objects to give him. I begin to wake since my somatosensory response is too active to remain in the atonia state. Although I am vividly aware of tactility and tangibility, no more imagery is present. (This event is a natural physiological response to the dream state.)

        [1] The attribute of intrusiveness comes from protoconscious dynamics in a similar way that a person might be aware of R.E.M. atonia and fanatically and misleadingly refer to it as "sleep paralysis." The state of paralysis naturally remains throughout all dreams through every sleep cycle, whether or not the person is aware of it. With something so simple, people are not only not very bright - but they also pretend there are occult aspects as if it is "unexplained." Thus, the entire history of dream lore is asinine and useless for anyone of reasonable intelligence.

        Ultimately, the attribute of intrusiveness is a cognitive response to liminality (such as seeing malevolent "shadow people" - though I do not have such experiences because of my knowledge of dreaming), while "sleep paralysis," as it is misleadingly called only with conscious perception of it (in contrast to R.E.M. atonia), is the physical response to it. The lore of "sleep paralysis" has dumbed down society to an unfathomable level of mental inattentiveness and overall ignorance.

        To simplify, if my focus is on "I should wake up soon," I intuitively perceive my dream self as intrusive because I have acknowledged I should wake up.

        In contrast, if I focus on "sleeping longer than I should," or am not necessarily attentive to my real-world physical needs, liminal awareness increases, and protoconsciousness becomes the intrusive factor.

        These factors also relate to ultradian rhythms and the natural dynamics of my sleep cycle. The asinine but popular fallacy of “dream interpretation” has nothing to do with it.

        [2] Relaying a nonsensical falsehood while speaking ("I have been coming here for three years" - even though the setting was unknown) is no different than other logical fallacies of dreaming that otherwise get everything wrong (to prevent associations with real life). What is different is my more defined awareness I am doing it, not seeing it as lying but as harmlessly guiding or resolving a dream's illogical narrative.

[joyfullyprofoundheart]

Ok

According to healthline.com there are 4 different types of biological rhythms wich are basically just like different types of internal clocks you body runs off of and they are

"circadian rhythms: the 24-hour cycle that includes physiological and behavioral rhythms like sleeping

diurnal rhythms: the circadian rhythm synced with day and night

ultradian rhythms: biological rhythms with a shorter period and higher frequency than circadian rhythms

infradian rhythms: biological rhythms that last more than 24 hours, such as a menstrual cycle"

Learning this i had a question on if and injury- or how a body recognizes a healing process would be considered a rhythm or if its more of a check in and go system where the body just monitors the situation constantly. I'm currently leaning towards the theory that it is not a rhythm- and indeed is just a step of routine checks and procedures the body does when it comes in contact with problems like scrapes and such.

...

Buuuuuuuut- leta consider if it was a rhythm- it wouldn't be circadian or diurnal as it is not light or time sensitive so I am leaning towards ultradian or infradian. Ultradian as these routine checks happen frequently and happen often in the cases of scrapes and scabs- but infradian in the cases that most things do not heal over night especially in cases of fractures, springs, and breaks. So if it was a rhythm would injuries be split into different categories based on severity and the bodies ability to heal them over time?- and as you get older would this slowly shift some ultradian to infradian rhythms as celk regeneration slows and injuries take longer to heal?

In conclusion I dont think this is a rythm- but what if it was? I think it'd be very fun to speculate upon.

[unwelcome-ozian]

Do you have any information on “binanural beats” or anything similar being used for programming? Would something like that be used?

Yes, binaural beats are used in programming.

Hemisync provides the user with access to and control of highly specific discrete states of consciousness. Ultradian rhythms are psychophysiological processes involving alternating autonomic and brain functions that have a 90 to 100 minute periodicity within the 24 hour circadian cycle.

When signals of two different frequencies are presented through headphones, one frequency to one ear and another frequency to the other ear, the signals do not heterodyne nor produce a beat frequency oscillation. What does happen is the brain detects phase differences between these signals. Under natural circumstances a detected phase difference would provide directional information to the higher centres of the brain.

No one ever hears binaural beats. The sound processing centres of the brain only think something is heard. Additionally, the production of an amplitude modulated standing wave is dependent on the ability of the electrochemical cellular structure of brain tissues to resonate. Brain tissues do resonate as evidenced by the manifestation of electromagnetic brain waves. These brain waves are generally confined to frequencies below about 30hz. The same is true for binaural beats. Experimental subjects do not report "hearing" binaural beats above about 30hz.

The term Hemisync was chosen because many of the states of consciousness available through this technology are the result of wave forms of equal amplitude and frequency in both hemispheres of the brain.

Under laboratory conditions many subjects were tested for their responses to binaural beats. Records were kept as to the effect each binaural beat frequency had on these subjects. Then binaural beats were mixed and records were again kept on the subjects' responses. After many months (in some cases, years), test results began to show population-wide similar responses to specific mixes of binaural beats, which laid the foundation for what is now called Hemisync. The individual binaural beats within these unique mixes entrained separate areas of the brain to different frequencies, effectively producing discrete states of consciousness. In the case of the state of consciousness coined Focus 10 (mind awake, body asleep.) for example, the cerebellum, which works below the level of consciousness and deals with muscles and body functions, must be entrained to a delta frequency. Under these conditions (a delta brain wave within the cerebellum) the body is asleep. The "mind awake" half of Focus 10 is achieved by entraining the cerebral cortex to a low beta frequency. The subject's exposure to these individual binaural beats is timed, introducing the delta cerebellum signal first and later mixing in the low beta cerebral cortex signal. The mixing of these two binaural beats produces a complex Hemisync signal.

Oz

[broccoliboix5peepeeman]

Req: Shōto is the campus' delinquent. Nobody dare to cross him. Izuku is the campus' nerd. His low social status makes him an easy target of bullying. One day, they're paired together for a project. What starts out as a school assignment blossoms a beautiful friendship as they realized that they're the same. They're both no strangers to pain. Izuku sees Shōto as his own person despite his surname. Shōto sees hurt, pain & sadness behind Izuku's smiles. And eventually, they both fall in love.

Ooooo thank you for the request! :D

'Shoji and Tokoyami for group one. Uraraka and Asui for group two.'

'Yesss!' Uraraka muttered under her breath. Izuku smirked at his friend and nudged her with his elbow.

'Get in there!' He winked, wiggling his eyebrows playfully, earning a frantic shhhhh from his friend.

'Momo and Kirishima for group four.' Aizawa called out. 'Jirou and Hagakure for group five.

'Ooo, halfway though, Dekuuu!' Uraraka sang quietly. 'Are you worried?'

'As long as it's not Kacchan, I don't mind.' He shrugged.

'Bakugou and Mineta for group seven.' Aizawa continued, tone bored, even as the blonde roared with protest.

'Thank fuck.' Izuku mumbled.

'Midoriya and Todoroki for group eight.' His teacher spoke, looking pointedly at him before focusing back on the sheet.

While Uraraka giggled next to him, Izuku froze, his posture straight and a look of shock on his face. He felt a pair of dichromatic eyes burning holes into his back, although he could just be paranoid.

Him and… Todoroki? UA's top heartthrob and bad boy, partnered with Izuku? Aizawa-Sensei had to be kidding, surely.

'Right, that's all of you.' Their teacher called out. 'Sit in your pairs and we'll go over the project in more detail.'

Immediately, the classroom broke out into excited chatter as everyone shouted across the room for their partner. Before Izuku could even say farewell to Uraraka, his friend had already jumped up from her seat to bounce towards where Tsu was sitting.

Izuku sighed and - with significantly less energy - got up to search the room for his partner. Of course, it didn't take long to spot him; even without the scar, Todoroki stood out like a sore thumb.

He sat towards the back of the room, slouched in his chair as he stared out of the window, unfazed by the chaos around him. The morning sun bathed his skin and made the crimson half of his hair shine. Izuku noticed that his classmate was wearing his signature leather jacket, covered in various badges and pins, along with a turtleneck, a pair of navy jeans that clung to his legs, and black combat boots. 

It was no secret that Todoroki was the "most handsome guy in school", so it made sense that today was no different. It just didn't help Izuku in the slightest - in fact, it made it even harder for him to clear his throat and gather his attention.

'To- Todoroki-kun, hi!' He squeaked, a large smile plastered to his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. When the aforementioned turned to regard him nonchalantly, Izuku's nerves only exacerbated. 'Do you mind if I sit, seen as we're part- partners?'

When his classmate remained silent, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and laughed. 'Sorry about that by the way… I know you probably don't want to be stuck with someone like me.'

'Why are you apologising?' Todoroki raised an eyebrow. 'It's not your fault.'

You didn't deny it though… Izuku chewed on his lip for lack of a better response, until Todoroki eventually nodded to the seat next to him.

'Your reputation precedes you, Midoriya.' He commented as Izuku fumbled into his chair. 'As does mine. I don't mind working with you as long as you pull your weight. You may think I don't give a shit about grades, but you don't know me.'

Izuku turned to regard him with wide eyes, but Todoroki had already gone back to stare out of the window. 'Library after school. We'll make a start then. Can't be arsed going home and I assume you're not too keen on walking home at the same time as Bakugou.'

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows at that. He knew Todoroki could be blunt but… Oh well, he did have a point. Kacchan would jump him the moment they were out of the school gates - clearly wanting to release all that pent-up rage on Izuku because, for some reason, his old friend had made it his own personal goal to make him his punching bag.

'Sure.' Izuku replied, turning to face the front of the room as Aizawa told them all to quiet down. Why me?

☀️🌙

Izuku twirled his pen in his hand as he read through his notes in the library. If the librarian asked, it was school work, even if the "Hero analysis #27" scribbled over the cover was a dead give-away.

Izuku wanted to be a doctor, a hero who saves lives. Ever since he had learnt to read, he was fascinated by how the body worked and how to treat various ailments. His analysis books were where he stored all the information he had absorbed from his readings.

'Last time I checked, "loss of executive functioning in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis" wasn't on the syllabus.' A low voice spoke.

Izuku flinched so violently his elbow slammed into the back of his chair and he almost dropped his pen. He winced at the pain and looked up to find Todoroki gazing at him, unfazed by his display.

'T- Todoroki-kun!' A bright smile appeared on Izuku's face and he gestured to the seat opposite him. When his classmate took it, he quickly put away his notebook and replaced it with his psychology workbook and textbook. 'I was starting to think you'd forgotten.'

'I just had a few things to sort out.' Todoroki shrugged, taking out his own book.

Izuku nodded along, expecting him to elaborate, but apparently that wasn't his classmate's intention. Instead, they sat in awkward silence for several moments, until Izuku shook his head to ground himself and opened his textbook.

'Right, let's get started then.' He announced, a trained smile on his face. 'Aizawa-Sensei said we have to do a presentation on the sleep-wake cycle for ours, which is actually quite interesting. I had a quick look over lunch and I was thinking we could start the intro by covering the three different cycles. So, ultradian rhythms are cycles that are less than 24 hours and can repeat throughout the day, infradian rhythms are more than 24 hours - like the menstrual cycle - then we finish on circadian rhythms, which focuses specifically on sleep-wake cycle, then go on to talk about-'

Izuku paused then, realising he had definitely started to ramble there. He knew how much his peers found his habit annoying, so he was surprised that Todoroki hadn't interrupted him and told him to shut up before now.

'Why did you stop?' His classmate asked, genuinely confused.

'You… You understood all of that?' Izuku returned.

'Yes.' Todoroki showed him his workbook, where he had started writing Izuku's ideas down.

'But I was muttering…' Heat rose to his face as he inspected the page. 'You don't find that annoying?'

Todoroki frowned at that.

'Not really. Why would I?'

'Everyone else does.' Izuku mumbled, looking away.

'I'm not everyone else.' Todoroki scratched his cheek, just below his scar. Before Izuku could ask though, he cleared his throat. 'Anyway, I agree with you. Once we focus on circadian rhythms, we can go over the stages of sleep.'

'Sounds good to me!' Izuku beamed. 'We can talk about non-REM and REM too!'

'Yes.' Todoroki nodded. 'Then maybe go into the different areas involved in sleep, so photoreceptors and the pineal gland.'

'That's a great idea!' Izuku burst out, brain going a mile a minute. This was going easier than he had expected. 'Gosh, this is going to be so fun! Right, I know it's not entirely relevant to the presentation itself, but you know dolphins?'

'Yes, I know dolphins.' Todoroki huffed, tone slightly amused. 

Was that almost a smile?!

'Well, their brains have a left and right hemisphere like we do, and when they go to sleep, they turn off one hemisphere and the other one stays awake so they can come up for air and stuff! Then they switch around when the first hemisphere is fully rested! Some sharks do it too, it's so interesting!'

Izuku paused for breath. When Todoroki said nothing in response and looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite place, Izuku blushed with embarrassment. 'S- Sorry…'

'No, you…' Todoroki spoke, his voice oddly gentle. 'That's the first time today I've seen you genuinely smile.'

… What?

'I'm always smiling.' Izuku tilted his head to the side. Smiling was his thing. Everywhere he went, he always made sure to smile, even if he was having a bad day. He smiled to put others at ease.

'It never reaches your eyes though.' Todoroki regarded him with something akin to understanding, albeit Izuku didn't know why. 'It's always fake.'

He winced at the wording.

'Does that bother you?' He twirled his pen and looked away, apprehension in his voice.

'A little.' Todoroki admitted. 'I understand why you lie, but I'd rather you be honest - at least, with me, I'd like you to be honest.'

Izuku considered his words. Despite the lack of malice in his tone, he still felt like he had been called out.

'I'm sorry.' He spoke, not knowing what else to say.

'You apologise a lot.' Todoroki stated. 'You don't owe anyone an apology, Midoriya.'

Izuku didn't like this. He didn't know where this was coming from and why Todoroki was saying all this. It wasn't a bad thing, but it was overwhelming. No one had ever called him out for his smiles before.

'I have to go.' He stood abruptly and gathered his books, stuffing them into his yellow backpack. Todoroki looked at him, mildly bewildered.

'Okay. When do you want to meet up next?' He asked before Izuku could book it out of there.

'Up to you.' He shrugged. ‘I can’t do tomorrow though.’

'How about Thursday after school?' Todoroki asked. 'We can go to my place - my old man is at the station all day then so he won't bother us.'

Izuku gulped at the idea of meeting Todoroki Enji, the city's chief of police who was rumoured to be as corrupt as they came.

'He definitely won't be there?' He twirled a loose green curl around his finger.

'I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't know for sure.' Todoroki raised an eyebrow. Izuku didn't know what to make of that.

'Okay, sure. I'll meet you at the front gates after class and we'll walk together.' When Todoroki nodded once, Izuku tried not to force a smile and mirrored the action. 'Great. Right, I've got to go. Bye!'

Before his classmate could say anything else, Izuku quick-walked out of the library. Once he exited the building, he broke into a run down the street. He liked running when he was anxious, it helped calm him.

Izuku sighed and thought of blue and grey eyes, staring into his soul. He then promptly tripped over his own two feet and landed on the floor with a thud.

Resigned to his fate, Izuku made no effort to get up and sighed heavily, cheeks squished against the pavement.

It was going to be a long few weeks.

☀️🌙

[Uwawaka: 17:05] Dekuuuuu!!! Todoroki-kun just cornered me and demanded your number?!?! Erm, have a nice life I guess? I get your shoes when you die

[Me: 17:09] Waitwaitwait WHAT?!?!?! YOU SAID YES?!

[Me: 17:10] URARAKA ANSWER ME

[Me: 17:12] I will eat your pet hamster, you whore

Izuku collapsed onto his bed and smacked his forehead with his palm. Several more minutes passed without a response and he was seriously considering calling her, when his phone suddenly vibrated.

He quickly scrambled for the device. However, when he unlocked it and saw the message, he gasped and threw his phone at the wall.

'Izuku!' His mum shouted from the kitchen. 'What was that?!'

'Nothing, mum! Sorry!' He shouted, moving to pick it back up.

[Unknown: 17.16] Is this Midoriya Izuku?

[Me: 17:18] Yes? Who is this?

Izuku knew full well who it was and added the number to his contacts anyway.

[Todoroki: 17:20] It's Todoroki from Aizawa's psychology class. I got your number from a friend. Hope you don't mind

Either Todoroki was downplaying the situation or Uraraka was being overdramatic. He honestly didn't know who to believe.

[Me: 17:21] No problem, what's up?

[Todoroki: 17:23] I was going to wait till tomorrow but evidently I have the patience of a toddler.

[Todoroki: 17:24] I wanted to apologise if I made you uncomfortable earlier. I shouldn't have indirectly accused you of lying when I do it all the time.

Izuku didn't even know where to start with unpacking that.

[Me: 17:27] You don't have to apologise, you were right. I just smile a lot to make others feel at ease. I didn't realise it could be mistaken for dishonesty if I'm not being genuine.

[Me: 17:27] You lie all the time?

It was bold to ask that, but he couldn't help himself. Izuku was a meddler, through and through. Plus, Todoroki mentioned it first so it wasn’t like he didn’t want to talk about it, he reasoned.

[Todoroki: 17:30] I can understand that. I'd just rather you be honest with me. After all, if you're not happy, it could affect our project

[Todoroki: 17:32] Well, I tell everyone that it's a birthmark on my face when it's clearly a scar. I told a dude I wasn't gay because I didn't want to go out with him. I have depression but deny it when I get asked about it. Then there's a bunch of other stuff that I haven't told anyone that I won't even get into, but yeah

'Wow okay...' Izuku puffed his cheeks out. ‘I guess the reason Todoroki-kun doesn’t talk much is because he’s a over-sharer, but it’s okay. You got this, Izuku.’

[Me: 17:33] Lying and not disclosing something aren't the same thing! But with the stuff you have lied about, I can understand why you don't want people to know, especially considering the way others treat me just because I'm different. And your scar isn't anyone's business except your own!

He pressed send, then hesitated over the keyboard.

[Me: 17:34] Also! If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here! We're friends now, aren't we? :)

Izuku stared at the screen, waiting for a response.

Several minutes passed without one and he was starting to question himself. However, just before Izuku could completely stress out over how badly he had fucked up, the screen brightened.

[Todoroki: 17:45] Thank you, Midoriya.

Izuku smiled at his phone.

That had gone better than he had expected.

☀️🌙

'Todoroki-kun!'

Shoto nodded to Midoriya, who was waiting by the gate. He was smiling again, but Shoto could tell he was nervous from the way his eyes were on high-alert, darting around the courtyard as if he were about to be attacked. Shoto didn't blame him though - in fact, he'd be more worried if his classmate wasn't on edge.

'Midoriya.' He greeted, once he reached his side. Due to the proximity though, he suddenly noticed the gravel rash that littered his new friend's jaw. 'What happened to you?'

'Er…' Midoriya blushed bright pink. Distantly, Shoto registered that it was actually quite cute, albeit he wouldn't admit it. 'I- I went for a run on Tuesday and tripped.'

'You should be more careful.' Shoto commented, eliciting a laugh from his classmate. 'I'm serious.'

'Yeah, I know but…' Midoriya cleared his throat. 'You just, you sound like my mum.'

His mum?

'Oh.'

'N- Not that that's a bad thing!' Midoriya frantically waved his hands in front of him. 'In fact, thank you… For caring, I guess. You're a kind person, Todoroki-kun!'

Shoto didn't know what to make of that. His stomach felt funny and his face was burning but he wasn't sure why. He coughed to compose himself.

'My house is this way.' He nodded in the right direction and they set off before Shoto could say or do anything he might regret.

The two of them walked in silence. Shoto noticed his classmate fiddling with the straps of his backpack as he mumbled to himself, but he said nothing. In fact, he found that he quite liked Midoriya's voice. It was quite soothing.

Suddenly, he saw a flash of blonde out of the corner of his eye and Shoto quickly looked to find Bakugou across the street. Midoriya hadn't noticed him yet, but Shoto recognised the sadistic smile plastered to Bakugou's face when he spotted the green-haired boy.

Shoto had a particular hatred of bullies, having grown up with one all his life. He knew about the general animosity between Midoriya and Bakugou, and how it had once ended up with the former out of school for almost a week when they were younger. Shoto also knew that Bakugou could be a violent fuck and, as a result, had never really bothered to talk to him.

Now though, Shoto saw the almost predatory look in his eyes as he smirked at Midoriya; he noticed how his classmate - his friend - froze at having been spotted.

'K- Kacchan…' Midoriya mumbled, a wobbly smile on his face. It made Shoto angry - not at Midoriya, but at Bakugou, and at himself for not intervening sooner, even though it wasn't really his problem.

Before he could stop himself, Shoto raised his arm and wrapped it around Midoriya's shoulder, bringing him close to his side. His classmate squeaked at the action, clearly tense.

'To- Todoroki-kun?!'

'Put your hand on my waist.' Shoto instructed, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. When Midoriya complied, snaking a trembling hand around him, Shoto hummed approvingly and looked up at Bakugou.

The blonde was watching them, mouth agape and clearly irritated. When he took a step towards them, Shoto flashed him a warning glare as if to say 'hands off', before pressing a swift kiss to Midoriya's fluffy curls to accentuate his point.

Bakugou stilled at that, his eye twitching, but Shoto knew he understood his position. On the social scale, Shoto was higher up than he was - as much as the latter wouldn't want to admit it - and so whoever Shoto said was off-limits was definitely off-limits. It didn't matter if it was an act or not.

The two of them continued forwards, watching as Bakugou eventually growled and skulked away. When he was out of sight, Midoriya audibly sighed and relaxed against him.

It was… Nice.

'Thank you.' His friend murmured. 'You didn't have to do that.'

'I wanted to.' Shoto shrugged. He knew he should relinquish his hold on Midoriya now that the threat had passed, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The warmth that radiated from his classmate's touch was calming. Plus, Midoriya didn't seem too eager to let go either, so it wasn't like he was taking advantage of him or anything.

When they eventually reached his house, Shoto reluctantly broke away to fumble in his pocket for his keys. To his surprise though, the door was already unlocked.

Caution in his stance, he slid the door open and checked the shoe rack to see who was home. When Fuyumi's work shoes and Natsuo's trainers came into view, he sighed with relief and opened the door fully to alert his siblings of his arrival. 'It's me!'

It was only then that he registered Midoriya regarding him anxiously. 'Don't worry, it's just my brother and sister.'

'O- Okay.'

Shoto nodded and stepped inside, removing his shoes and waiting for Midoriya to do the same. He then led the way through his house, hoping there wouldn't be any interruptions, but alas, it seemed the universe hated him.

'Shotoutoooo!!!' Natsuo's voice rang out, before his older brother appeared, leaning against the door frame of his room. When he noticed Midoriya, half hidden behind Shoto, he grinned mischievously. 'You brought a friend over!'

'You- You didn't tell them I was coming?!' Midoriya squeaked so only Shoto could hear.

'Yes, I brought a friend home. What of it?' He ignored him and raised an eyebrow at his brother, unamused.

'Nee-San saw you two getting all lovey dovey down the street.'

'I don't-'

'It's true. Don't deny it!' Fuyumi's voice echoed down the hallway, eliciting a cackle from Natsuo.

'Whatever.' Shoto placed a hand on his hip, exasperated. 'Midoriya and I have a psychology assignment to get done, so I'd appreciate it if you fucked off.'

'Nawww, come on! I'm just having fun!' Natsuo winked before looking past him to address Midoriya. 'Shotouto pretends to be an aloof bad boy, but really he's a big softie who loves strawberry milk and manga. Isn't that right, Sho-?'

'NATSUO-NII!' Shoto exclaimed, completely mortified. He grabbed Midoriya's arm and dragged him down the corridor. 'We'll be leaving now!'

'Nice to meet you, Midoriya-kun!' Natsuo called, before Shoto slammed his bedroom door shut and sighed against it.

'He seems nice.' A quiet voice muttered.

Shit. Shoto's eyes widened and he took a breath, composing himself before he turned around to face Midoriya, who was fiddling with his sleeve.

'He's a pain in the arse.' He grumbled, before he strode forwards and set up the chabudai table in his room. 'He always does it. Something about wanting to make up for lost time.'

'Lost time?' Midoriya asked, removing his backpack to help.

'My old man wanted to keep me separate from my siblings when we were younger. Something about "not wanting to soil the perfect child".' Shoto shrugged, gathering two cushions and handing one to Midoriya. 'So it wasn't until about a year ago that I actually got to speak to them.'

'What happened a year ago?' Midoriya was definitely being nosy, but for some reason, Shoto didn't mind it; part of him actually wanted to tell him, even though he had no idea why. Something just told Shoto that he could trust him.

Or it's just because he's the first person your age who has ever bothered to ask. Another part of his mind supplied.

When the two of them sat down on the cushions adjacent to each other, Shoto pulled out his laptop, while Midoriya provided the textbook and workbook.

'When I was younger, my mother used to live at home too. She tried to protect us when the old bastard would come home and want to take his anger out on someone. He liked to take it out on me especially - make sure I toughened up - but she'd always turn his attention on her. One night, when I was about eight, mother had a complete breakdown. She saw the left side of my face, thought I was him and well… The closest thing was the kettle and boom.' He gestured vaguely to his scar. 'That's how this happened.'

Shoto didn't miss the look of complete horror on Izuku's face. 'He sent her away after that, which meant things got worse for me and my siblings. Aizawa-Sensei noticed my bruises last year and we've been working to get him put away, but it's difficult considering his position. It also didn't help that he's caught onto us and is now trying to pretend that everything is better now. That's why I'm allowed to see Natsuo and Fuyumi. He's been trying to manipulate things but he can't pretend forever.'

Shoto trailed off then and silence fell over them. He watched Midoriya for his reaction. He had never told anyone about that before.

He stared at his friend, but his vision became distorted. He thought of his old man, of how his mother had called him "unsightly" before burning him, of how his siblings used to look at him with apprehension and fear.

Shoto frowned. 'Sometimes I wonder if I'm just as bad as him.'

His words were spoken barely above a whisper, but the way Midoriya's head snapped to attention evidently showed that he had heard him.

'You know, Todoroki-kun…' He spoke gently, determined eyes finally meeting Shoto's own. 'I can't possibly understand everything you went through, but I do know this.'

A calloused hand landed on Shoto's shoulder and his vision re-focused to find a small smile gracing Midoriya's face. 'You're not your father. You're Todoroki Shoto, you're a kind person and you're my friend. He can't even compare to you.'

Shoto's mouth opened, but no words came out. Midoriya's words played on repeat in his head.

You're not your father. You're Todoroki Shoto.

He managed to turn his head away, hair hiding the stray tear that had fallen from his eye.

You're a kind person and you're my friend.

'Todoroki-kun, are you okay?'

So many thoughts were screaming inside his head. It was deafening, with Midoriya's words playing loudest of all.

He can't even compare to you.

'Toilet.' Shoto stood abruptly, pointedly not facing his classmate, and strode out of the room, ignoring Midoriya's bewildered shriek. He slid open the door to the bathroom opposite and shut himself away, turning the light on before he braced himself against the sink. His knuckles turned as white as the porcelain and he tried to calm his breathing.

Why was he acting like this? He was supposed to be calm, composed, aloof.

Just like father wanted. An unhelpful part of his mind taunted as tears streamed down his face. He felt a sob build up in the back of his throat. Hold it together. You're pathetic.

'Todoroki-kun.' His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knock on the door. 'Should I get Natsuo or Fuyumi?'

'No!' Shoto exclaimed, a little harsher than he had intended. When Midoriya didn't immediately respond, he started to worry that he had scared him away.

'Okay.' His classmate eventually spoke, voice muffled due to the door. 'Can I come in?'

You don't want him to see you like this. You're supposed to be better than this-

'Yes.' He choked out, not looking up when the door slid open.

Gentle footfalls echoed on the tiles until Shoto felt a warm presence at his side. Midoriya then crouched down next to the sink to look up at Shoto.

'What's going through your mind?' He asked.

Everything.

'What you said just now, about me being kind and…' He swallowed heavily. 'You didn't mean it, did you? You were just saying it to make me feel better, right?'

'Oh, Todoroki-kun.' Midoriya gazed at him sadly. 'Of course I meant it. You told me to be honest with you, remember?'

Shoto leant his elbows on the sink to hold his face in his hands as he cried silently, only his ragged breathing exposing him.

He heard Midoriya shuffle to his feet. 'Can I… Can I hug you?'

Shoto blanked at that. Of all the things his friend could have said, he hadn't expected that. He furrowed his brow. When was the last time he had been properly hugged? With Fuyumi? His mother?

'Why?' He found himself asking instead, lowering his hands to look at Midoriya, who smiled softly at him.

'Because you look like you need it and I'm an expert hugger.'

Shoto blinked dumbly for a moment, regarding kind eyes, a genuine smile and open arms that radiated comfort, then slowly nodded.

'O- Okay…' He whispered.

Midoriya's smile brightened and he stepped forward, slowly wrapping his arms around Shoto's neck. One hand rested against his shoulder blades, while the other gently held the back of his head, guiding Shoto to the crook of Midoriya's neck. He went willingly and basked in the warmth, immediately relaxing against his friend.

Crooked fingers stroked his hair as Midoriya leant his head against him and he quickly became overwhelmed with emotion. Kind touches were so foreign to him that he usually hated the idea of physical contact. He didn't know why he had let Midoriya in, but he was glad he did.

A broken sob suddenly escaped him and he gingerly returned the hug, squeezing Midoriya's waist and clinging to his shirt. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, Midoriya's voice whispering words of encouragement until his eyes were dry, his friend's shirt was soaked and his throat was hoarse.

'I'm sorry.' He mumbled against Midoriya's neck. 'I don't know what came over me.'

'You don't owe anyone an apology.' His classmate quickly assured, echoing Shoto's words from a few days ago. 'Do you feel better?'

'I don't know.' Shoto answered honestly. Sure, letting his tears fall after years of bottling everything up was cathartic, but he had also unloaded all of his problems onto someone else just because of one comment; it made him feel disgusted at himself.

'It's okay not to be sure right now.' Midoriya pulled back to look him in the eye. 'I'll always be here to talk if you need, Todoroki-kun. We're friends and I want to help.'

Shoto must have pulled a face, because his classmate huffed, amused. 'It's an open offer. We can leave it for now.'

'Thank you, Midoriya.' Shoto didn't elaborate, but he didn't think he needed to, based on the way his friend's smile brightened.

'Shall we go work on our project for a bit?' Midoriya asked patiently. 'Then maybe we could watch a movie or something? I saw your Ghibli badges on your jacket - maybe we could watch one of them?'

Shoto wiped his eyes with his fist and nodded.

'That sounds nice.'

☀️🌙

'How could you?!' Izuku exclaimed, hand over his heart, horrified as his mum showed Todoroki his baby photos.

He had left them alone for one minute to get snacks, and now his soon-to-be-disowned mother was huddled up with his friend on the sofa, flicking through a photo album like it wasn't the most embarrassing thing in the world.

The two hardly spared him a glance, before continuing to point and giggle at baby Izuku in a hero onesie.

'Midoriya really is cute.' Todoroki smiled warmly and Izuku's cheeks suddenly felt a little hotter. 'How old was he in this one?'

It had been several weeks since their project had been assigned. Despite the emotional outbursts, they had managed to get their presentation done and performed. Their grades were still being determined, but Izuku was confident that they had done well.

That wasn't all that had happened though. Ever since that day Todoroki had opened up about his past, the two of them had grown closer, frequently texting and hanging out at Izuku's after school. They even spent their free periods together, which seemed to intrigue and confuse a lot of students. After all, Todoroki was the scary, mysterious pretty boy and Izuku was a self-identified nerd who liked to mumble to himself. Neither of them really cared about what their peers thought though.

As the days turned into weeks, however, Izuku realised that not only were people no longer tormenting him in the corridors, but Todoroki had started to smile more. Whenever Izuku would ramble about anatomy, he would listen, lips upturned and process every word with interest. Izuku loved his friend's smile and each one felt special because Izuku had caused it.

It took a single conversation with Uraraka to realise what was happening, and another one with Fuyumi to gain the courage to do what he was about to do.

'Mum, could I talk to Todoroki-kun alone for a minute?' Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. His mum knew about his crush - she had easily picked up on it due to Izuku's habit of muttering about the things he liked - so he hoped she would take the hint.

'Okay, sweetheart.' She grinned when Izuku's jaw dropped, mortified at the endearment. He also didn't miss the way Todoroki bit his bottom lip slightly with amusement.

Before Izuku could chastise her for clearly inappropriate behaviour in front of company, his mum closed the album and stood. 'I'll be in my room if you need me.'

When the door shut behind her, Izuku sighed with relief.

'I love her more than anything but I swear she gets some sort of sick satisfaction in seeing me suffer.' He groaned.

'I think she's great.' Todoroki smiled up at him. It lit up his entire face, no matter how small, and Izuku thought he looked beautiful.

Focus!

'So what did you want to talk about?' His friend asked, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other.

'You're a dear friend to me and I know we weren't close until recently, but you've become a big part of my life.' He began, fiddling with his hands to ease his nerves. 'I'm sorry, I don't really know how to say this.'

'It's okay.' Todoroki spoke, his smile vanishing. 'I understand if you feel like it's too much. Sometimes I can get a bit overwhelmed by all this - having a friend - but I treasure your friendship too, so I'll respect your decision if you want to stop-'

'Wait, what?' Izuku exclaimed. 'I'm trying to tell you that I have a crush on you, not that I don't want to be friends.'

Shoto stared at him with wide eyes.

…

Oh fuck.

Izuku slapped a hand over his mouth and let out a strangled cry as realisation set in. He wasn't even that surprised at having admitted his feelings; he was surprised at how easy it had been.

What wasn't easy was the look of uncertainty on Todoroki's face.

'Midoriya…'

'I'm so sorry for making you uncomfortable-'

'I have a crush on you too, I think.'

That was the thing he least expected his friend to say.

'You do?'

'Yeah.' Todoroki scratched at his flushed cheek, no longer looking like his usually-composed self and instead rather vulnerable. 'I've known for a while that I feel different towards you compared to others. I feel… Safe around you, like I can trust you, and while everyone calls you plain-looking, I think you're actually quite cute.'

Izuku felt like his head was going to explode. One, Todoroki had just called him cute; two, his crush just admitted to feeling safe around him; and three, Todoroki was looking at him with such sincerity that his chest ached.

'That makes me so happy, Todoroki-kun, you have no idea.' He whispered, tears spilling from his eyes. 'I feel the same about you, except you're not cute, you're… Actually quite breathtaking.'

When he was met with silence, Izuku looked up to find Todoroki looking at him with amusement.

'Well now you've made me look bad.' He huffed, standing up and walking towards him.

'You could never look bad. That was my whole point. ' Izuku quipped, before suddenly being enveloped in a hug.

That was another thing about their relationship that surprised Izuku in a good way: Todoroki, touch-starved most of his life, had become particularly fond of cuddles. Now, Izuku had no qualms with this - he encouraged his friend to smother him with hugs whenever he needed it - but this hug felt different. Several emotions were communicated in that moment.

It almost felt desperate, yet hopeful.

'I'll have to thank Aizawa for pairing us up for that project.' Todoroki murmured against his neck, eliciting a short laugh from Izuku.

'Yeah definitely.' He pulled away to take his friend's hand, interlocking their fingers. 'We can thank him together.'

Todoroki huffed with mirth.

'I like the sound of that.'

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 87

Biorhythms and Time Management: Part 2

Biorhythms

Each person experiences mental lows several times throughout the day. Most people attribute these to the food they have eaten, not enough sleep, or other external factors. While some of these factors may be real, Rossi informs us that there is a more fundamental factor: ultradian rhythm. Scientists have observed a number of interrelated biological rhythms of the body and the brain since the 1950s. These rhythms are named according to how much time they take to complete a cycle. Circadian rhythms occur once every day, ultradian rhythms occur several times a day, and infradian rhythms take more than a day to cycle. Originally it was thought that our circadian rhythm was simply a daily alteration between being awake and asleep. The second stage of our developing understanding began when researchers discovered, in the mid-1950s, that sleep was divided into 90-120 minute ultradian alterations of dreaming and deep sleep. While such external factors as daylight and seasons do affect us, the periods of our bodily rhythms are regulated primarily by the hormones our body secretes. When planning activities for different periods of the day, it helps to know which periods are conducive to what kinds of activity. For instance,early morning is the time of energy hormones and mental clarity.

Therefore, it is more effective to schedule our early morning hours for mentally taxing, difficult problems. Afternoons, however, are ideal for socializing, relationship building, and long-term memory building. There is a second peak of bodily energy around 5:00 pm, and a mental peak around 7:00 pm. Ultradian rhythms were observed first in military research laboratories, where the objective was to determine the effects of time on human performance. A common pattern among the ultradian rhythms was their occurrence within a period of 90-120 minutes. They consisted of a peak of heightened alertness and performance, followed by a trough /deep of fatigue and a need for a break from the current activity. Mental activities modulated by ultradian rhythms include right-left brain dominance, attention, concentration, learning, memory, sensations, dreaming, fantasy, imagination, and creativity. Although ultradian performance rhythms follow a 90-120-minute activity cycle followed by a 20-minute rejuvenation, they shift easily to help us adapt to changing demands and circumstances. Thus we can skip a rejuvenation period and keep performing if necessary.

However, repeated neglect of the need for rejuvenation and chronic overactivity lead to stress by distorting our normal ultradian/circadian rhythms of activity and rest. The 20-munite break ameliorates stress-related symptoms by enabling our natural mind-body rhythms to normalize themselves. In other words, the 20-minute trough of our rest-activity cycle is a natural period for physical and psychological rejuvenation and healing from the wear and tear of everyday life. This is why Rossi calls it the ultradian healing response (UHR). The UHR also may be the hidden common factor in most holistic approaches to mind-body healing such as relaxation response, meditation, imagery, biofeedback, hypnosis, spiritual rituals as in Sufism and Yoga, laying on of hands as in holistic healing approaches, and the daily prayers in Islam. All such approaches require that the subject take a break for about 20 minutes to maximize his or her healing. The important elements of the ultradian healing response are:

1. Cutting off or minimizing input to the brain. This can be achieved by closing the eyes or looking steadily at fixed places.

2. Changing the activitys nature or simply taking a rest.

3. Allowing our consciousness to diverge and not trying to concentrate on the things we were thinking on before the break.

Other steps, such as washing parts of the body (e.g., ablutions made by Muslims before praying), moving parts of the body, stretching, or lying on a comfortable couch may help increase the UHRs healing effects. The afternoon nap can be considered a special case of UHR. Almost everyone experiences an after-lunch dip in performance. For many cultures, early afternoon signals siesta time. An afternoon nap may help reinforce the bodys self-healing mechanisms and make the rest of the afternoon as productive as the morning, writes Mednick et al.

In Muslim culture, asserts Nursi, a short afternoon nap was a tradition reinforced by Prophet Muhammad. Manycreative people nap during this time and often awaken refreshed and full of new ideas. Winston Churchill, prime minister of England during WWII, probably said it best: You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no half-way measures... When we use coffee and other stimulants to eliminate signals from our body, we may achieve a temporary mental alertness. But we also loose the opportunity to replenish our mental faculties depleted resources. The need for a break does not go away; instead, it either returns more strongly in the next period or we experience stress during the rest of the day.

Conclusion

Self-management lies at the heart of successful time management. When we conduct ourselves well with respect to time, we make the best use of our time. However, in the face of such adversities as lack of energy, interruptions, tendencies to diverge, and unimportant but appealing activities, it sometimes becomes difficult to control ourselves and focus on the right activity. A good understanding of how our body works makes this task easier. When we work in synchrony with our hormonal biorhythms and maximize our inherent potential, we optimize our achievements within the 24-hours allotted to us each day.

[infradapt]

Tip of the Week: For Maximum Productivity, Try Sprinting

The value of productivity cannot be understated, especially in the workplace. While there are many methods people use to increase theirs, we wanted to share a specific approach with you for our tip: sprinting. ________________________________________

Don’t worry… we don’t expect you to try and work while you’re running as fast as you can. What we mean by “sprinting” is that you commit to focused, intensive work for a period of time, followed by a shorter period of rest. The Science Behind Sprinting The human body has certain capabilities, and is subject to certain limits. The way we are designed, we are meant to spend our time either spending or accumulating energy. These cycles are known as ultradian rhythms. Using our brains counts against this energy.

As a result, our focus is limited to somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes. Research indicates that, in order to perform well again after that, you need to take a 20-to-30 minute break so your brain can recover.

A sprinting methodology fits this pattern to a ‘T.’ By narrowing your focus to a single one of your tasks and blocking out distractions, you are better able to commit yourself to your goal. Once you hit the end of your sprint, you spend your recovery time refocusing yourself and preparing for your next foray into intense productivity.

Various authors and researchers have provided anecdotal evidence as to the efficacy of this approach:

● While writing The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance, Tony Schwartz used 90-minute blocks of time to break up his day, only writing for a daily total of four and a half hours. Six months later, his book was finished. ● In 1993, performance researcher Anders Ericsson discovered via a study that the most skilled young violinists all followed a similar practice schedule: three 90-minute sessions of morning practice, with breaks in between. ● In his book, Schwartz tells the story of how Leonardo Da Vinci would put down his paints while working on The Last Supper and daydream for hours at a time. When he was questioned about it, Da Vinci is said to have replied, “The greatest geniuses accomplish more when they work less.” Why and How to Leverage Sprinting One of sprinting’s biggest benefits is something that many people are very familiar with: the feeling of being in “the zone.” It’s that time when you are fully committed to your task at hand, and are enjoying yourself as you apply yourself. Psychologists refer to this as “flow.”

One psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, has committed his career to studying flow. As he said in his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, he wrote:

“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen.”

To make flow happen, sprinting once again fits quite well. Incorporating these patterns into your daily routine will help you to work more productively and ultimately, be more successful in your work.

What methods have you used to boost your productivity? Share some in the comments!

https://www.infradapt.com/news/tip-of-the-week-for-maximum-productivity-try-sprinting/

[blue-opossum]

From Being Punched in the Back to Being Kissed in Nonreality

        From Being Punched in the Back to Being Kissed in Nonreality

        Friday morning, 6 October 2023

        Hand Mobility Staging (Proto-Cognizant Integration):

        My dream places me in a typical hand mobility narrative linking to proto-cognizance (using a computer keyboard). It puts me in an unknown setting that otherwise incorrectly models the Loomis Street house (to prevent associations with real life).

        Marilyn (half-sister on my mother's side) and Dennis (half-brother on my mother's side) are behind me for most of this segment. (Marilyn is on the left, and Dennis is on the right, behind me, modeling the sleeping orientation of Zsuzsanna and me, maintaining a typical background acknowledgment that I am only dreaming.)

        My dream self does not remember my life since around 1990. I have no recollection of Marilyn being deceased (which occurred after I moved to Australia, but I do not recall that either). Two computer keyboards are on the table, but I do not see a monitor. Because it is a dream, the keyboards have the wrong layout (again, to prevent real-life associations).

        Because hand mobility staging corresponds with a degree of intuitive perception of REM atonia while sleeping, it triggers a myoclonic event in this instance (without waking me). I tell Dennis why I am using the computer’s keyboard in the manner I am (on the right-hand keyboard), but he disagrees. Here, I recognize that the keyboards also correlate with Zsuzsanna and me while sleeping (regarding our orientation) as a factor of achieving both precursory hand mobility and proto-cognizance (both mechanisms of "coming to our senses" to emerge from sleep).

        Myoclonic Staging:

        Dennis punches me in the middle of my back, causing a predictable myoclonic jolt (in my back only), but it does not wake me or alleviate REM atonia. Instead, it makes my dream more vivid, inducing more illusory full-body awareness, but I decide to leave the house. (This factor depends on ultradian rhythm - time of sleep and its depth - as otherwise back-based myoclonus usually wakes me, though this dream was closer to the middle of my sleep cycle with complete REM atonia.)

        Somatosensory Staging, Followed by Sleep Proxy Integration:

        Walking south, I eventually wander into a 1950s ice cream parlor. An unfamiliar woman is at the counter. Another worker is a young version of Zsuzsanna (as when we first met), yet my dream self does not recall who she is. She becomes friendly and attentive to me.

        We start kissing, and my dream becomes exponentially more vivid. The tangibility of our lips (and tongues) and their motions becomes extraordinary.

        As I enter the liminal stage (midway between the nonreality of the dream state and coming to my senses), there is no longer any imagery for a few minutes. I eventually feel “half-asleep” as a result of being in liminal space. Even so, I feel my vivid somatosensory response as Zsuzsanna and I continue to kiss. My somatosensory response is the last remaining hallucinatory attribute (in contrast to when it is vestibular-motor or kinesthetic, myoclonic, auditory, ocular or light-based, undefined liminal space, and so on).