Time Management

I hear people often say things like, “I don’t have time for that” or “I can’t work out today, I have to study or work” and I understand, training and racing is only one aspect of our lives and many people are juggling a lot of objectives and priorities, As well rounded people we have several spaces we would like to excel in work, school, sport, relationships, clubs, associations, etc. and to be halfway decent in any combination of two or more things requires time management. I will give several ways to help you get more, important things done with the limited time we have, such as, how to use weekends wisely, cutting the crap (or at least limiting it), avoid cramming, time-blocking.

Weekends

Friday night you should make a plan for your weekend, most of the time people train on Saturday and Sunday morning but after a nap, you should think about what needs to be accomplished the next week and get a head start on Saturday and Sunday evening, even if it’s only a couple of hours each day, those concentrated hours could go a long way in freeing up your week.

Cut the Crap (Or at Least Limit it)

Excessive time wasters can be things like Facebook, Instagram, Netflix (binge-watching), Television, YouTube, etc. although these are good tools for relaxation, they should not consume the majority of your day, dedicating more than a couple hours a day to these things is probably too much. I would suggest blocking them into your schedule or using them in transition periods in your day but that’s it.

Avoid Cramming

You typically know when a big assignment or tests are happening, I suggest getting a planner and planning to study over the course of 2-3days before, this will relieve a lot of unnecessary stress and you will probably do better. Avoiding cramming things all into one day will decrease the likelihood that you will have to miss a workout to cram.

Time-Blocking

I really like using this technique, it’s almost like anti-multi-tasking, you block off a period of time (typically 20 minutes) and you focus on only one task, you will get a lot more completed then you originally would have thought and you’ll feel really accomplished after. I will usually rest for 10-20 minutes, then go into another 20-minute block.