In a wireless network, a frame structure may include a padding duration at the start of every half subframe to ensure that an integer number of symbols fit within a duration of the half subframe. In some aspects, to avoid wasting time domain resources, the padding duration may be utilized for other purposes. For example, because a single carrier waveform is not bound to a fixed Fast Fourier Transform size, a wireless node may use the padding duration to transmit a single carrier symbol that has a shorter length than a full symbol associated with a subcarrier spacing. Additionally, or alternatively, in cases where a wireless node is configured to transmit or receive a signal in a first symbol of a half subframe that is associated with a different power level than a preceding symbol, the padding duration may be used to adapt a transmit power or a receive gain.