When you sign up to be a college athlete, sometimes you do not fully understand what you are signing up for. Depending on your background, what high school you went to, your previous commitment to sports and academics, the reality of balancing sports and academics may hit harder than expected. Transitioning from any sport to the college level is going to be an adjustment compared to high school. There are many ways to be a successful student athlete in college, however time management can play a big role in your success balancing the college experience.

This article is written from the perspective of a NCAA Division III athlete, and mainly targeted towards Division III athletes, although it may apply to any student athlete at any level in college. My freshman year transition into college was not ideal, I came in with the intention of being a computer science major but after my rough start, I ended up failing two classes my freshman year which ultimately put me in the well academically. This did detrimental damage to my GPA which resulted in me being ineligible to compete in the NCAA which took a toll on me. I decided it would be smart to switch to business management and it was the best decision I have ever made in my college career; I also discovered the art of time management which was a game changer for my college career. I flipped everything around and have been doing better ever since. Tine management has been an important part of my college career and will help me in my post college life. Throughout my experience, I have found four strategies that helped me better my time management skills and flip my college career around. The first one is understanding your priorities, the second one is developing an effective schedule, the third one is learning to say “No!”, and the last one is managing weekends and free time.

What is Time Management?

Time management is defined by dictionary.com as “the analysis of how working hours are spent and the prioritization of tasks in order to maximize personal efficiency in the workplace.” Although this definition is in the context of a workplace, time management is a valuable skill that can apply to all aspects of your life. According to Indeed, effective time management can have benefits like decreased stress, increased productivity, more energy for free time, improved focus, improved self-discipline. Overall, there are no negatives to having good time management, effective time management can improve your time in college, especially as a student athlete juggling everything. Some effective time management strategies include understanding your priorities, developing an effective schedule, and managing your weekends and free time effectively.

1.  Understanding Your Priorities

One of the hardest parts of being a student athlete is figuring out what is important to you and what are your priorities. Some students may be more focused on their sports rather than academics, or focused on other external factors like jobs, relationships, and family. The best way to handle this is to write down everything you care about and to prioritize what is the most important to you.  When you are a college student, usually you are juggling many aspects of your life, but in Division III, the school gives you the freedom to explore whatever you want to while still getting a degree. According to the NCAA, “The Division III philosophy ensures athletics are an integral part of a well-rounded college experience. The athletic experience allows student-athletes to focus on their academic programs and the ultimate goal of earning a degree.” Division III is very focused on being a student-athlete rather than being an athlete-student like other divisions.

Other divisions like DI have different priorities as the schools have more resources like more funding, and more facilities, and they put more of an emphasis on athletics rather than academics. The beauty of Division III is that students are very prioritizing of their academics, and the NCAA states that Division I athletes put 14.5 hours a week towards socializing, 35.5 hours on academics, and 33 hours on athletics, whereas Division III athletes put 15.5 hours a week towards socializing, 40 hours to academics, and 28 hours towards athletics.

2.  Developing an Effective Schedule

The following is the typical day of a Division III student athlete:

• 6:00 AM – Wake up, get ready, and go to morning practice

• 7:00 AM – Come back to house, shower, eat, and prepare for class

• 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM – First class of the day

• 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM – Relax or homework, eat lunch, get ready for next class & practice

• 12:00 PM to 2:25 PM – Next 2 classes back-to-back, then straight to practice

• 2:25 PM to 6:00 PM – Drive to practice, then go to practice

• 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM – Drive home from practice, shower, make/eat dinner, homework

• 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM – Bedtime! 

As you can see from this typical day of a student athlete, it is not easy. It takes a substantial amount of commitment and discipline. Initially, it may be overwhelming to handle everything that comes with being a collegiate student athlete, but with experience and with time, it will eventually start to come easy. From someone coming from high school, it can especially be quite the adjustment, it takes time to be mature enough to put all their time and energy into their sport and academics. During my interview with Assistant Cross Country Coach for North Central College, Tim Hird, he talked about how high schooler’s schedules are cleanly blocked for them hour by hour, whereas in college they retain the ability to build their own class schedule, while also having to factor in homework time, athletic practices, and a work schedule which can be problematic because they have scattered free time and may not know how to best utilize these time slots. I think this is true and this is problematic because when you are incoming from high school, everything is set up for you but once you reach college you are fully in charge of your life and with great power comes great responsibility, tools like effective scheduling and routine can help us stay organized.

Routine is a good way to stay on track and goes hand in hand with developing an effective schedule. If you can figure out a good routine that you enjoy and works for you, life will be a lot easier since you know what to expect. According to Northwestern Medicine, routines can provide structure and organization, and they include health benefits like managing stress more effectively, better sleep, healthier eating, and getting active. I believe that without routine, my life would be a mess, and I would not be able to handle everything that is going on in my life. With routine, consistency is key and the beauty of making a routine is you are pretty much fully in control of what your routine is.

A good way to deal with managing your time is to develop a structured schedule. Developing a schedule takes a lot of maturity, because when you come from high school you are used to having a lot of free time and putting more time into doing fun activities rather than in college where the majority of your time goes into hard and stuff that you do not want to always do. Discipline and delayed gratification play a big role in the college experience, according to Professor Patrick Gray and Faculty Mentor at North Central College, he states “There is no ‘magic bullet’ or ‘hack.' The only successful approach is one that is based on discipline, the willingness to forego gratification, and establishing priorities.” Delayed gratification is defined by Britannica is the act of resisting an impulse to take an immediately available reward in the hope of obtaining a more-valued reward in the future, delayed gratification is something that applies to every aspect of our life, and if we can learn to delay gratification early, life will be a lot easier. Putting in work like studying or doing schoolwork early may not offer immediate awards, but it will pay off in the end.