By
December 13, 2023
Navigating the world of esports can be challenging, but with the right mindset and a holistic approach, you can level up your game. Today we talk about five easy-to-implement tips that will improve your esports performance at home, while taking care of both your mind and body.
Don’t turn on the autopilot
Having a clear and attainable vision of what you want to achieve is essential for maintaining motivation, focus, and confidence. A classic trap in esports is letting autopilot take over, and just playing the game and mindlessly going through the motions. Set realistic goals, and embrace the SMART criteria: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Instead of aiming to "win more games," get specific and try something like "increase my win rate by 10% in the next month by practicing two hours every day."
Embrace your unique talents
Every player has unique strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing and embracing them is crucial for optimising your training and honing the skills that matter most for your role and game genre. By identifying your talents, you can create a competitive advantage over your opponents and concentrate on areas that need improvement. If you’re a strategic player, study how you can influence the game more with strategic decisions. If you’re a mechanical player, run specific drills to improve your mechanics even further and take them to the next level. Lean into your strengths first and cover your weaknesses when they start to hold you back.
Spice up your training
Avoid burnout and boredom by diversifying your training techniques and exploring new methods or challenges. Mix it up by practicing with various settings, modes, or characters; playing against different opponents or teammates; watching replays or streams of other players; or using tools or apps that can help analyse or enhance your performance.
Wired for success
You can live in Aimlabs for months, bootcamp with the best teams in the world, have the highest DPI mouse with the lowest MS response-time gaming screen, eat healthy and train hard, but a bad internet connection will stop you in your tracks. Lagging or disconnecting during a game can wreak havoc on your concentration, mood, and performance. However, one of the fastest and easiest ways to get a noticeably better experience is to simply always use a wired internet connection instead of a wireless one. Not only does this ensure a faster, more stable, and more secure connection, it improves latency and therefore reaction time. Most devices in your household are sharing the Wi-Fi, so it’s not uncommon to see a 90-110ms ping, go down to 30ms by simply switching to wired.
Wellbeing as a game-changer
Physical and mental health are game-changers when it comes to esports performance. Research has shown that physical activity can improve cognitive functions, mood, and stress management, while quality sleep affects focus, decision-making, and memory. Aim for at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night and 30 minutes of exercise per day. Something as simple as hydration can have big performance implications. Studies show that you only need to be 1% dehydrated to experience a 5% decrease in cognitive function. A 2% decrease in brain hydration can result in short term memory loss, reduced working memory and visual perception and impact decision making.
By setting simple goals, embracing your unique talents, spicing up your training, using a wired internet connection, and prioritizing your wellbeing, you can holistically improve your esports performance from home. These strategies ensure you're taking care of both your mind and body, ultimately leading to better esports performance.
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