How Body Doubling for Productivity Can Unlock Your Creative Flow

Blank canvases and blinking cursors should be no more. Especially when you’re working remotely or in your own home studio.

Body doubling for productivity holds you accountable through one important thing — real people. As a female singer-songwriter myself, I know that we thrive off of connections, even if we’re working solo.

Wait, what even is a home studio? Here are the 3 lifestyle muses that every artist needs to know to continue their beautifully flourishing creative journey.

What is Body Doubling for Productivity?

Body doubling is a productivity technique where two (or more) people work alongside each other, either in person or virtually, to create a focused and accountable work environment. It’s like having a workout buddy, but for your creative or cozy girl job tasks.

The concept of body doubling for productivity actually started way back in 1997 from Linda Anderson when working with an ADHD client. The idea is that having a nearby person will help you focus more!

But especially during 2020, when everyone needed a little more personal accountability, this practice started expanding to an even wider audience.

For creatives especially, we thrive on collaborative creativity. And when we don’t have that? Well, we can feel stuck with analysis paralysis, overwhelm, and overthinking.

Coworking for creatives like through body doubling fosters that collaborative essence without really even needing to talk to each other. You’re both holding space for one another, and in-turn, being more productive for yourselves.

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How Body Doubling for Productivity Works

The basic process of body doubling is wonderfully simple.

You and your body doubling partner(s) agree to work on your respective tasks simultaneously, creating a shared space of focus and accountability. This can be done in person, sitting side by side in a coffee shop or studio, or virtually thr Facetime or Zoom.

There are also awesome body doubling memberships, like focused and Flow Club.

They’ll offer focused work sessions via regular body doubling that include check-ins, goal-setting, the Pomodoro Method, and more! Heck, you can even start by simply taking a whole session to create your vision board so you have a clear direction for your future sessions!

I really love this concept especially for my neurodivergent friends because it breaks the working sessions down into small sections and helps you zero down on your goals.

Peep: if you want more tips on how to be mindfully productive as a creative, join our YouTube community!

How Body Doubling *Doesn’t* Work

It’s important to understand that body doubling is not a magic solution! You’ll need to meet it halfway in order for it to really work.

Firstly, body doubling for productivity certainly doesn’t do the work for you, of course! It’s there for support and accountability, not as a virtual assistant to complete your tasks.

You’ll also need to actually show up for these sessions! Put them in your calendar, set them as recurring events, make an alarm on your phone, whatever you need to ensure that you’re going to show up (for yourself!).

Body doubling also isn’t that parent forcing you to do your homework. Nobody’s going to check your screen to make sure you’re focused – that’s on you!

It’s also not one-size-fits-all when it comes to the process. For instance, there are some body doubling programs and offerings that are a little bit more lax – you can drop into body double sessions, or join little “cafes” where people are working all day on it.

There are other ones that require you to sign up and commit ahead of time so you treat it as important as a meeting. Sometimes this is overwhelming for people, but other times it helps them take the sessions more seriously.

Some apps require you to keep your camera on, others don’t. Again, it’s totally up to you based on what you’re comfy with!

Benefits of Body Doubling for Creatives

Accountability Buddies Creating a Collective Energy

Working alongside someone else, even virtually, taps into our innate social nature. We’re naturally inclined to perform better when we feel we’re part of a team or when others are around us. We’re social creatures, after all!

In fact, this phenomenon is known as social facilitation, which can significantly boost our motivation and drive to complete tasks. And it’s all very simple — have a buddy!

When you and your accountability partner(s) both commit to a focused work session, you create a collective energy that can motivate the both of you. (Seriously, did you know that “woo-woo” energy could actually make you more productive? )

For many, many people who work remotely and in their home studios, this can be so helpful for creatives who struggle with focusing on one thing or staying motivated.

Note: If nobody has told you yet, let me be the first to say: struggling to stay motivated does not make you lazy. I always believe that your body knows what you need, and if you’re having trouble focusing, then there’s something else going on that has little to do with your work ethic!

Creating a Dedicated “Space” For Your Work

When you know someone else is expecting you to show up and work, it becomes much harder to justify putting things off. The gentle pressure of a body doubling session can be just the push you need to get started on that project you’ve been avoiding.

You’re basically treating this with the urgency of a meeting but doing something for yourself (instead of likely wasting time like most meetings are, lol!).

Social pressure plays a significant role in reducing distractions during body doubling sessions. When you’re working alone, it’s easy to give in to the temptation of checking your phone or browsing social media. But when you’re in a body doubling session, the presence of your partner (even virtually) creates a subtle social pressure to stay focused and avoid distractions.

Body doubling also helps create a productive environment by establishing clear boundaries between work time and leisure time. This is HUGE.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stressed and stressed over when to do something, but as soon as I scheduled a body doubling session, I was like “wait, I can just do this during my working session!”

Period. End of story. SO. Simple!

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Overcoming System & Creative Blocks with Low-Pressure “Rounds”

The accountability aspect of body doubling can help you push through when you’re feeling stuck. Sometimes, just showing up and committing to work alongside someone else can be enough to spark your creativity and help with overcoming creative blocks.

I think a huge part of this is the Pomodoro Method, which a lot of body doubling programs and techniques use. It’s 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, with a longer break after a few rounds.

The sheer idea that I only need to do something for 25 minutes until I check back in is oddly comforting. It can get so overwhelming when you have a project like “clean my studio!” or “design your first piece!”

Those “goals,” are not SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound). But, when you limit yourself to just 25 minute chunks, you’ve already got the “time-bound” section out of the way! Woohoo!

This also forces you to create subtasks in your tasks. I.e., if you need to clean your studio, you might need to organize & purge, dust the walls, wipe the countertops, vacuum the floors, etc. And when you’re working in body doubling sessions, you might just hold yourself accountable for organizing and purging for the 1-hour (or however long) section you have.

If your studio is huge, maybe you even say “organize ½ of the room.”

Let’s Be Accountability Buddies Over on YouTube!

Being creative means knowing how to use these tools to your advantage so you can design the creative life of your dreams. For more productivity hacks for artists so you can thrive in your artistic journey, join us on YouTube. Let’s hold each other accountable and grow together!