UMass Lowell Counseling Services understands that student-athletes have a lot on their plate. Below, find a list of "life hacks" that may be especially helpful during the academic year. These tips will help you work smarter, rather than harder, so you can preserve more time and energy for the playing field.

  1. Time Management
  2. Prioritize
  3. Self-Care
  4. Positive Thinking
  5. Focus on the Present
  6. Acceptance
  7. Communication

Time Management

  • Stay organized: Using a planner can help you be proactive in tackling school work and give you one less thing to worry about.
  • Break big assignments or projects into smaller tasks. Feeling less overwhelmed and more accomplished equals less stress and more success.
  • Try to limit distractions when you are focused on school work. Try going to a quiet place on campus. Unplug. FaceBook, Instagram and Snapchat will still be waiting for you when you finish that assignment.

Prioritize

  • Don't forget about the STUDENT part of student-athlete.
  • Make lists of tasks you have throughout the day and rank them in order of importance to help guide you on how to devote your time and energy.
  • Practice, travel, competitions, student hall and team meetings can make the house in the day disappear quickly. Make some time to prioritize yourself during the day, whether that means relaxing, enjoying a meal with friends or just taking a break from your busy schedule. Even just 10-15 minutes can make a difference!

Self-Care

  • Get sleep. Not only will you be more awake and alert throughout the day, but studies have shown that getting sleep can improve performance in the classroom and on the field. Tune out Netflix and tune into some ZZZs.
  • Recharge with healthy nutritional choices, get the energy to keep going until the end of the day. Need some help making better snacking choices? Contact Tina Fallon, Registered Dietician, located in the Wellness Center.
  • Take a breath. Inhale for 4 seconds and release the breath for 8 seconds. When you take a deep breath, you are slowing your heart rate down, allowing your mind and body to respond to a situation in a productive way.

Positive Thinking

  • What is your thinking typically like? Are you usually a cheerleader for yourself, providing support? Or are you your own harshest critic? If you said "yes" to the latter, it might be helpful to write down a list of encouraging statements on a note card and post it somewhere you frequent. Read those encouraging words daily to move you to a more positive mindset.
  • It can be easy to fall into the habit of dwelling on past negative events. Beating yourself up and repeating the moment in your head may feel like a deserving punishment, but really all it is doing is trapping you in that negative moment and preventing you from focusing on what's in front of you now.

Focus on the Present

  • You might be sitting in class, and note that your thoughts are going a mile a minute or notice that you're just not focusing on the task at hand. Whether your thoughts are past or future oriented, they are not helping you in that moment. The more you can engage in the "here and now", the more successful you will be.
  • Take a few minutes out of your day and pay attention to what is around you. Take a look outside and name all of the things you can see. Pay attention to the noises you're hearing in the locker room as you're getting ready for practice. Being mindful during daily activities can be a great way to practice focusing your attention on the present moment.
  • Download a mindfulness app on your phone and aim to go through one meditation per day. Check out the Learning Library for some suggestions.

Acceptance

  • A loss can be a difficult thing to move from as can a mistake on the field or recent break-up. Unfortunately, unlike Hermione Granger, we do not have the ability to change the past. The faster we can move on and learn from the negative event, the quicker you can focus on the next game or test and put yourself back in a position to be successful.
  • Emotions are neither good or bad. Anxiety can cause a state of panic that makes you freeze up during a test but it can also be a motivating force getting you to start that paper that is due in 24 hours. Remember that emotions are there to serve a purpose.
  • Don't resist those uncomfortable or distressing feelings. We often feel like our emotions will never go away. In reality, our emotions ebb and flow. What we can do is ride out the emotion and experience the feeling.
  • Acknowledge the feelings you are experiencing, whether positive or negative. Notice how your body feels through this. If you're able to label and identify that emotion you are dealing with, you can then take steps to resolve that feeling and it will become easier to take control of your emotions.

Communication

  • Share your problem with others. Bottling up your thoughts doesn't get rid of the problem; instead, it allows it to grow until it overflows. The people in your life who care about you want to know what's going on so that they can be there to support you.
  • Reach out to professors in advance if you become aware of scheduling conflicts or noticing that you are falling behind in a class. The sooner you reach out, the more positive the response will be.