If you’re a high school athletic director, you’re no stranger to long hours, constant multitasking, and the occasional “How is it only Tuesday?” moment.
From game scheduling and transportation to registrations, rosters, facility use, staff management, and communication — the job is a juggling act. And it often feels like you're expected to do it all with fewer resources than ever before.
The truth is, you can do more with less — if you focus your time and energy on the right things and use the right tools.
Here are 10 time management strategies for athletic directors to help you take back control of your job:
One of the biggest time drains for ADs is bouncing between tools that don’t talk to each other. One app for registration. Another for communication. A spreadsheet for scheduling. A paper folder for physicals.
Sound familiar?
That’s why more ADs are turning to an all-in-one athletic management platform like Bound — where everything you need is in one place.
With Bound, you can:
Track student registrations, eligibility, and forms in real-time
Manage schedules, transportation, facilities, officials, and more
Send mass messages and schedule notifications
Oversee coaches, workers, and staff — all from a single dashboard
By eliminating the gaps between systems, you spend less time hunting for information and more time supporting your coaches, athletes, and school community.
You shouldn’t have to manually remind parents about expired physicals, track down missing forms, or collect paper packets.
With Bound’s Activity Registration, parents register their students online, upload documents, and receive automatic reminders — so you don’t have to send them yourself.
This means no more chasing down paperwork or manually updating eligibility logs — it’s all visible in real time to you, your coaches, and your staff.
Automation doesn’t replace leadership — it protects your time so you can spend it where it counts.
Facility conflicts. Missed gym requests. Surprise transportation overlaps.
Without a proper system, scheduling can become a full-time job in itself.
Bound’s Facility Scheduler allows staff and outside groups to request space directly, while giving you the power to approve, deny, or adjust those requests instantly. Everyone involved sees a live calendar — and it updates in real time.
That means:
No more double-bookings
No more endless emails
No more clipboard chaos
Just smart, efficient scheduling that respects your time.
Most ADs deal with a patchwork of messaging tools: GroupMe, Remind, text threads, email blasts. It's inefficient — and chaotic.
Bound’s Communication tool brings everything under one roof.
You can:
Message rosters or custom groups
Schedule messages in advance (perfect for Sunday night reminders)
Attach forms, documents, and updates
Keep everything stored and trackable for compliance
This cuts your response time and creates a single source of truth for everyone involved — students, parents, and coaches alike.
Your calendar is your most powerful time management tool — if you use it with intention.
Try this approach:
Block your mornings for high-priority work like scheduling or event logistics
Reserve afternoons for walkthroughs, meetings, or coach check-ins
Protect 1–2 hours weekly for strategic planning (budgets, sponsorships, growth)
Color-code your categories. Set “focus” blocks. Say no to drop-in meetings during critical windows.
When you lead your calendar — not the other way around — you stay proactive instead of reactive.
Leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself. It’s about creating a system where the right people can succeed.
That means:
Letting coaches manage their own rosters and collaborate on schedules
Giving assistants authority to approve facility requests or update Bound data
Empowering student leadership teams to learn and contribute to miscellaneous tasks
Tools like Bound allow you to delegate with confidence, knowing you still have visibility and oversight — without micromanaging.
Every Monday morning, carve out 15 minutes to plan your week:
Review your event and game schedule
Confirm facility reservations and staff coverage
Identify 2–3 “must-accomplish” goals
Pre-schedule any key communications
This simple habit sets the tone for a focused, calm, and intentional week — even when the game schedule says otherwise.
Want to get more done without burning out? Build repeatable systems that others can follow.
Create:
Step-by-step event checklists
New coach onboarding templates (Talk to Scott Garvis about this)
Uniform checkout procedures
Facility request workflows
Volunteer and worker sign-up instructions
You’ll reduce repetitive questions, set clear expectations, and free yourself from being the only one who “knows how it all works.”
Bonus: when you’re out sick or at a state event, your operation keeps running.
ADs are master multitaskers — but constant context-switching is a silent productivity killer.
Instead, group similar tasks into focused time blocks to increase efficiency:
Respond to all emails at once, rather than in between other jobs
Handle all scheduling updates in one sitting
Batch social media posts or newsletters at the start of each week
By minimizing task-switching, you’ll get more done — with less mental fatigue.
Stop writing the same email over and over and over.
Save time with templates for:
Parent communication
Coach expectations
Inclement weather alerts
Event setup reminders
Fundraiser promotion
Having a library of pre-written content you can tweak saves hours throughout the year and ensures consistent messaging across your department.
Pro tip: If you're using Gmail, enable Templates in your Advanced Settings, then click the three-dots button when creating an email to save your new email as a Template!
You became an AD to build programs, mentor student-athletes, and impact your school’s community — not to get buried under spreadsheets and checklists.
By combining intentional habits with modern tools like Bound, you can protect your time, empower your staff, and create a system that works — even during your busiest seasons.
Ready to take the first step?
Or visit lets.gobound.com to learn more.