This morning, I woke up 15 minutes before my alarm, which seems to be a pattern when I’m excited to start the day.

I put on my running gear and went for a 30-minute run, which has become my routine for the past 172 days, according to the journal I keep on my phone.

On the way back from the gym, I made a detour at a supermarket and a Seven-Eleven to grab groceries for dinner.

Since I’m on a weekend shift today and need to be home, ready to troubleshoot incidents at any moment, the schedule leaves me no chance to step out of my room.

As I chug a 2-liter water bottle from Seven-Eleven, I feel genuinely grateful for the next hour or two to reflect on my past week.

Here was my week 1501.

1. From Focusing on My Sleep Routine

This week, I focused intently on my sleep routine and saw a good amount of improvement in my recovery levels.

Compared to last week’s statistics, I maintained a healthier overall recovery state. For the first half of the week, I managed to stay in the green zone. Although it wasn’t green every day, I didn’t have any days in the red, which is a notable improvement from last week.

What I Changed:

• I stopped eating after 8 PM and avoided beverages an hour before bed.
• Instead of late-night snacking, I started reading on my Kindle and took a 30-minute bath almost every night. I also made sure to finish all screen-related tasks before my bath.

However, I noticed that during the latter half of the week, I hovered in the yellow zone despite getting enough sleep and maintaining a healthy nighttime routine.

I have a clue about why:

My meals during the day were quite unhealthy.

I ate McDonald’s three times because I craved their seasonal Moon Viewing Burger (月見バーガー) and Moon Viewing Pie (月見パイ). Ugh, they are so tempting.

Eating such heavy meals in the morning left me feeling sluggish by the afternoon. As the weekend approached, I slipped into a lazy mode that was hard to shake off. Even though I didn’t eat after 6 PM, the quality of my sleep suffered significantly. I had trouble falling asleep, and my sleep was shallow. The impact of nutrition on my well-being is quite alarming.

For another week,

I’d like to see how my recovery level changes if I incorporate what I learned last week and, moreover, cut back on junk food.

Stay tuned.

2. From Reading

This week, I began reading a new book titled Wanting by Luke Burgis (I’ll write a book review on it once I finish).

I’ve found that my most effective method of absorbing knowledge is to

Read a physical book while simultaneously listening to its audiobook version.

Audible has become my go-to source for these recordings.

Combining visual and auditory input enhances my retention of new information. I remember Joe Jitsukawa discussing this method of consuming books on one of his podcast episodes back when I was still in university.

At the time, I was hesitant to invest in both written and audio content, but now that I’m making more money, this technique has become my favorite way to engage with books.

Not only is it convenient for managing my time — since the audio tracks how much time remains until the book is finished — but it also allows me to

mentally “flip” the pages

when I revisit the audio. For instance, during my morning runs, I can visualize the text while listening, reinforcing my memory of the content.

I encourage you all to try this method if you haven’t already. From my experience, it also increases the likelihood of dreaming about the book’s content, which suggests that you’re truly internalizing the material.

Combining books and audiobooks is a powerful way to deepen your understanding and retain what you read.

3. From Coffee with the New School Head

The day before, my high school roommate — now working in admissions — reached out to me on Instagram. She asked if I’d like to meet the new head of the school, who was visiting Tokyo for a school fair.

On Sunday, I had a weekend shift at work, but my early morning was open. I emailed the address my friend mentioned for the school head to see if we could meet for coffee at 9 a.m. at a café near her hotel in Shinjuku. She replied briefly, “I am so excited to meet you!”

The next morning, we met at the café. After a warm hug, she treated me to their signature coffee, and we sat facing each other at a small table, excited to talk.

“So, you are the Satoka! I’ve heard a lot about you from your friend,” she said.

For the next hour, we discussed a variety of topics — my life in Tokyo, my journey to enrolling in the school, how I became close with my roommate, and her own path to becoming head of the school. We even touched on more personal subjects, like her three kids, who are now in college or working full-time.

Then she asked about my book.

“Let me see, what’s it about?” she inquired, seeming more interested than I had expected. To my surprise, she offered to help connect me with alumni who had pursued writing as a profession.

I had intended to bring a copy of my book to give her, but since our meeting was arranged last minute, I hadn’t ordered one in time. Instead, I pulled up my phone to show her a screen display of my book’s listing, which I later emailed to her.

The more intrigued she seemed about my book, the more I regretted not having a physical copy to present at that moment.

I missed a perfect marketing opportunity.

In the end, she had an Amazon link to my book and a LinkedIn post about it. But that experience could have been improved tenfold if I had a real copy for her to take with her. It would have made it much easier for her to start reading it right away, instead of having to order it first and wait for it to arrive.

So, the lesson I took away from this meeting:

“You need to always be ready to pitch your ideas. You never know when the chance will come, so always have your shoelaces tied.”

This time, although I managed to seize the opportunity to set up a meeting, my shoelaces were not quite tied to come out of the meeting strong.

I hope you enjoyed your week as well.

Stay well, and I’ll catch you next week!