Studying for an exam and training for elite sport might seem worlds apart. But when it comes to performing at your best, they have more in common than you might think.
Associate Professor Blake McLean, sports scientist and Director of the High Performance Sport program at UTS, shares five lessons students can learn from elite athletes and apply to their own studies.
1. Set a goal, then focus on the process
Elite athletes don't just focus on the result they want to achieve. They also set goals around the process that will give them the best chance of getting there.
McLean says students can take the same approach by distinguishing between an outcome goal – what you ultimately want to achieve – and process goals – the actions you can take to work towards it.
Getting a high distinction might be your outcome goal. But when you sit down for an exam, you can't completely control whether you'll execute everything perfectly. What you can control is your preparation: how much you study, how consistently you study and how you apply yourself.
“If you only have the outcome goal, it can be a little bit disheartening if you don't achieve it,” McLean says.
“Process goals can help build confidence because they focus your attention on things you can control and improve, rather than outcomes that aren't entirely up to you.”
It also helps to understand why the goal matters to you in the first place. McLean says being able to articulate that reason can provide a powerful anchor to come back to when the process gets difficult.
2. Train consistently
An athlete wouldn't expect to prepare for a major competition by cramming weeks of training into the night before. High performance comes from work accumulated over time, and McLean says students can approach study in much the same way.
“You have the plan and you stick to it,” he says.
Consistency is often easier when you're not doing it alone. Team-sport athletes have coaches, support staff and teammates around them, but even athletes who compete individually often form teams to train together, set goals, stay motivated and hold each other accountable.
Students can create their own version. Find classmates to study with, share your goals and check in on each other's progress. Subject coordinators, friends and family can also provide support along the way.
In sport, athletes often taper their training before competition so they arrive fresh, rested and ready to perform. The hard preparation has already happened.
It's a useful way to think about exams too: the goal isn't to cram at the last minute but to put in the work consistently so you're ready when it counts.
3. Practise for the performance
Athletes don't just practise a skill. They also prepare for the conditions in which they'll need to use it.
If you're preparing for a presentation, for example, try delivering it in front of other people so you experience some of the pressure you'll face on the day. If you're studying for an exam, start by reviewing your notes, then put them away and test what you can recall.
“If you go back to your notes every five minutes, that's not representative of what an exam situation is like,” McLean says.
The key is to challenge yourself without making the task so difficult that it becomes discouraging. In sport, McLean refers to this as challenge point theory: pushing yourself beyond your current level, but not so far that the challenge becomes overwhelming.
4. Remember that more isn't always better
Recovery is a deliberate part of an athlete's training program.
“In sport, we focus more on the quality of the training that you do, because more, more, more only gets you so far,” McLean says.
The same applies to study. Pushing through more hours when you're exhausted isn't necessarily the best preparation. Sleep and recovery help you return to your work better able to focus and apply yourself. They're also important for learning, helping your brain process and retain information.
That's why McLean suggests being as intentional about recovery as you are about the work itself. Rather than treating rest as something you'll get to when everything else is finished, make it part of the plan from the beginning.
Everyone's circumstances are different, but McLean says it's important to make time for physical, social and emotional recovery too.
5. Review, adapt and go again
Elite sport rarely unfolds exactly according to plan. Athletes have to review their performance, respond to what happens and adapt.
McLean suggests taking the same intentional approach to study. After an exam or assessment, don't look only at the mark. Ask yourself: Did I have a clear goal? Did I follow my plan? What worked, and what didn't?
Importantly, review the decisions you made based on what you knew at the time, rather than judging yourself with the benefit of hindsight.
Then use what you've learnt to improve your approach next time. Maybe you planned to study after work but found you were consistently too tired to concentrate. You might try a different time and see whether it works better.
Routines can be useful, but McLean cautions against making them too rigid. Be willing to change things when needed – but change them intentionally.
That's another skill athletes train. Sport is unpredictable, so athletes practise responding to situations where they don't know exactly what's coming.
Study can be unpredictable too. An exam question might not be what you expected, a presentation might take an unexpected turn or other commitments might disrupt your plan. Learning to adapt is part of performing well.
You don't have to be elite at everything
Elite sport also offers a lesson in what it takes to pursue something meaningful: commitment, hard work and, at times, sacrifice.
At the highest level, athletes know there will be sacrifices involved in pursuing their goals. Starting a university degree is a commitment too. There will be times when study needs to take priority, when you need to put in the work even when you don't feel like it, or when other things have to take a back seat.
But studying like an elite athlete doesn't mean treating every part of university as an all-or-nothing pursuit.
“It's okay not to be absolutely elite in everything that you're doing,” McLean says.
Instead, think about what matters to you, what you're trying to achieve and what you're prepared to put into it.
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