What is Body Doubling?

Over the past few years, “body doubling” has emerged as a popular technique to help folks with ADHD find motivation to initiate tough tasks. 

If you aren’t familiar, body doubling simply refers to the practice of having someone work alongside you.

People tend to use this technique for things they’ve been avoiding or procrastinating on — everything from paperwork, to folding clothes, to big work projects that feel overwhelming. 

Body doubling examples: If you’ve ever FaceTimed a friend while cleaning, organized an online work session via Zoom, or gone to a coffee shop to work alongside other folks — you are already a practitioner of body doubling.

P.S. Even if you don't have ADHD, it can be really helpful for productivity!

It seems like everyone on social media is talking about this strategy… but does it really work?

How body doubling works

Simply put, Body Doubling is a sneaky and scientifically-backed way to trick yourself into staying on task. You work in community with other people who are also trying to achieve their goals. 

Based on the principle of mirroring from psychology research, body doubling helps you stay focused, and can also improve mood and motivation. 

It is especially helpful for tasks that are potentially frustrating… or things that you just don't want to do.

For people with ADHD, body doubling can help with what researchers call “task initiation” (a fancy word for the process of getting started on a task or project).

It can also really help with motivation, because when other people are around us, we tend to feel like our work matters a whole lot more than when we are just by ourselves. 

You can also use body doubling in therapy. Body doubling sessions can be a helpful place to put tools and techniques you learn from a therapist or coach into practice.

Benefits of body doubling for productivity and motivation

Benefits of using body doubling techniques include: 

Getting out of a “procrastination loop”

A procrastination loop happens when guilt and shame build up, so you keep avoiding the task because it suddenly has a ton of negative emotions associated with it. Sound familiar?

Making work more enjoyable

Sometimes it’s nice just to see other friendly human faces. In our body doubling sessions at focused space, members are working on their own stuff… but doing it together! Cheering each other on during the breaks is how we keep the motivation up for ourselves, and each other as a community.

Finding accountability

When we join a body doubling session, it’s like a promise to ourselves that we’re going to get something done. This is important — not to build up a bunch of pressure around work, but to remind ourselves that we can get control over our tasks and to-do’s… so they don’t end up controlling us.

What people say about body doubling for productivity

Here are some comments from our members about what body doubling has done for them:

“This has been a particularly challenging week for me. A large part of getting through it was the groundedness, calm, and ‘okay, I can do this!’ feeling that I always felt after each focused space body doubling session this week."

— Nicole

“Body doubling sessions have taught me to set my goals and work on them daily. I’ve been able to implement and I now am going full speed on building my business.”

— Jonathan 

“As a digital business owner, it’s often difficult to feel motivated or even mentally with it some days. Body doubling for focus can really help.

I have discipline, sure, but sometimes I miss being around people. Started body doubling last year with focused space as a chance to connect with a live coworking session or planning call when needed. It’s made all the difference to my productivity!” 

— Tyler

“Focused Space is a fantastic idea for anyone needing to get work done. It creates a community and a system of accountability that’s often missing for people working by themselves.

In the last two weeks alone I have made progress on projects I have been putting off for months!”

— Carolyn

What are some body doubling tools and apps?

You can always call a friend, or go to a coffee shop! Both of these count as body doubling for motivation.

If your friend isn’t available or if you don’t want to go anywhere, you can try some online tools. For example, some people like to just watch a YouTube video where other people are working! 

But if that doesn’t feel motivating enough for you — and you want to work alongside other real people in a structured, procrastination-busting session — you can try a free 30-day trial of focused space to see if you like it!

Focused Space body doubling sessions also come with an app to track your goals and reflect on the progress you are making over time 😎