Unlocking Productivity: How Body Doubling Can Make Your Life Easier and Boost Your Social Life
- May 5
- 2 min read
Are you struggling with housework? Is life admin getting you down? Can’t get that report done? Body doubling could be the answer!
Body doubling is an example of external scaffolding. It can help fuel your motivation and improve your productivity simply through the act of having another person physically or virtually present. Even if that person is doing a completely separate task or not directly interacting, the impact is the same. There is emerging scientific research which will hopefully provide some more substantial evidence to why body doubling helps, but for now, it is a well-validated phenomenon. So, the question is how can you make body doubling work for you?
Top Five ways Body Doubling can increase your Productivity:
Helps you to start the task. Provides a visual cue to get started on that thing you have been procrastinating on.
Saves you time on procrastinating and is an ADHD tool that is 100% free.
Connection: helps you get motivated and stay motivated. Whether that’s your inner competitor coming out or your people pleasing – either way it helps. working with someone who is calm or focused also helps with your self-regulation too through modelling.
Social rewards: depending on who you work with can use it as an opportunity to high five or get a coffee with your colleagues after finishing a particularly gnarly report or getting a lovely big hug from your partner.
Providing timely reminders: for things like eating and drinking, which also enhance your focus. Having someone else with you, particularly someone who isn’t going to hyperfocus, can help support with prompting for things that ADHDers sometimes struggle with - like remembering to go to the toilet.
How ADHD coaching can help
Tailor the body doubling experience to find a way that works for you.
With choosing what type of body doubling best works for you.
Use this productivity strategy more efficiently e.g. to reduce procrastination.
Analysing a body doubling experience to make it the best use of your time.
Get ahead, the future of body doubling
Some emerging research is looking at the use of social robots as a coaching companion and the effectiveness of this.
People are already using platforms such as ChatGPT and Poe (Platform for Open Exploration) to develop their own chatbots to support them with maintaining task engagement. This reportedly has helped with similar aspects of executive functioning, much like body doubling with a human presence. Bots have provided help with providing timely check-ins, connection (albeit in robotic form) and accountability.
TL;DR:
Body doubling is a simple, free ADHD-friendly productivity strategy where having another person present (virtually or physically) helps you start tasks, reduce procrastination, and stay focused. It works as external scaffolding — boosting motivation, supporting self-regulation, increasing social reward, and providing helpful reminders (like eating or taking breaks). Emerging research is even exploring social robots and AI tools like ChatGPT-style bots as digital body doubles to support task engagement and executive functioning.
ADHD coaching can help you tailor body doubling to suit your needs and use it more effectively.
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