Recently I have officially retired from being an athlete. I no longer play the sport I dedicated most of my life to, and I also no longer play any of the other sports I’ve picked up as hobbies. High school is typically the time in people’s lives when they choose to step away from the games of sports. I decided to be done as soon as my senior seasons ended. With this abrupt end to the things that I’ve dedicated a lot of my time to in years past, I’m suddenly left with a lot of free time that I’ve never experienced.  At first, I despised all this time on my hands but recently I’ve learned ways to embrace it. 

If you’re like me, having the packed schedule of an athlete was one of my favorite things about participating in the sports, along with staying active and social aspects of playing sports, so having it all end one day was very abrupt. The day after my sports career ended, when I went home and just sat around, I started to feel crazy and so unproductive. As the week went on, I was going crazier as I was doing more of nothing than I’ve ever done in my life.  With this free time, after the first week, I figured out ways to make my free time, that I despised, feel less like free time and more like productivity. 

Go to Starbucks 

This may sound expensive at first, but you aren’t required to buy something every time you go to Starbucks. Starbucks is actually a perfect study spot. You may be wondering why this is on the list, but leaving my house and going to the closest Starbucks to study made studying and doing my homework feel so much more productive because you’re disconnecting from the distractions at home and leaving the house to go do something like studying makes you feel like you’re doing an activity (or at least it does to me). You can even make this a group activity and invite some friends! The place you go doesn’t need to be a Starbucks but if you find a good study spot to go to it feels like an activity instead of just sitting at home doing homework. It helps me feel more productive, and I feel like I get more work done. 

Get a Job 

Personally, I had a job while playing sports, because as you can probably tell, I like to stay busy. If you also like to stay busy, I recommend working. It gives you an after school activity and you get to make money, so it’s a win-win. If you’re like me and already have a job, not playing a sport gives you the opportunity to pick up more shifts. Giving you the opportunity to make more money! 

Embrace Family time 

One thing you can enjoy more with more free time is spending time with your family. Since I’ve quit sports, I’ve watched a ton of movies with my family, and it is a bonding experience and something I used to not really have time for. There are plenty of other activities to do now and with more free time you can spend more time with family. I get to have more family dinners and more family game nights, and because this family time is not something I’m completely used to, I appreciate it more. 

Workout 

One of the most difficult parts of transitioning from being an athlete to not being one is keeping up with physical activity and staying in shape. As an athlete you are used to planned high intensity workouts. Now that I’m technically no longer an athlete to fill my time I still enjoy working out, because it is something I’m used to, and I like to stay healthy and active. A benefit of no longer being an athlete though is that I get to schedule my own workouts and focus on the workouts I want to do. One of my favorite activities is going on long walks, either alone or with a friend. You get your steps in for the day, as well as getting outside and experiencing some nature. Sometimes to get more of a “team-like ” feel when working out I’ll do a workout class so it’s more scheduled, but working out is such a good and productive way to fill your time. 

Most importantly as a retired athlete, I think it is healthy to enjoy and appreciate the moments and activities you used to miss out on over the weekends because you had sports. There are ways to appreciate this new free time as well as capitalize off of it and embrace it. Retiring from a sport you’ve dedicated your life to is a hard decision, but there are other things to do and it’s not the end of the world.