How do you find time to play badminton?

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by Nguyễn Tín, Aug 5, 2020.

  1. Nguyễn Tín

    Nguyễn Tín Regular Member

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    As the title suggest, this is one of the aspect I have always wanted to find out. How do you guys find time to play badminton either for passion or for the love for the sport amidst your daily busy life (prior to or after the COVID-19 outbreak)? Just a place for you guys to spill the beans on your time management or maybe just discuss about it with others.
    On my part, I’m just a regular university student with a heavy study schedule (Asia, of course) to the point of not having time to take care of my health and relationships. I do really love the sport, every aspect of it, so I try to make the most out of my little time off (2 weeks) before the second semester kicks in. After that, badminton is gonna be just another hobby that I no longer can afford the time for it. And to be frankly, it’s quite sad and depressing.
    So how do you all find time to invest in your passion? Maybe some tips for me and others who are in the same situation.
     
  2. intrepid

    intrepid Regular Member

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    I guess it depends on how exactly your usual day currently looks like.
    • If you commit time to any "unhealthy" activities (TV, drinking, mindless internet surfing), you may first try to cut those out and go to play badminton instead. Maybe in the sense of "if I stop procrastinating now and do my study work, I will be able to go for training in the evening"
    • If you are really only studying the whole time (without any of the activities mentioned above), you may still consider assigning 2 evenings per week to go for badminton. The reason is that our productivity for mental work decreases over time and we need to recharge. Usually, this mental fatigue is recovered during sleep but in severe cases it can lead to burn-out. So better get some good-quality rests by doing sports with friends.
    • For the training itself, maybe don't try to come up with a plan for real drills/exercises yourself (unless it's really easy for you). For me, deciding what to train and motivating myself without a coach is difficult after a day full of work. So I would advise to either get a coach or another club member to lead the training for you, or to just enjoy some social playing without pressure!
     
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  3. Budi

    Budi Regular Member

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    Before this Covid issue spread out,
    I play 1 time a week on sunday morning. Its holyday, so instead of getting lazy at home or waste time in front of TV, i play Badminton routine weekly.
    Another 1 time in a week with my work/company club when i can get the job done & go home early. Not always but well... Maybe 2-3 timed a month.
    Last, tho i wouldnt call i a games. On our free time, sometimes we gather up with old friend & bring our family. More on social rather than a games.

    I think its all about choice. We all busy with our life but with me working behind the desk most of the time, i need to work out my body to keep healthy. It just happen the sport i choose are Badminton. So 1 time a week is a must, another 1 if possible without forgeting my responsibility to my work.

    But its my life, my schedule, & my choice. Idk about your life.
     
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  4. Nguyễn Tín

    Nguyễn Tín Regular Member

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    Haha, thank you for giving me advice.
    However, I created this thread simply to provide a place for players like me or anyone basically to have a good discussion about time management and preferably to learn some tips. I personally know how bad it feels when you love something and want to get better and compete in tournaments but doesn’t quite have the time to invest in. So I was hoping to give anyone like me a place to express theirs haha. I, on the other hand, have already been stuffed with study and social activities for school projects (those do help, but not much), it’s already a really heavy curriculum and although having given it my best my GPA is still only 3.165, not where I want it to be. So.. yeah haha
     
    #4 Nguyễn Tín, Aug 6, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  5. Budi

    Budi Regular Member

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    :Dno problem bro.
    What i said doesnt mean to say you had bad choice or time management.

    I know some friend that stop playing so he can spend more time with their kids. Or some like me to choose to play. Which one better, no one know, & now one had the right to judge. Family or health, both good choice & bad at the same time. But whatever it is, life goes on, so we had to decide between the choice & time wont stop for us having doubt on something.:D
     
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  6. Magwitch

    Magwitch Regular Member

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    I've had coaching from a memory coach who memorized the Sydney, Australia yellow pages in 24 days for a TV show challenge. You may wish to look at some memory book. If you can improve your memory significantly you may all of a sudden have a fair bit of free time to play. I think neglecting your health is probably hurting your academic performance if anything. Harvard are pretty competitive at sport!

    I'm a top level international quiz competitor, and in thinking of ways to get an advantage over other competitors I've got pretty innovative in squeezing extra time out of my day. Usually when I shower I have my phone or iPad next to the shower, and watch some video or listen to audio while I'm showering, so I'm effectively studying when I'm in the shower. It's not lost time. I record myself reading quiz information and often listen to it while I drive. I think the average person has more free time available than they realize, but just doesn't know how to most effectively use it.
     
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  7. SSSSNT

    SSSSNT Regular Member

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    You don't have a couple of hours? Even on weekends? I find that hard to believe.

    For me I just play evening after work and/or weekend morning. I imagine this is the case with most people.
     
  8. Nguyễn Tín

    Nguyễn Tín Regular Member

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    Yeah I understand you found it hard to believe haha. The fact that I’m pretty good with time management and all this can still happen astounds even myself. I study in University of Technology, a pretty reputable uni in VN for its particularly heavy curriculum, and if I don’t find time to learn by myself, which is a must studying here since there’s not enough time at school (even when the schedule is packed up), I’m gonna fail the major division, hence, not getting to the major I want. And by the look of things, with this GPA, I can’t compete well enough.
    The weekends are usually spent studying or doing social activities to finish the 15 days of activity required to graduate, some take a whole day but give only 0.5 because it is measured by hours...
    So yeah, even though I’m good at time management, squeezing everything I can in everywhere I can, I still just don’t have time for badminton. Haha.
     
  9. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

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    One important aspect is that you find the right club which work well with your job, studies etc. I play at a club whose training time is in the later evening(7:30-10:00 pm) 3 times per week and one on saturday morning.

    Second important aspect is that you have a good work life balance. Even if you work/study 10 hours a day, you will still have 14 hours a day. If you sleep around 7 hours you will still have 7 hours each day. Within the week you will have 35hours. I noticed during my studies that a short and focused learning period is more effective that camping in the library all day long. Impossible to learn effective and beeing for many hours concentrated. Improve the quality for a shorter time and be well organized.

    Third aspect is to make the training effective, same as your studies. If you need to wait on the bench to play you waste time. Bring something to read. I have the luxury that if I arrive at 7:30 I have 2,5 hours time on court without any waiting. I also don't waste this time for chit chats or small talk. I always try to design training and games most challenging to get tired and push me to the border. If I need to play only casual games, I don't even need to wash my jersey.

    Forth aspect is to have an enviroment which gives you quality times. If you have this you give this priority. I can't remember when I switched on the TV, did binge watching netflix, watched a movie or played a computer game.

    To be healthy try to do meal prepping. It saves me every week a few hours and money as well. I just make a weekly and big purchasing in the supermarket. This also saves me around 2 hours per week instead of buying things 3-4 times per week.

    If you don't give badminton any priority in your life is a different topic compared to don't have time. IMO badminton or any other sports works very well for your sleep. If your brain is tired, but not your body, you won't sleep well.
     
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  10. michael5098

    michael5098 Regular Member

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    I play 2-4 times a week inc. group training. 2-3 hour sessions. I have a stable office job, but I am very adamant on starting at 9 and leaving at 5, so it's easy for me to fit badminton into social life, relationship and gym.
     
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  11. Nguyễn Tín

    Nguyễn Tín Regular Member

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    I honestly think I should cut down my study accordingly since many of you guys pointed out haha, I’m actually not a nerd at all, I play more than I study, to be honest, up until recently when I started university. That’s when I started to get afraid of failing since it’s a very hard school, to the point where I’m not even proud having been admitted to it anymore. And major division is a pain in the buttock. I’m gonna be cut down from Aerospace Engineering to Naval Engineering, arguably it’s not a bad thing at all, maybe even better, but AE is where I set my goals at. So it did take a heavy toll on me. Badminton is still my most favorite sport, if I hadn’t got ACL injury, I would have applied to Sports School here.
    Thanks for so many advices, hope to see everyone shares their stories here, even life tips.
     
  12. Joran

    Joran Regular Member

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    Hey, just here to post my opinion :).

    In my vision life is all about choices. ofcourse your study and work is really important. but for most people this becomes an excuse. telling themselves they can't play because of work, while they work a standard 40 hr week. I can understand that it is hard to juggle between work, study. a girlfriend and other social life.

    For me my best friends also play, we are all motivated to improve, playing 3 evenings a week and competition on sunday. the other 2 evenings i use to recharge and spend time with my girlfriend. When u have to study in the evening, maybe try to do morning sessions.

    the biggest win you can make in time management is to plan your time weekly or even daily. good luck !
     
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  13. Borkya

    Borkya Regular Member

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    I live in china where the education system is just brutal, especially high school and younger. It's really common here to see kids play a game or two and then literally sit down with their open book and work on homework for 20 minutes and then get up and play and then work on homework. (Although studies have shown that physical exercise helps with academic learning, so who knows, maybe these kids are onto something!)

    As for me (a regular working adult) I choose badminton over my social life. I missed so many parties, dinners, birthdays etc because I wanted to prioritize badminton in my life. (And honestly I never regretted it! haha) My coach went through college (jn china) making sure to do the bare minimum amount of work to pass each class but spent 10 hours a day on the badminton court. He always cared more for badminton, but needed a diploma for jobs. So that was his goal, he didn't care about good grades, just a diploma.

    It can be done but you need to set your priorities. Maybe right now because your school is a high level intensive school, you should just focus on your studies and squeeze in badminton when you can, and then after graduation really get back into it. When you play badminton for life, you can't keep it at a 100 intensity 100% of the time. We have to adjust badminton with our life as our life and our circumstances change. It sucks to want to play badminton when you either have no time or a physical problem preventing you, I think we all go through that, but you just need to accept it and say to yourself "I love the sport but right now I need to focus on XX" and accept it. Badminton will still be here when you graduate!
     
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