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Once a week, ADHD coach Robin Nordmeyer joins a Zoom meeting with other coaches while blogging, doing administrative tasks, or working on content for presentations she's been putting off.
Nordmeyer, who has ADHD, doesn't necessarily use the meeting to collaborate with other people; she just needs her presence as motivation to help her get things done.
“I run a business and I have to balance a lot of different areas of the business,” said Nordmeyer, co-founder and CEO of the Center for Living Well with ADHD-Minnesota, an ADHD coaching group near Minneapolis that serves all ages.
“Some of those things come very easy to me: They're in my wheelhouse, they give me energy, I can't wait to get to them,” Nordmeyer said. “And some of those things are a little more tedious, or I have some resistance around them.”
What Nordmeyer does to overcome those more difficult tasks is sometimes known as “body bending,” a productivity and self-help strategy that involves working with another person to help improve motivation and concentration. It has been popular for some time among people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), especially during the pandemic.
“The idea is that the presence of another person is essentially a gentle reminder that we need to stay focused,” said Billy Roberts, clinical director of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling in Columbus, Ohio. “For people with ADHD whose minds tend to wander and get distracted, the body double functions in some ways as an external motivator to stay focused.”
Body mirroring isn't just for people with ADHD, but like many “coping strategies, something that can be helpful for anyone is more central and important for people with ADHD,” said Dr. J. Russell Ramsay, founding co-director of the University of Pennsylvania ADHD Research and Treatment Program.
Why body duplication works
A neurodevelopmental disorder commonly diagnosed in childhood but lasting into adulthood, ADHD is due to underdeveloped or impaired executive function and self-regulation skills, according to the Center for Child Development at Harvard University. These skills help us plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and multitask. Symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, so people with this disorder may have trouble concentrating, staying organized, managing their time or controlling their impulses, which can affect both their work and personal lives, he said. Roberts.
If people with ADHD don't have an intrinsic interest in a task, Roberts said, they typically struggle with a lack of internal motivation to complete it or even get started. Experts said doubling the body provides that motivation.
“It's also based on our social personality,” Ramsay said. “A lot of people with ADHD will say, 'It's hard for me to start this if I'm doing it for myself, but I know that someone else trusts me, if someone else is waiting outside for me to show it to them.' When we get up to go for a walk, I'm more likely to go and be there because I don't want to let them down.'”
According to Roberts and other experts, there doesn't appear to be extensive research on body duplication for productivity. “But I do know that the idea of externalizing motivation is a long-standing, evidence-based mechanism for managing ADHD,” Roberts said.
In theory, the method is quite simple, but there are some factors to take into account to get the most out of it.
How to Use Body Mirroring Effectively
Body mirroring can help with virtually any task you find difficult to perform, whether it's work, housework, exercise, schoolwork, or paperwork. The other person does not need to be doing the same thing as you, unless the activity for which you need to double your body (such as exercising) requires that help.
Choose who you ask to be your body double. The person should be as engaged as you are in completing your work, Roberts said, without distracting you with conversations or anything else. Choose someone who usually makes you feel comfortable and safe, and who can encourage you when needed.
“It's important to keep a body double session focused on its purpose,” Nordmeyer said. If conversations arise, leave them for later, perhaps during a break or dinner.
Asking someone to be your body double can be awkward, but Roberts said the best approach is usually simple. You might say, “This is something I heard can help with productivity. Would you mind being close to me while I work on this? Maybe you have something you can work on too.”
In a sense, you could also barter with them by making them an offer like: “You help me organize my garage on Saturday; I’ll help you organize your home office on Sunday,” Ramsay said.
Those small first steps of finding a partner and setting up the session get you started and keep you going, she added.
One option is to schedule regular body mirroring sessions, Nordmeyer said, or simply ask when the need arises. It's up to you how transparent you are about why you need a body double, as well as whether you have more than one body double.
“It depends on the individual,” Roberts said. “If it becomes a distraction rather than mindfulness, accountability, or behavioral support, then you just want to rework things. You can play with things until you find what works.”
Virtual Body Duplication
If you don't have a friend or colleague to be your body double, you're not out of luck.
Some TikTok users, like Allie K. Campbell, regularly livestream themselves while working so others can use them as a virtual body double. There are also body doubling or coworking platforms or apps such as Flown, Focusmate or Flow Club.
In virtual sessions, “most body doubles ask you to share your camera and a lot of people are very nervous about being visible,” Nordmeyer said. “The purpose of this is to ensure that you are still in your chair working. …But there may be other ways to create that accountability through a chat feature.”
The benefits of body mirroring are probably why some people like to work in coffee shops, libraries or coworking spaces, which can be a source of passive body mirroring if you don't have anyone to ask, Roberts said.
“Some people work better with community support and just awareness of the people around them,” he added. “You saw a lot with the pandemic, like people learning more about the types of structure they needed.
“We all think and work differently, and there's nothing wrong with that,” Roberts said.
