Time management is key to success as an athlete, according to Darien Harris, a former Spartan football player who is currently on the coaching staff for MSU.

“What I’m telling my players now is that you gotta create time in the day,” Harris said. “Which means… you have to get up earlier. That’s how you create more time in the day. By creating time in the day, we get things done earlier, and it opens up an opportunity for you to do the extracurriculars like internships, which are then going to help you land the next job.”

When asked how college helped him prepare for his current positions, Harris said, “College definitely helps just in terms of learning how to balance of being a student, being an athlete, doing extracurricular activities, [and] having a social life… What worked well for me, what didn’t work well for me, what are some things I struggled with, [and] what are some things that went really well for me.”

At some point, many become discouraged to continue their goals or get a result that doesn’t satisfy them. “Definitely go back to the drawing board and figure out how to be better in the situation,” Harris said when asked about it. “Try not to get discouraged too much, but you know, we all have those moments where something that you thought would work out a certain way doesn’t necessarily work out the way you intended. So, just learn from the mistakes. You know, we all make mistakes. We all trip up on the way, on the path. I actually take those as learning experiences. Life is kinda really boring if you do everything right all the time.”