There’s a name for working alongside someone else so you can actually get started: body doubling. It’s just being in a room with someone doing something similar. That’s it. They don’t need to help, or check on you, or even be working on the same thing. Just having another person there is enough to shift you out of stuck and into motion.
Alison, talking about this on Dr Noni’s TikTok Live, suggested building it in deliberately rather than waiting for it to happen by accident. For PhD researchers, that might mean working alongside other PhD students where you can, using social accountability on purpose instead of hoping it turns up.
Taking body doubling further with your supervisor
The other piece is taking this to your supervisor directly. Tell them you’ll send the draft three weeks before it’s due. Ask them to put a reminder in their calendar as well as yours. Say out loud that you want them to hold you to it. That last part matters more than it sounds like it should. Most supervisors will happily do it, but only if you ask.
This isn’t only useful for PhD researchers. Anyone working through something that feels ambiguous or a bit isolating can borrow the same idea, whether that’s a colleague, a line manager, or a peer who’s willing to sit alongside you while you both get on with your own work. We’ve written before about the deadline burnout pattern that keeps academics stuck, and body doubling is one of the more reliable ways out of that cycle. It costs nothing, and it doesn’t require anyone to fix anything for you.
If this is something you’d like to explore further, it’s the kind of thing we work through with clients in coaching.
If this sounds familiar at work, our ADHD leadership coaching helps leaders and managers build support around what gets in the way.
