By Robyn Clanton

One of the most simple but powerful strategies to increase productivity is “body doubling.” This is when you purposefully put yourself in the presence of another person while you work, without that person doing your task for you. By adding an accountability component, it increases the likelihood that you’ll stick to your plan of completing a task. When someone else is visible and also working on their own tasks, your brain tends to mirror that focused behavior, making it easier to start and continue your work rather than getting stuck in avoidance or distraction.

Recently, one of my clients reflected on how valuable having a study buddy was in grad school to get her to go the library to work on whatever project or paper was on her to-do list. She wished she had someone like this to keep her from avoiding the end-of-year reviews she needed to do for work. When her study buddy from years ago wasn’t available for body doubling, she decided to try out a platform designed to provide something similar. 

Focusmate (https://www.focusmate.com/) is a virtual coworking platform built around this concept of body doubling. It pairs you with another person from its global community for live video co-working sessions: you briefly share your goal at the start, work silently on your individual tasks with cameras on, and then check in at the end. This structure or something similar can really help with completing what you set out to do.

In the new year, if there’s a specific task that you’ve been avoiding, think about the concept of body doubling and give it a try. Maybe there’s a friend or coach whom you can schedule an appointment with – or try Focusmate. It might just do the trick!