Hello Friends! I trust you had a productive week this week! As we’re well into our second week of the second quarter of 2024, I realize that I’m probably not alone in my pursuit for the ultimate spring cleaning experience. This pertains to my home, my health, my relationships, and my business. Are you sorting and purging too? How’s that going for you?
I can’t tell you how many times in junior high and high school I wasn’t allowed to hang out with my friends because I needed to clean my room, do my chores, or finish my homework. Oftentimes these simple tasks were insurmountable for me and at the time I honestly couldn’t tell you why. I’d be metaphorically ‘stuck’ and unable to even begin a task I so desperately wanted to be done with. Putting laundry away isn’t rocket science. Making my bed or finishing a math worksheet wasn’t brain surgery. For some reason I just couldn’t do it.
I had my best friend Sarah over for a playdate one Saturday afternoon. It was summertime and we were maybe thirteen or fourteen years old. Our home phone, the one fixed to the dining room wall with an after-market tangled and curly cord, rang and it was her mother asking if I wanted to come home with Sarah and accompany their family to the local theater to see Robin Hood, Men in Tights. Being a HUGE Princess Bride and Cary Elwes fan whose family rarely splurged on trips to the cinema, I was overjoyed. Until my mom said No. See, Beaner (that’s Sarah’s nickname to this day) and I had made a giant mess of my room playing beauty shop and making friendship bracelets and I still needed to muck out the pony’s stall that day. I begged. I bargained. I pleaded, and mom dug her heels in until Beaner offered to help me clean up and mom miraculously agreed.
Flash-forward 45 minutes and Beaner was propped up on my bed thumbing through a Seventeen Magazine while I overhaul my bedroom. She was an incredible friend, and her strength didn’t at all include cleaning or organization. For some reason, though, I was experiencing one of the most productive bursts of energy I’ve ever had in my life. Not only was my room tidied, it was pristine by the time I finished. All because I had a buddy hanging close and keeping me company. Mucking out the horse stall took no time at all, especially with Sarah lolling around on the tire swing my dad tied to the rafters in the hay loft. I was allowed to see Men in Tights and the rest is history.
Over the years I’ve found my most productive times have been when I was working in the vicinity of somebody else. It wasn’t until fairly recently, when I was diagnosed later in life with ADHD, that I learned that there’s an actual term for this phenomenon: Body Doubling. Body Doubling is a technique used to help individuals with ADHD stay focused and on task. It involves having someone else present in the same physical space while the individual works on a task. This external presence can provide a sense of accountability and support, making it easier for the individual to maintain concentration and productivity. Whether it’s a friend, family member, or professional, the body double’s presence serves as a quiet reminder to stay on track, helping to minimize distractions and increase productivity.
Body Doubling isn’t only helpful for people with ADHD, by the way. Sometimes we hyperfocus at a coffee shop, or in the office café, or even in the middle of a team meeting.
So if you’re ever finding yourself ‘stuck’ in regards to getting things done that you know you need to do, consider meeting up with a friend or colleague to work side-by-side (not together) on your own tasks.
During Covid when we were working from home, I’d even open up a zoom room with one of my colleagues and we would each work on our own tasks, muted, sometimes with our video even off, and every now and again we’d check in with each other to update or celebrate.
This brings me to the resource I’d love to share with you, especially if you’re in the ADHD community. A brilliant Keller Williams MAPS coach, Tyler Elstrom, heads up a private Facebook group for agents with ADHD. Within that community, agents have found a village of like-minded neurodivergent folks who share resources, collaborate through challenges, and yes, they even have a Body Double resource.
If this is something that might be of interest or value to you, please check it out. (Group Linked below).
Likewise, I’m noodling on creating a Body Double group here with Frawley Coaching. Thursdays are typically my project days and I know a lot of agents are gearing up for weekend adventures at that time too. Would it be of value to you to create a Body Double space for just us? Please let me know!
Onward,
Coach Lins
