Credits: Social Media
I tried ‘body doubling’ for one week and this is how TikTok trend helped working from home
Whether you made the transition in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or you were doing it long before lockdown restrictions, working from home is something that so many of us now do in this changing world.
For some, the idea of logging in and completing a shift from their house was the dream, but as those who’ve worked from their home know, there are so many obstacles that can make the experience a challenge, sometimes even a total nightmare. That’s why remote workers are often attentive to ways they can improve their work-life& and in this case, ‘body doubling.’
What is body doubling TikTok trend?
The term ‘body doubling’ refers to a tool designed to help encourage people working from home to stay more focused while completing their numerous tasks. Body doubling can be done with somebody physically in your presence or somebody virtually. It simply refers to working along with somebody, so that another person can see you at your desk going about your day.
The lifestyle term was coined some years ago, devised as a way to help those with ADHD focus on tasks that they’d otherwise be more distracted from.
However, the strategy has expanded beyond those with ADHD and has become a more widespread work tool to help people remain focused.
The trend has sweeped TikTok. For example, a TikToker named Nicole Onyia became known for livestreaming herself working from home for five hours a day. Others working from home would stream Onyia and found it helped them work having something of a, say, accountability partner working in their presence.
Plenty of people have adopted body doubling while doing chores around the house too, i.e. being on livestream to somebody while they’re doing the dishes.
I tried body doubling for one week
Upon hearing about body doubling, I was immediately intrigued and felt compelled to attempt it for myself and contemplate the results.
Bringing body doubling up in conversation with one of my friends, “Have you heard of it?” I asked. They hadn’t, I imparted some of my newfound wisdom, and like a chain reaction, he too found himself just as intrigued as myself.
I’ve worked from home for many years, a few before the pandemic even, whereas my friend is more recent to it. So, I asked if he fancied giving it a try for a week, to see how we got onand that’s exactly what we did.
Just after signing in for work on a 10 am shift, I video-called my mate on Skype, had a really quick chat, and then perched my phone on my desk before carrying on with my day. At first, I’d honestly say I felt more distracted by having somebody there virtually. As somebody who has spent years working alone, it made for quite a jarring change that had me continuously glancing over, often awkwardly, at my phone.
Years of working from home can make being watched more invasive, but I discovered this to be the growing pain of body doubling. The awareness of being seen is glaring at first, so to my surprise, throughout the day I found myself forgetting to sneak a glance at my phone and that’s when it hit me& Have I been far less distracted by the call of checking social media today? The answer was a resounding yes.
On the next day, we tried it again, and it took less time for me to get adjusted to being watched. After those two days, I found that the biggest benefit of body doubling for me personally was that it helped prevent Instagram from becoming a distraction.
As somebody who’s worked from home as long as I have, I’ve adopted ways to combat this before I tried body doubling, often opting to put my phone in another room and check it only during brief intervals in between writing articles.
On the other hand, after a couple more days of body doubling, I came to value the sense of community I got from the experience, the community that can be sorely missed working from home.
By the final day of trying it out, I wasn’t quite so conscious of the fact the two of us had created this shared space& I just kind of forgot until I’d occasionally look up.
People have reported a wide range of benefits from trying body doubling, and from my experience, it was strange at first. All the same, it’s an inventive alternative to putting your phone further than arm’s length. If you struggle with keeping focus on work, your phone a dreaded, eternal distraction, then body doubling could be a great little tool to induct into your work week.
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