4.1 Time Management

TIME MANAGEMENT

In this last section, and before going on to work on your weekly mental preparation plan, we are going to see some concepts related to time management. Time management is also a very important aspect of invisible training.

“WHEN SOMEONE REALLY WANTS SOMETHING, THEY WILL MAKE TIME FOR IT. WHEN THEY DON´T, THEY WILL ONLY MAKE EXCUSES.”

⏰ Improvising and being irregular when preparing mentally will not help you to be a better person or player, the other way around. One of the factors that differentiates the athletes who stand out is the planning of their preparation and the regularity in their training. In those activities related to performance and that are as important as the field training itself. If you improvise you tend to lean more towards chaos and disorder. However, if you organize and plan all the parts of your invisible training (what tasks you have to do, when you are going to do them), you will be more disciplined, have more perseverance and be more productive with your time. And that is what will lead you to obtain better results and a higher quality of life.

                   Source: own elaboration 

⏰  If you plan your tasks, it will give you security, it gives you CONTROL when working. We control the objectives more, and with that we are taking care of our motivation. First the work is organized and prepared, and then the work is done.

1. Organize your work (plan and decide what you are going to do, how and when).

2. Do the work (actions and tasks you prepared).

⏰ This skill is one of the most important in your career as a professional athlete.

TIME is the greatest treasure a professional footballer has. Learning to properly manage your time to achieve the goals you have set for yourself usually makes a difference.

STEPS TO ADEQUATELY MANAGE YOUR TIME

①SET GOALS AND PRIORITIES: WHERE AM I GOING?

How you have done in the sports aspect with the establishment of goals, it is recommended that you do it with your personal goals and priorities. The first essential step for good time management is to be clear about your goals. Your challenge is to be able to invest time in them and not have time “leaks”, with things or activities that are of less priority or that do not help you achieve your goals. First things first, prioritize what is most important.

②AGENDA: HOW DO I ORGANIZE IT FROM DAY TO DAY?

Once you have established your goals, it is time to translate it into tasks in your day to day to achieve it. The agenda is used to manage your priorities. Every week you have to write what is a priority in your life (personal, professional, social). What is not written or on your agenda does not exist.

Write it all down. Using google calendar or another application will help you more than you imagine. This tool is non-negotiable if you want to take advantage of your time, be productive, have time to rest, see friends, train, train, etc. Remember, what is not written in your agenda, IS AS IF IT DIDN’T EXIST.

If you use the agenda, you are freeing your mind, we cannot remember everything, and also being with pending things in memory, tires and consumes energy.

③AVOID DISTRACTIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS:

🖥  DISTRACTIONS = When YOU interrupt yourself.

Many times we try to do several things at the same time, damaging our concentration and, consequently, the quality of what we do. Depending on the task you are doing, having your mail open, your cell phone nearby, or being distracted by a fly will only make that time unproductive. For this you can determine times in which you need to turn off your phone or put it in airplane mode, close the computer, or have a sheet to write down things that come to your head and that you can attend to at another time. How would your improvement be if in training you were checking your phone every 5 minutes? Well, the same thing happens when you are doing something that requires you to be focused.

☎️. INTERRUPTIONS = When OTHERS disrupt you.

It is also important that you learn to have moments to yourself. Both to study or train as well as to rest. You can help yourself with visual cues or by informing the rest when you are available and when you do not want to be interrupted because you are working.

Source: https://freesvg.org/hotel-hanging-signs

④MAKE LISTS:

Use your phone, a notebook, an excel sheet or a word. But make lists. Download your memory. It is about using the lists to collect information or ideas that you have in a moment but that later you forget. They can be for your life in general, or you can even use them for sports aspects.

💡 For example:

               Source: own elaboration 

⑤DETERMINE FIREPLACES:

Firewalls can be laws that you create yourself to help you manage your time.

💡 For example:

1. 1. 🔥 If you usually go to sleep late looking at your phone, playing the console, watching TV, talking with friends … and you want to change it, you can create a law: “I will not look at or use my phone after 11:00”.
   2. 🔥 When you are studying for exams and you want to be focused, a law could be “Leave the phone in a drawer or place that is not visible and in silence”.

⑥LEARN ON THE WAY:

If you spend a lot of time traveling, you can use that time to learn. We usually go listening to music. You can combine it with listening to a podcast about interviews with players or coaches, a language you are learning, or what you want to learn and like.

               Source: own elaboration