Most high school and youth coaches juggle many priorities throughout the year. It’s prevalent for youth and high school coaches to have a full-time job and family. Balancing your love for the game and family can be very difficult to manage. Below are 3 ways you can maximize your time.

Minimize Your Fluff

Every person has things in their life that can be considered fluff time. This could be playing video games or watching TV shows for hours or even wasting time in the gym. This is not to be mistaken with down or personal time. Fluff time usually doesn’t contribute anything of value to your day and can often lead you away from important tasks that need to be accomplished. At the end of the day evaluate and see where you can cut back on fluff time. This additional time can be used towards doing something more productive.

Efficiency

Another way to maximize your time is efficiency. Dedicating a specific amount of time to tasks and then moving on to the next is extremely important. Without these guidelines you’ll often find yourself running behind and in a rush. This leads to less productivity as the day progresses.

For example, most people wake up as late as they can before starting the process of getting ready for the day. Instead of this try waking up just 30 minutes earlier and see how much smoother the start of your day goes. A planner or reminders on your phone is another great way to effectively plan your day and make sure you aren't wasting time. The more efficient you are with your day, the better and more accomplished you’ll feel before heading to sleep.

Know Your Limits

Understanding how much you have on your plate versus how much you can actually handle is extremely important when maximizing your time. Oftentimes we all lack the ability to say no or simply don’t have the time to do something. Players, parents, friends, family and colleagues want your full attention when it is their turn. If you're turned off or agitated because you’ve overscheduled this can lead to an inadvertent disrespectful vibe because the person you may be serving feels that you are slighting them. It's sometimes better not force a meeting or interaction that can be pushed to another day.

During your peak times and throughout the year in general make sure to minimize your fluff time, be efficient and also understand your limits. Again, doing these things will help you maximize your time and help make each day a little easier than the one before!

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