Time Management

11 Ways To Perfect Your Time Management Skills as a College Athlete

By Matthew Reichen|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on March 21, 2022)

Time management is one of the greatest skills a college athlete can have. It's not uncommon for college athletes to be zipping around campus from 7:00 AM until 11:00 PM. These 12+ hour days can take a toll on an athlete's mental health! Managing what you do with your day is a foolproof way to stay on top of your school work, practices, and more!

1. Manage Your Stress Levels
Being a college athlete is a HUGE commitment! Not only do you have to keep up with your grades, but you also need to attend your practices, lifts, office hours, and still have time to hangout with friends. It's important to do things that can help alleviate your stress levels, such as going for a walk, listening to music, or meditating. It might seem counter-intuitive, but taking the time to calm down is an effective strategy to help you perfect your time management skills.

2. Don't Multitask
It is proven that multitasking is not an effective way to get your work done. It's hard to complete your best work when your mind is scattered across a dozen different projects. Instead, try focusing on one task at a time. Once you complete a task, you can move onto the next.

3. Organize Your Environment
Before you go to sleep, lay out all of your clothes that you are going to wear the next day – workout and school clothes – pack your backpack with all the items you will need, and prepare your breakfast. This will help cut some time off in the morning – leaving more time for you to center yourself and decide how you want to start the day.

4. Block Out Distractions
When you are doing homework, turn off your phone and place it in a drawer. Psychologists have found that just having your phone in the room can cause a distraction. To maximize your study time, eliminate any distractions so you can use whatever little amount of time you have to crank out some school and work assignments.

5. Set Goals
When you embark on a new task, set a goal for what you want to accomplish in the amount of time that you have to complete the task. Setting a goal can help you better understand how you want to utilize your work time, and can help you work more efficiently when you are trying to meet deadlines.

6. Know When You're Productive
Everyone has different times of day where they are more or less productive. Understanding what part of the day you are the most productive can help you utilize your time efficiently. If you work best in the mornings, make sure you give yourself ample time to get ready and complete some assignments. If you work better at night, make sure you start early so you can get into bed at a reasonable hour! You most likely will have practice EARLY the next morning.

7. Use Technology to Keep You Organized
There are tons of amazing apps that you can download to help you stay on top of tasks and manage your day! Some of my favorite task management apps are: Monday.com, ClickUp, and smartsheet.

8. Communication Is Key
Communication is one of your greatest assets as an athlete! It is your job to let people know when you are feeling overwhelmed. Reach out to your coaches, teammates, academic advisors, tutors, trainers, and professors to let them know that you need extra support. The more you communicate your needs, the better people can best support you.

9. Give Yourself A LOT of Breaks
When you have a bunch of work to get done, give yourself breaks! Try the Pomodoro Technique. Work for increments of 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. Doing this will allow your mind time to rest when you are grinding through all of your assignments, but not too much time where you will lose focus on the task at hand.

10. Experiment:
Always implement new time management strategies into your regime. The best way to find what works best for you is trying different things! Try different management apps, attempt new activities that help you manage your stress, and have fun! Working on tasks shouldn't be the worst part of your day. There are tons of ways that can make doing homework a bit more bearable.

11. No One Is Perfect:
It's important that you realize no one is perfect. You can always try your best when it comes to managing your time. If you fail, that is OKAY! Pick yourself back up and try something new. As long as you are trying your best, you are one step closer to perfecting your time management.

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