I was on a Zoom call with a stranger in Portugal, and we hadn’t spoken in 45 minutes. I’d just finished my entire Q3 budget. The one I’d been avoiding for three weeks.
That was my introduction to body doubling for ADHD, and I’ve been mildly obsessed with it ever since.
What Is Body Doubling (and Why Does It Work for ADHD)?
Body doubling is exactly what it sounds like. You work alongside another person. That’s it. They don’t help you. They don’t check your work. They’re just… there.
For neurotypical people, this sounds pointless. For those of us with ADHD, it’s the difference between staring at a blank spreadsheet for two hours and actually completing the thing.
Here’s why it works: ADHD brains struggle with self-regulation. We know what we need to do. We can picture ourselves doing it. But the gap between “I should start” and actually starting feels like crossing a canyon with no bridge. Another person’s presence creates a kind of gentle external accountability. Not pressure. Not judgment. Just enough of a signal to your brain that says “okay, we’re doing this now.”
Some researchers think it’s connected to our mirror neuron system. Seeing someone else focused helps activate focus in us. Others point to the social contract element: you said you’d work, someone’s watching (sort of), so your brain cooperates. The honest answer is that we don’t fully understand why it works. But it does. Consistently.
I Stumbled Into This by Accident
Two years ago I was on a video call with a friend. We were supposed to be catching up, but she had a deadline and I had a grant proposal I was dreading. She said, “Can we just sit here and work? I need company but I can’t actually talk right now.”
So we muted ourselves and worked for an hour. I got more done in that hour than I had in the previous two days combined. My brain was stunned. I was stunned.
I started Googling and found out this has a name. And there are entire apps built around it.
The Best Body Doubling Apps for ADHD
I’ve tried most of them at this point. Here’s the honest breakdown.
Focusmate
The one that started the virtual body doubling movement. You book 25, 50, or 75-minute sessions. At your session time, you get matched with a stranger. You both say what you’re going to work on. Then you work. At the end, you check in about what you got done.
What I love: the commitment mechanism is real. I’ve cancelled on friends a hundred times. I have never once no-showed on a Focusmate stranger. Something about a person in another timezone who carved out this hour specifically to work alongside me… I just can’t bail on that.
Free tier gives you 3 sessions per week. That’s honestly enough to tackle your worst procrastination tasks. The paid plan ($9.99/month) is unlimited sessions.
My take: this is where I’d start. The free tier is generous and the matching system is solid. I’ve had hundreds of sessions and maybe two awkward ones.
Flow Club
Flow Club adds more structure than Focusmate. Sessions are hosted by “facilitators” who guide you through focus blocks with breaks built in. Think of it as body doubling with a bit of Pomodoro structure layered on top.
The vibe is warmer than Focusmate. More community-oriented. People chat briefly at the start, there’s a facilitator keeping the energy going, and you can see a whole room of people working. Some sessions have 30+ people in them.
Pricing starts at $25/month (or $20/month annual). No free tier anymore, which is a bummer. They do offer a trial though.
Best for: people who want more than just a silent partner. If the social element matters to you and you like some structure around your work blocks, Flow Club delivers.
Flown
Flown is the British one, and it leans into the “deep work” angle. They run what they call “Flocks,” which are facilitated coworking sessions throughout the day. There’s also a solo mode with ambient sounds and a timer if you need to work outside scheduled sessions.
What sets Flown apart is the production quality. The facilitators are good. The sessions feel polished without feeling corporate. They also run longer “deep dive” sessions (2+ hours) which I love for big creative projects.
Pricing is £25/month or £19/month annually. They have a free trial.
Best for: people who do creative or deep thinking work and need longer focus blocks. Also great if you’re in a European timezone since their session schedule skews that direction.
Cave Day
Cave Day is the boutique option. It’s been around since 2016, originally as in-person “caves” in New York before going virtual. Sessions are 3+ hours with structured sprint and rest cycles, led by trained facilitators.
It’s the most expensive option at $39.99/month (or you can buy single sessions). But the facilitation quality is noticeably higher. They understand ADHD brain science and build their sessions around it.
Best for: people who need extended deep work sessions and are willing to pay more for top-tier facilitation. I use this for days when I need to write something long or do strategic planning.
Discord Communities (Free)
There are several Discord servers dedicated to body doubling. The biggest ADHD ones have thousands of members and running video/voice channels where people work together around the clock.
The obvious upside: completely free. The downside: no structure, no accountability if you don’t show up, and the quality varies wildly. Sometimes you jump into a channel and it’s three people silently working. Other times it’s someone’s TV blaring in the background.
A few to look at:
- ADHD Together (focused on body doubling specifically)
- Focusmate’s Discord (good community even outside the app)
- Study Together (bigger, more student-oriented, but open to everyone)
Best for: people who want to try body doubling before paying for anything, or who work odd hours when scheduled sessions aren’t available.
FaceTime/Zoom With a Friend
Don’t sleep on this one. My original accidental body doubling experience was just a FaceTime call with a friend. Zero cost. Zero setup. Zero strangers.
The trick is finding someone who actually needs this too. If your friend doesn’t have ADHD or some other reason to need an accountability buddy, they’ll get bored of the arrangement fast. But if you find your person? It’s magic.
I still do this with two friends regularly. We have a group chat, someone drops “body double in 10?” and whoever’s available hops on.
Free vs. Paid: What’s Actually Worth the Money?
| Option | Cost | Sessions | Structure Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focusmate (free) | $0 | 3/week | Medium |
| Focusmate (paid) | $9.99/mo | Unlimited | Medium |
| Flow Club | $25/mo | Unlimited | High |
| Flown | ~$30/mo | Unlimited | High |
| Cave Day | $39.99/mo | Unlimited | Very High |
| Discord | $0 | Unlimited | None |
| Friend on FaceTime | $0 | Unlimited | None |
My honest recommendation: start with free Focusmate sessions and a friend on FaceTime. If body doubling clicks for you (and with ADHD, it probably will), upgrade to Focusmate unlimited. That $10/month is the best money I spend on productivity. If you want more facilitation, try Flown or Flow Club.
Tips for Making Body Doubling Actually Work
I’ve been doing this for two years. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Camera On or Off?
Camera on. I know, I know. But the accountability drops significantly with camera off. You don’t have to be cute. I’ve done sessions in yesterday’s hoodie with unbrushed hair at 6am. Nobody cares. The camera just keeps your brain honest.
That said, if camera-on gives you genuine anxiety, camera-off is still better than working alone. Do what you can actually sustain.
Pick the Right Session Length
25-minute sessions are great for tasks you’re dreading. Low commitment, easy to start. 50-minute sessions are my default for real work blocks. Anything over 75 minutes and I need a break built in, which is why Cave Day’s sprint/rest structure works for longer sessions.
If you’re new to this, start with 25. Seriously. The win of completing a short session will make you want to do another one.
Say Your Task Out Loud
At the start of Focusmate sessions, you tell your partner what you’re working on. This tiny act of verbalization does something powerful. It moves the task from “vague thing I should do” to “specific commitment I made to another human.” Your brain treats those very differently.
Even when body doubling with a friend, say it out loud. “I’m going to clean out my inbox” hits different than just thinking about cleaning out your inbox.
Use It for Your Worst Tasks
Don’t waste body doubling sessions on stuff you’d do anyway. Save them for the tasks that have been sitting on your list so long they’ve developed a personality. The tax stuff. The difficult email. The project you’ve restarted four times.
Body doubling is rocket fuel. Use it where you need thrust the most.
Build a Routine, Loosely
I have a standing Focusmate session at 9am on weekday mornings. It’s become my “start the day” ritual. Before that, I’d lose the first two hours every morning to my phone and coffee and vague dread. Now I have a stranger in Copenhagen waiting for me at 9, and somehow that’s enough.
You don’t need to schedule every hour. One or two anchor sessions a week can reshape your entire relationship with your to-do list.
FAQ
Does body doubling work for all types of ADHD?
In my experience and from what I’ve read, yes. Inattentive, hyperactive, combined. The mechanism (external regulation helping bridge the gap to internal motivation) applies across subtypes. But like everything with ADHD, individual results vary. Try it before deciding it’s not for you.
Can body doubling replace medication?
No, and I wouldn’t frame it that way. It’s a tool in the toolbox, not a replacement for medical treatment. I take my meds AND body double. They address different parts of the problem. Medication helps with the neurochemistry. Body doubling helps with the behavioral activation piece.
Is it weird working on camera with strangers?
For about 30 seconds, yes. Then you’re both working and you forget they’re there. That’s the whole point. I was deeply skeptical about this and now I’ve logged hundreds of sessions. The awkwardness evaporates almost immediately.
What if I need to cancel a session?
On Focusmate, you can cancel with notice without penalty. Repeated no-shows will affect your account. Flow Club and Flown are more flexible since sessions are group-based. With a friend… just text them. It’s fine.
My partner/roommate/kid is always home. Isn’t that body doubling?
Sort of, but usually not effectively. The key ingredient is that both people are working. Your kid playing Minecraft next to you while you try to write a report isn’t the same thing. Your partner watching TV on the couch doesn’t create the same effect. You need someone who is also in “work mode” for the magic to kick in.
How is this different from just going to a coffee shop?
Same principle, honestly. Coffee shops work as body doubling for a lot of ADHD people. The advantage of apps is consistency (no driving, no $6 latte, available at 6am or 11pm) and the added accountability of a declared intention. But if coffee shops work for you, keep doing that too.
Body doubling felt silly to me before I tried it. Paying money to sit on video with a stranger while I do my own work? Come on. But two years later, it’s probably the single most effective ADHD productivity strategy I’ve found. More than any app, any planner, any system.
Sometimes the simplest tools are the ones that stick. And sometimes the thing standing between you and your to-do list is just another human being, sitting there, doing their own thing.
Keep reading: