College tests current skills and introduces new ones. Most students leave a more structured home environment and have to decide new weekly routines. With this comes the challenge of figuring out time management. 

Incorporating workouts during a person’s educational career requires prioritizing tasks throughout the day by eliminating or avoiding events that are time wasters.  

Although working out is not for everyone, structuring a daily fitness routine leads to a sense of accomplishment. Whether it’s a morning or evening workout, it soon becomes an effortless task that can be checked off of a to-do list. 

Industrial design sophomore Bennett Bass is no stranger to fitness and time management. He is a current member of the Texas Triathlon team, which works out six times a week, and maintains a full course load, among other commitments. 

“I worked full time all through high school and went to Austin Community College, so I kind of figured out how to manage that balance,” Bass said. “I’m always in a rush to get things done, so that kind of makes me accomplish things ahead of time, which I’ve always appreciated about being busy.”

Workout regimens can aid with time management because it allows students to reevaluate their goals. After graduation, students will face set schedules chosen by their jobs. Whether it is a remote position or a rigid 9-5 desk job, strict deadlines and clear expectations will exist.

Not only that, but consistently working out can have a positive impact on productivity levels and mental health.

“During the school year, if I just sit in class all day, then miss practice and don’t go to the gym in the morning, I definitely feel it physically and mentally,” Bass said. “I’ve had one week last year where I missed a whole week of practice because I was just really busy, I just felt terrible and less productive.” 

Exercise helps the body prepare to fight challenging moments, such as writing term papers or taking finals by reducing stress and creating endorphins. A fitness pattern makes the body immune to breaking down at the first mental obstacle.

 Ryan Gerety, a biology senior and president of the Texas Running Club, is a full time student who works and regularly volunteers at a hospital. 

“If I do miss a session, I definitely feel more easily fatigued … sometimes I just don’t feel as focused,” Gerety said. “I feel like the run or the weight session in the morning jump starts my day and sets the tone for how the rest of the day is gonna go.”

A gym workout needs to have structure and purpose, otherwise an unknown amount of time is wasted. This concept translates over to an academic setting, where the discipline to use time wisely turns small pockets of a schedule into a productive homework session. 

Gerety spent this past school year training for the January Houston marathon with the goal of running a time good enough to qualify for the Boston marathon. His athletic goal permeated into other aspects of his life. 

“I felt like I was just in that goal chasing mindset and it made me feel more accountable for my other goals as well as in the classroom,” Gerety said. 

Working out can help strengthen goal setting outside of the classroom and beyond UT, creating discipline and endurance in those who make it a priority. 

Washington is a Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Graduate student from Los Angeles, California.