My Favorite Content Right Now for ADHD Body Doubling
Last year, I learned I lived with ADHD after nearly two decades of suspecting it. While it’s been freeing to finally start learning how to better address my needs, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve found that I need more community around me to encourage and maintain my productivity in a way that doesn’t quickly deplete my energy levels - insert ADHD Body Doubling!
Body doubling is the practice of working on tasks in the presence of others. This could look like finally washing the dishes while a friend is sitting nearby scrolling on their phone, or designing a slide deck next to a coworker on a client call. When I went on medical leave of absence (LOA) for hip surgery in 2022, my “friends” and coworkers suddenly disappeared. I needed a body doubling community that was accessible from my home, and I found it in the content produced by the 3 Black, femme creators and entrepreneurs below. When their content is playing, I am somehow simultaneously listening and tuning it all out while working my way down my to do list.
It’s been a fun experience finding this productivity hack in content I already love, so I had to share! Check out their content and test out if virtual body-doubling with pre-recorded content is a technique that might work for you.
My Virtual Body Double Creators List (Top 3)
Kimberly Cherrell
Kim is a creator I started watching on YouTube when I was a teenager looking for hair tutorials for black girls. Now, I play her content (new and old) while I’m completing tasks like:
Hair Care
Home Cleaning/Tidying
Physical Therapy Exercises
Meal Prep
Kim typically releases 15 - 50 minutes of content per week (1-2 videos)
Nicaila is the creator of the Side Hustle Pro podcast - the first and only podcast to spotlight bold, Black women entrepreneurs who have scaled from side hustle to profitable business (plug finished!). I started listening to Side Hustle Pro during my first medical leave of absence in 2020. I was contemplating starting a business and needed to hear more experiences from Black, Femme Entrepreneurs. Today, I body-double with Nicalia while I’m completing tasks like:
Driving (I have lots of doctors visits)
General Brainstorming
Painting
Gardening
Nicaila typically releases 45 minutes of content per week (1 episode)
Qori is the newest addition to my list of body-doubling content creators. She is also a designer and entrepreneur, so has been a great body-doubling partner when I’m completing tasks like:
User Research
Graphic Design
Content Planning
Weekly planning + goal setting
Qori typically releases 15 - 50 minutes of content per week (1-2 videos)
If you are a person with ADHD looking for new management strategies, give digital body-doubling a try. In the process, you might find some amazing creators like those listed here. If you do find other digital creators/content that work for you, I’d love to know. Drop a comment with the creators you love to body-double with while you work - I’m always looking for new folks to add to my rotation!
