I'm finding Virtual Co-working sites helpful

In My Humble Opinion
1

Also known as “Body Doubling Apps” this is not about having your office co-workers on your computer with you as you work from home (well, it actually could be) this is about having a stranger or group of strangers on your computer working on their tasks to help you focus on yours.

When a friend first told me and then had to show me what she was doing, I really thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard of and a total waste of money.

But reading about how it can help you focus (ADHD or not) and free trials convinced me: for some reason having a total stranger on camera on my computer screen, working on their stuff actually helps me get my stuff done.

more details

What it actually looks like varies wildly: one other person, dozens of people, cameras on (but some have them off wth), mikes on or off, people talking before and after is typical but sometimes only in text.

some sites only have one or a couple options for length but I love Focusmate having sessions of 25/50/75 minutes since one of those always works for me.

Some sites have facilitators and/or leaders who, well, lead. Sometimes they play music.

People usually are doing computer/desk work but some use it for yoga or household chores, etc.

I did a free month of Flown, Flow Club and Focusmate and just tried Co Focus last night where the site was OK but my partner was bizarre - she actually told me it helps her to NOT be muted so I gave that a try and she started talking in the middle of the session. Very distracting and the opposite of what I was there for!

I was just about to actually pay for unlimited on my favorite site and they raised their prices. it was only $3 but it was the fact that something changed that threw me. plus, an IRL friend suggested we try doing it ourselves on zoom and I’m willing.

So now I am in the process of putting together a week’s worth of free options. I find what helps me the most is making a commitment - in writing - to work without distracts (turn off phone, for example) on specific goals for a specific amount of time. and smooth jazz in my headphones, for some reason. what doesn’t help is huge groups - more than 4 or 5, I think.

I’m getting better at estimating how long tasks will take and I make them as specific as possible with a FUN task at the end to do if I make it through the ones I really don’t want to do. (fun is something like coming here, lol)

anyone else use these sites? still to try: Focus 101, facebook group I was told about and I’m sure there are more.

Yes, I have been distracted by this entire process so one of the ways I’m dealing with it is to write this post and then set a deadline.

Hoping others have experiences to share. and, yes, I realize I could make a commitment to myself to do specific goals at a specific time and for a specific length of time - I accidentally tried this when a partner didn’t show up - but I honestly think the body double helps.

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Wait… strangers are seeing what I am doing, and vice-versa? If so, no thanks. Also sounds like a good way to steal proprietary info.

My work is almost all Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). I’d get in major trouble if I did this.

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these aren’t people doing their jobs (that I’ve found) these are people who would otherwise be home alone or have to go to a coffee shop to work around others. lots of students, writers, or in my case people who are unemployed.

Our cameras are on, but no screen sharing. if this is dangerous, how? ( I really want to know )

this is very common, it is blowing my mind how many places I keep finding where people are doing it.
this link lists some.

I first heard of this months ago and now there are even more sites and things are changing quickly.

at the link it says Cofocus is free unlimited but that is no longer true. it might say Focusmate is $6.99/month but now that’s only if you pay for a year at once otherwise it’s $9.99 a month.

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What? I’m a solitary worker. No way do I want people to see me or I other people. Makes absolutely zero sense to me.

Do you chat with these people during the day? Is there breaks or water cooler time or something?

As it is the real people I work with are interruptions enough, and that’s just through teams/chat. That is important though. Because we are a team/s focused on similar stuff and we all know enough about what the overall scope of all of our work to be of assistance. We at a good understanding of what the other is doing.

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I’ve been so “into it” I forget that 6 months ago I had never heard of it. I should have started with the idea that nobody here has ever heard of this which is apparently true.

this is nothing to do with a job.

there are sites - LOTS of them - where people take advantage of “body doubling” which is an ADHD thing I recently learned about. so the link explains why people are doing it.

there are sessions - which I see I described in way too much detail but I am basically thinking out loud about it - that you “book” they can be 25 minutes or 2 hours.

when you show up for your session there is one person (or 45 or whatever) who also signed up. people do not talk: they are all working on their own thing. they may briefly talk or text in the beginning or the end but in-between everyone is quietly working on their own tasks.

@enipla so now you have learned about a new thing that you don’t need and would never use.

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Wait a minute, They’re looking at a total stanger on there screen, taking up screen space?
I’m re-thinking this a little bit. When you see someone else busy, sometimes the natural inclination is to get busy yourself. Is that it?

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sort of, and I would guess it’s different for different people. from the link I posted

At a Glance

Body doubling is the method of having another person in the room with you while you attempt to accomplish a task. The idea behind its effectiveness is that having a person nearby while you do a task can help increase your motivation while being perceived. Although we do not have research to detail the effectiveness of body doubling, the ADHD community has found this to be a simple and helpful tool in combating executive dysfunction.

like I posted (at way too much length) the actual experience really varies. my friend was paying for Flow Club and got to know a group of 5 other women and they all met up for whatever (she was doing her taxes).

I might get on for 50 minute session and am joined by, yes, a total stranger. (but I can mark them a favorite and try to have them next time) - we spend maybe 1 minute each saying what we plan to do (or just put it in the chat) and then turn our mikes off and DO IT. part of it for me is it would be rude to start looking at my texts or something so I turn off my phone when I’m having a session.

surprised to find it weird but helpful!

hoping it’s safe! @Crafter_Man if we don’t share screens how is it not safe? all that is behind me (and blurred out) is a wall. um…with a calendar on it. OK, maybe I should move that.

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If there’s almost no interaction, why not just use a canned video? Just a prerecorded film of someone working at a keyboard. Or pretending to, at least.

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that’s what I was thinking.

on a site called Flown they have sessions that are lead by facilitators which I have found surprisingly unhelpful. there are like 40 to 50 people in the sessions so they are in tiny little squares.

but they also have the “canned” thing - prerecorded video of their staff: most at their desk on computers, one doing sculpture, one making music.

I tried this and it did nothing for me. but of course it’s all very subjective.

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OK. I can see some benefit for folks. I’m communicating with my team all day long.

Sometimes it’s quiet, and sometimes a SCUD comes in. That’s a missile that you know has been fired, but no one knows where it will land. A word that we stole from the first Iraq war.

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Are you asking about the video or about screen sharing?

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I’m asking why Crafter Man thinks it isn’t safe

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Sorry, that was meant for @Crafter_Man