Deep Work

What is deep work? The key to really improving. That high quality work where your mind is focused and you feel in flow with the problem or task your working on. As a hooper this can be when your practicing or playing and your so locked in that you can see everything happening before it does. Where if you miss a shot or make a mistake you know exactly why and can correct it quickly. Energy or outside worries are not an issue because you are so focused with you and your game. Cal Newport who is the professor who literally wrote the book on deep work defines the deep work as this equation:

Deep Work= (time spent) X (focus)

I think it is also important to add in (energy)

So your best training will look like this

Time Spent x focus x your energy

Let’s think about what this exactly means.

If you train shooting 5 hours a day but you do trick shots, don’t have any specific goals, and goof around that is obviously not optimal. It would be better to do a 45 minute training where you are completely focused on what your working on and and have the energy ( well rested, nourished, and no distractions). The longer your time spent is the harder it will be to keep your focus and energy. Usually for skill development or any area the sweet spot is between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours until you lose focus or get too tired.

There is a reason why NBA players work out first thing in the morning ( complete focus) or at a set time every day ( there best time for energy). Hours training should not be the goal it is the deep work that matters. How can you train deeply today? Do you need to write down your goals, get a good rest, or turn off your phone? Want to become a better player or develop a new skill then figure out how you can do Deep Work.