Value Your Time & Energy

by Richard Handy Jr

“You always just go with the flow.”
“How do you not let [x] bother you?”
"Where do you find the time to do all of [x, y, z]?"

A few questions and statements I constantly receive from my colleagues and peers in relation to anything in my life. Many people would say, “Ah, Richie is a quiet person, that’s why.” or "I don't think he cares". True, to both statements but there is more to it. All I am doing is managing and utilizing my own time and energy for what is most beneficial for me and what my goals are. Sounds selfish, but it really isn’t.

What in life can you control and what in life are you not able to control? This is the number one question I have asked myself to evaluate what I can do to be better. For my specific setting, I ask myself this to make sure I provide my student-athletes with the best experiences possible. I give my full energy and effort to my student-athletes in each session because I can control that. I can’t control those who don’t believe I can do my job. That just means my time and energy is deposited into something or someone else that matters.

I also present this question to all my athletes as an education piece as they have a lot on their plate throughout their collegiate career. There are many things in life we wish we had more control over than others but it just doesn’t work that way.

*Controllable vs uncontrollable factors in life and sport provided by the student-athletes I work with.

If you want to make the most of your day, you need to value the controllable. You can be responsible for the process and affect the end result. That is the type of mindset you will need to have to take advantage of those opportunities. The challenging part is putting less time and energy into the uncontrollable. Too much time will negatively affect your focus and effort on what matters most and what lies ahead.

Here are a few ways you can stay ahead and manage your time and energy.

Prepare, prepare, and prepare
- You can reduce the severity of the negative consequences that come with the uncontrollable. Sport is unpredictable. You can’t control how the opponent will play in a game and how your body responds to the imposed stress and demands. But studying film, getting quality sleep, and eating/hydrating are ways to help you be ready for an unpredictable environment.
Address and progress
- Many situations come up and are difficult to deal with but it happens. Complain if you want, but make sure you do something about it. Complaining may be addressing a problem but to avoid the same problems, you must work toward a solution. Consistently bad practices or games don’t just happen randomly, so look into what can be better on the side of what you can control.
Prioritize
- Being able to manage your workload comes from learning what matters most to you (occupation, school, practice, eating, sleeping, studying, social life, etc.). This will help shift your focus in the right direction, and worry less when unable to get to those factors that are lower on the list. Most of your time should be spent on factors that help you feel your best.

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