Body Doubling: A powerful model for enabling focus and productivity

By Rachel Marcus, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Have you ever felt you needed a friend or partner to keep you on track?

If so, you may have been using the strategy of body doubling. Body doubling is when another person is present to help you focus and stay productive. The body double helps keep you accountable, and they can help boost your motivation to power through the job.

But what exactly does body doubling entail, and how can one do it successfully? 

The importance of modeled behavior

A body double isn’t doing tasks for you. Instead, there are a number of ways a body double might support:

• Attending to you while you work (ex. modeling focus and attention while you answer your email)
• Engaging in their own tasks while you work, each one getting items checked off their personal to-do list (ex. You might be sifting through email while your body double is straightening their physical workspace)
• Both engaging in the same task (ex. Both decluttering email inboxes simultaneously)

The approach is flexible, and which version of body doubling you utilize might depend on your specific needs and preferences.

Social facilitation at work

Part of the reason body doubling can be impactful comes down to the concept of social facilitation. Social facilitation refers to the finding that people sometimes show an increased level of effort as a result of the real, imagined, or implied presence of others. Social facilitation is the driver that motivates students to get group projects done, athletes to give their all for teammates on the field, people to get in shape when a personal trainer is in the mix, etc.  Positive social interaction can boost dopamine levels, which can help provide motivation through non-preferred tasks. So this strategy can be particularly impactful in terms of approaching non-preferred tasks, whether it be to initiate them, make progress on them and/or to see them through to completion. 

Choosing an effective body double

But if you don’t choose an effective body double, the approach could be counterproductive in nature. A few key markers of a successful body double may include:

• Someone you feel comfortable with
• A person who you feel is not judging you
• A good ‘learning partner’ (which is not always the same as a friend)

Many students find it is difficult to have a parent serve as a body double. Enlisting the help of a non-family member (when possible!) may be beneficial in successful body doubling practice. 

A cheerleader by your side

Sometimes, what gets in the way of productivity is negative self-talk. For example, telling yourself that you are “bad at math” might hinder your ability to approach math work, and contribute to procrastination when it comes to math-related tasks. A body double, on the other hand, can help provide positive reinforcement in small and subtle ways. They can utilize supportive body language and facial expressions. They can offer a calm, steady presence and make students feel comfortable in their physical space. They can provide gentle check-ins and encouragement as needed. The aggregate of this approach can help students feel like they have a cheerleader by their side, which in turn can change the internal track over to phrasing like “I’ve got this” or even “we’ve got this.” 

In sum

A body double isn’t right for every student, and there is certainly more research that needs to be done to support the efficacy of this approach. But it is a powerful model for enabling focus and productivity for certain individuals and, with some trial and error, might be the right approach for you!