For those of you who have 3-4 hours of sports each night and at least another hour of homework, it can become pretty difficult to balance athletics and academics. Part of you wants to put all your time and energy into improving on the field, but another part of you, like your parents or a counselor, wants you to focus on maintaining a high gpa, which means a lot of homework and studying. So you must juggle between these two areas of your life. Here are just a few tips on how to balance your time to excel in both.

• Use class time wisely 

You’ve probably heard all teachers say this at one point or another, but have you ever really listened to this advice? Every time you finish an assignment early, you probably get right on your phone and scroll through the last 15 minutes of class. But, these minutes wasted will add up! Instead of looking at Tik-Toks, take out your ipad and get that work done. It can be surprising how ten extra minutes here and there will help you get those assignments finished. Every minute counts when you don’t have much time outside of sports.

• Put your phone away

If you have three paragraphs to write before you leave for soccer in thirty minutes, you need to sit down and focus. But you will never be able to focus if your phone is vibrating every other minute with recent notifications. Put your phone away in a different room, or at least out of arm’s reach. This will minimize distractions and let you get focused. When you have no choice but to work on your homework, you’ll be more productive than ever.

• Take advantage of Aca-prep

Aca-prep is the perfect opportunity for you to get that homework done because tonight is a dual training session and you will have zero extra time. It can definitely be tempting to talk with friends the entire time, but think about what will actually help you! As advised in step 2, put your phone in your backpack and use the free time. Two 40-minute sessions that are dedicated during the school day for homework and assignments will help take off the stress of getting things done at home.

• Get enough sleep

For student-athletes, getting enough sleep can be one of the most important things. Don’t stay up until 1 a.m. binging your favorite show on Netflix if you know that you have a 6 a.m. basketball training the next morning. Getting enough sleep will help you in your athletic performances. According to the Sleep Foundation, “A Stanford study of men’s basketball players who extended their sleep to 10 hours a night found several positive outcomes. The players ran faster in both half-court and full-court sprints. Their shooting improved by at least 9%… the athletes also reported improved physical and mental well-being.” Just a few extra hours of sleep each night can help you improve as a player. And, you probably won’t be falling asleep in class, helping you manage your assignments and grades!

• Avoid late-work

It can be very easy to fall into the trap of submitting assignments after the due date, especially since most teachers don’t penalize late work right away. But all this late work will start to add up, until you have 30+ assignments sitting on your Canvas dashboard and a tournament that same weekend. The best thing to do is to stay on top of your work and submit things when they are due. Even if you just came home from practice exhausted and with no enthusiasm to do homework, try to find the time to do it now so that you don’t have to cram before the unit ends.

• Create a routine

Creating a routine or schedule for yourself can help to increase your productivity. Start by finding out when your sports training is, and build it from there. Set aside a certain time each day to do your homework. Maybe even set an alarm so that you know when it is time to do work. Also, if you know that you’re more productive at certain times a day, work around that as well. Getting in the habit of studying and doing schoolwork everyday will help you when you have two extra training sessions this week and an exam on Friday.

Remember to keep in mind that balancing school and sports will never be easy! At times it will definitely seem like there is too much going on. Try to stay focused on what matters and why you are doing these things. Hopefully these tips help you get the most out of your time so you can be successful in everything you do!