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Andrea Alvarez

Time Management for Student Athletes

What is a Student Athlete?

A Student Athlete is someone who balances both studying and playing sports. Being a Student Athlete means you need to have both discipline and time management skills to complete the requirements of both.


What is it like to be a Student Athlete?

Student Athletes often follow very busy schedules, here’s what a typical day in the life of a College Student Athlete might look like.


7:00 am - Wake up, Shower, and Get Ready

8:00 am - Have Breakfast

9:00 am - 11:00 am - Attend Morning Classes

11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Attend Team Meetings

12:00 pm - 01:00 pm - Have Lunch

01:00 pm - 03:00 pm - Attend Afternoon Classes

03:30 pm - 06:30 pm - Warm Up (can take around 30 minutes), Practice (can take around 2 hours), and Cool Down (can take around 30 minutes)

07:00 pm - 08:00 pm - Have Dinner

08:00 pm - 09:00 pm - Study and Review

10:00 pm - Go to Bed


As you can see, the schedule can get pretty packed when and if you’re a student athlete, but don’t worry, there’s ways you can manage your time to stay on top of both your academics and sport!


How can I stay Organized?

To stay organized, there’s some essential tips you might want to try out!


  1. Create a detailed schedule that outlines your practices, meetings, and classes. This will help you plan and prioritize tasks effectively.

  2. Learn to prioritize tasks and give some time to academics, sports, and yourself. You can use the Pomodoro technique to stay focused.

  3. Set clear goals and break them down into smaller steps. This gives you a sense of direction and will help you decide and sort out your priorities.

  4. Maintain To-Do lists to stay organized. Consider using other tools to note down daily tasks, assignments, and deadlines.

  5. Organize your study space to keep it free from distractions, which will help you get the most out of each session.

  6. Communicate with coaches and teachers, they can help you if you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the responsibilities.

  7. Don’t take on too many responsibilities, whether they’re social commitments or extracurriculars.

  8. Take care of your health and make sure to eat well, sleep enough, stay hydrated, exercise, and take deep breaths every once in a while.

  9. Use technology or apps to stay organized and set reminders or keep track of your schedule and deadlines.

  10. Regularly reflect on your strategy, keep the good things, get rid of what isn’t working and will only distract you further.


What are the bBenefits of being a Student Athlete?

I know being a student athlete can sound scary so far. I know you might think it’s a lot of responsibility so far, and you would be right, so who can blame you? But being a student athlete is more than just waking up, taking your classes, and doing a sport, it has plenty of benefits, here are some:


  1. You develop skills like leadership, time management, and you learn to work with others. 

  2. You develop a good work ethic, as well as discipline and motivation, which can make you a better candidate for future jobs.

  3. You make long-lasting friendships and bonds, since going through the same practices makes you have respect for each other.

  4. You can get academic assistance if you’re struggling to keep up. Many schools have support systems to help student athletes succeed, such as special tutoring and study sessions. They can also sometimes have mentorship programs.

  5. You can get a merit based scholarship.


Self Care for Student Athletes

Being a student athlete can be tough. Your schedule is packed, you have less time to spend on yourself, and academics can get crammed. However, it’s still important to take care of yourself. After a tiring day, you might want to follow some of these strategies.


  1. Win the Off Days: You don’t have to focus on just your sport, or hang out with friends from that sport alone. Sometimes, the best way to unwind is to hang out with people who don’t play sports, or engage in hobbies and activities that don’t involve that sport, and that’s okay, you don’t need to feel guilty about it.

  2. Don’t Sleep on Sleep: Research shows that almost half of all student athletes have sleep-related problems. Prioritizing sleep is key if you want to function at an optimal level. To help with sleep, avoid using your bed to do homework or eat snacks, use it only to sleep. Avoid daytime napping, stick to a regular sleep schedule, limit caffeine intake before bed, and sleep with a lower temperature in your room.


Conclusion:

In conclusion, student athletes can be busy, but it’s important to leave some time to self-care, sleep, and other activities. This can be facilitated by using adequate time management tools and skills.


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