A question that I frequently get asked on a daily basis is “Do you have time?” When hearing this question, I find myself thinking “am I willing to make time?” Days are very limited with hours, minutes, and seconds and before you know it the day is over. Time is valuable and we want to maximize it while the day is still young. Time can really be a twist in my life and sometimes it can be hard to utilize it the right way. I have several components that go into my everyday life. This includes my personal life (free time), school (classes and homework), college baseball, and to add the cherry on top I have a hat company to run. How do I have time for all of these things? To be completely honest, sometimes I don’t. Prioritizing these things plays a huge role in my daily life. What are the things that matter most to me right now? After prioritizing those things, I can then move to the other things. Sometimes these things lead to early mornings or late nights. Sometimes that leads to saying “no”.  At the end of the day it comes down to if you’re up for the challenge of time management.

Prioritizing

I like to start my time management by making certain things prioritize others. Right now I currently attend Rice University in Houston, TX. I also currently play collegiate baseball for the Rice Owls. These are my two priorities in my daily life. Every weekday I have classes and practices and these things always come first in my daily life. These two things are the most important for me because education matters for my future and baseball is the reason I am currently sitting in a Rice classroom. Without baseball I would not be at Rice today, so I am very blessed to have the opportunity to compete for the Owls on the highest level of competition. After school and baseball, I like to prioritize my personal life and hat company mixed together. Running a hat company is something that I really enjoy doing and that goes into my personal life because I do it in my free time. Prioritizing the things that you do on a daily/weekly basis is a good way to start setting up your time management. What do you want to accomplish during the week? What do you want to prioritize? Are there some things that you would be okay not getting to during the day/week? Those things can come last and can be a bonus if you get to them. Prioritizing can help get things done when they are needed. Take care of your priorities before you start other things.

My life

People often look at me and think that I have a fun, good, easy life. While I do have a very blessed life, there are times when it is hard. Time management continues to rule my life. To be able to manage my time is the difference between having a personal life and not having one. To be an athlete, complete school, have a personal life, and run a company you have to be able to have enough discipline to do all of them. Skipping things can become a common theme if you aren’t on top of your game. It can be easy to let one thing slip, then that one thing leads to another and another and then before you know it you have missed or failed something.

Routines

Starting to get in a good routine is a good way to help this. After the day ends, spending an hour when you get home on homework will make big changes. Taking that step forward and dedicating this time will not only boost you in the classroom, but will boost your morale. Knowing that you accomplished something for the day that is not a sport, class, or something else will motivate you for the day and will cause you to treat yourself for the rest of the day. After this hour, move onto something else of your choice. Hang with some friends, get some dinner, watch a movie, or even work on a start up venture (like me!). There is always room for new things and chances to discover things you never knew about. Free time is what we work for after that long day in the classroom, baseball, or at work.  

Personal Life

As an athlete, personal life is important. Taking time to enjoy yourself plays a big role in your daily life. If you do not have time to enjoy yourself, then life can get chaotic fast, which can cause stress. Stress in an athlete’s mind is not pleasing, especially when the time comes to compete. When competing you want to be fresh and ready to go. Putting school and athletics aside for a certain period of time can be soothing for the body and brain and help recover to regain yourself. It is really important for me to utilize these things to keep me ready to compete, because only focusing on school and athletics tends to be unhealthy for me sometimes. Having that mental break from those things helps me regather myself and move onto the next thing. This does not go for just athletes, but for all people. Taking a break from your daily job/school life allows for the body to relieve yourself from that stress it may be causing. Having free time is very important to the mental health factor. Again, once your priorities take place and are completed, then free time should be utilized. 

Time can be Found

Do you have time? The answer is yes, there is always time. Don’t catch yourself being too lazy and develop a routine that works for you. Don’t miss out on events that you want to be a part of. Find time that works for you. Prioritize, manage, and enjoy your free time when you can!