Being a swimmer, you most likely have learned how to manage your time wisely. However, that does mean that it is completely easy to balance school and swimming. Although many college students have already been through their last final, most high school and maybe middle school (not sure about elementary school finals?) are still in session. The start of a new season and the nearing end of the school year can be a stressful time for many swimmers. Focus will shift from a good practice to a good test and then back to a good practice and probably another good test. Your mind may be a bit overwhelmed with everything going on right now. The key is to focus on one thing at a time while focusing on everything as a whole. What?
Well, let me explain. The moments before and during, focus on the test or the practice. Don’t let your mind wander from finding “x” to what workout will be like tonight. And vice versa, if your coach is telling you to focus on your pull, don’t try to figure out how to do the problem you skipped on your final. In other words, live in the moment and having fun living it. Each part of life needs some sort of focus because each piece adds up to the whole thing.
Both school and swimming are a part of life right? So, just focus on life as a whole and everything else will fall into place. After all, each part of life has its own important role. School and swimming are just two important parts in it. Don’t forget about your friends, family, maybe other activities you do outside of school, and anything else. All of those put together fall into one complete puzzle. If you focus on life as a single entity, you focus on everything at the same time. Instead of shifting focus back and forth, the big picture focus will keep you on top of things. Need to focus on school? That’s part of life. How about swimming? That’s life as well.
Saying “I’m going to focus on life” is going to be easier than thinking “I’m going to focus on my two finals, helping my sibling, a dryland session, my chores, afternoon practice, and what I’ll eat afterwards. As long as you focus on life, you’ll be able to focus on anything and everything.
Hopefully, this makes sense now. If not, comment your thoughts below.
