Time Management for Basketball Players
Making the most out of your day as a hooper
You probably already heard that we all have the same amount of time during the day, but some people manage to get more done than others. The ability to manage your time and focus throughout the day can give you the cutting edge over your competition.
There is a lot of information on this topic out there, but I want to show you how you can apply it directly as a basketball player.
The Best Time to Work Out
The human body has an internal clock — the circadian rhythm — that basically tells our boy when to raise its body temperature and alertness and when to lower it based on the time of the day. There is a reason why you won’t perform as good at 5am or midnight.
We can use this internal clock to our advantage, so that we get the most out of each workout.
Alertness & Body Temperature
Below, you see two graphs that represent body temperature and alertness during the day. Take a moment to observe these and see whether there are some similarities that stick out to you.
Body temperature during the day:
Alertness during the day:
Something that sticks out to me is that our body temperature peaks at around 6pm, and there is also a peak of alertness during the evening. It means that we are going to get the maximum out of our workout at that time. At that moment we are most motivated and our body is ready to go. Here we ideally are going to work on things that we really want to improve.
Now, there is also an alertness peak in the late morning (around 11am). This means we can get another high quality workout during that time. 1
If you want to train in the early mornings, go ahead. However, make sure you are properly warmed-up before the session because our body temperature is naturally quite low at that moment. Do something low intensity, like a shoot around or a small aerobic workout.2
Time Blocking
A proven way of getting more done is time blocking. Here, we take a specific amount of time (for example two hours) and focus only on doing the most important things during the time block.
You don’t get distracted, you don’t check Instagram, you don’t chat with your friend, just do the things you set up to do.
For example, you want to analyze some game film on your opponents. For that, you block the time from 7am to 9am. You tell everyone in your apartment that you are busy right now and that they should not distract you. You get everything you’ll need during these 2 hours in your room and lock it. Put some headphones on, so you don’t get distracted by any noise. Now, during these 2 hours, you focus on studying your match-ups and analyzing your opponent. You don’t get distracted, you don’t check Instagram, you don’t chat with your friend, just do the things you set up to do.
I understand that it can be quite difficult to do, especially if you’re not used to it. It can seem boring and the urge to distract yourself can be huge. However, if you don’t cheat, you’ll be amazed by the quality of your work during the time block.
Managing your Focus
Even though we are talking about time management here, it is not so much about how much time you invest in something, but how good your work is during that time. Now, in order to produce high quality work, we need to make sure our focus is on point.
During the morning, our focus level is usually at it’s highest. The reason for that is that our mind is fresh at that time, and we didn’t use up much of its energy and willpower. So if you want to get the most out of that film session, do it in the morning.
It is not so much about how much time you invest in something, but how good your work is during that time.
Now of course, if you didn’t get enough sleep (or got too much), your brain just won’t be able to deliver in the mornings; make sure you get enough high quality sleep.
We only have so much focus during the day, and it is crucial that we spend it on things that are most important, things that you need to do in order to get what you’re after.
Key Points:
Use the circadian rhythm to your advantage
Block your time in order to get more done
It’s more about quality rather than quantity — manage your focus
Want more tips on how to make the most out of your day and get ahead of the competition? Let me know!
Until next time!
Example (2 a day)
Weight room session at 11 am
Skills session at 6 am
Example (3 a day)
Shoot around at 6 am
Weight room session at 11 am
Team practice at 6 pm