Work side by side

Body doubling can build relationships and help you focus

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that if you want more connection in your
life but also need to get your work done, you

(00:23):
could try working side by side with a friend or
favorite colleague. You will log time together and you just
might make each other more productive. Today's tip comes from
an interview I did recently with Anna Goldfarb, author of
the book Modern Friendship. During our conversation, Anna mentioned that

(00:46):
she and a writer friend worked side by side at
a cafe once a week for seven years. They logged
a lot of time together. It turns out that consistency
is one of the dental elements of friendship. When you
see each other regularly, as Anna and her writer friend did,

(01:07):
you create conditions for intimacy to grow. Anna points out
that an additional secret of their success was that their
get togethers had a clear about or purpose. They both
knew that they were there to write. I think this
is great and as a bonus, these get togethers may

(01:28):
have eased the isolation that freelancers and remote workers sometimes feel.
So if you are looking for more connection and you
have the flexibility to work where you want to at
least some of the time. You might also benefit from
working side by side. This could work in a variety
of ways. If you work remotely, one option is to

(01:53):
occasionally work side by side with a colleague who lives
in your area. Maybe every Monday afternoon, you could meet
up with her at a coffee shop and work side
by side. Of course, if you and she need to
meet about anything, you could do that while you are
together too. If you are a freelancer or remote worker
without colleagues nearby, you could work side by side with

(02:16):
a friend who is also a remote worker or a freelancer.
As Anna and her friends showed, it can be enjoyable
and productive to work side by side, even if you're
working on different things. While you are working side by side,
you will likely spend a little time chatting, just as
you would chat with the person in the cubicle next

(02:36):
to yours if you worked in an office. If you
want time for deeper conversation, you could talk during your
lunch break or stay for a while after your work
day ends. As for where to work with a friend,
a coffee shop or somewhere like Panera is probably the easiest. Option,
but you could also work at one of your homes,

(02:58):
perhaps alternating between them. Your dining room table one week,
her kitchen counter the next. The library is another possibility.
Some libraries even have rooms you can reserve so you
can chat rather than needing to be silent the entire time. Now,
I brought up working side by side as a way

(03:18):
to build a relationship while getting your work done, but
you may find that working near a friend actually increases
your productivity. If anyone in your life has ADHD. You
may have heard of body doubling. A person with ADHD
works in the presence of another person who is also working.

(03:39):
When you are near someone who is calmly getting their
work done, it creates a model for how you can
get your work done too. When you work side by side,
you and your friends serve as each other's body doubles
and offer a model of focus and productivity. In other words,
of working out at home leaves you frequently distracted, Maybe

(04:03):
a little coworking is what you need. Work side by
side with a friend and you will know that it
is work time, and you will log the hours that
will make you even better friends in the future. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

(04:32):
to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

(04:55):
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.