Body Doubling, anyone?!

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of body doubling, but I’ve been desperately needing it for the past few weeks. While I’ve been kicking asana in some areas of my life, my motivation in others has hit an all-time low (including blogging!). I have to-do lists a mile long, yet I’ve had zero interest or initiative to get anything done. It’s incredibly frustrating, especially as someone who was once full of energy and enthusiasm before my stroke.

I’ve talked with my therapist twice and my psychiatric nurse practitioner once about this slump. The reasons behind my lack of motivation could be many: post-stroke exhaustion, depression, medication, ADHD, or maybe I’m just wearing myself out doing a lot of “some” things. Who knows? But honestly, it doesn’t really matter, does it? In my free time, all I’ve wanted to do is laze around. While taking it easy isn’t inherently bad (it’s just not me!), I know I can’t live like this. I wonder if it’s what “they” call task paralysis.

Anyway, body doubling is a productivity technique that involves working on a task with another person to enhance focus and motivation. It can be done in person or virtually, and the other person doesn’t even need to be doing the same task. It’s something I’ve felt I needed for several weeks.

So yesterday, after teaching, I came home and savored my donuts and latte—sweet, warm, and indulgent, the perfect little pick-me-up. I took a soothing bath, letting the warmth wash over me, and tried to sleep—no luck. So, I decided to tackle my to-do list. I sent an email I had been putting off and then pulled out some boxes that I needed to assemble. About an hour later, my husband got up and started putting those boxes together. That was all I needed to get moving!

From there, I accomplished so much more than I expected: I cleaned up things I had needed to for months, deposited a check, researched and bought a new planner, took out the trash, ordered groceries, jotted down a couple of blog ideas, called my mom, downloaded tickets, texted my sisters, cleaned up some cat pee in the basement, got my meds ready for the week, and even started a load of laundry. It might not seem like a lot to some, but for me, it felt like a huge win. I felt so accomplished, like I could keep going! But I also knew I can’t overdo it; if I push too hard, I won’t be able to function tomorrow. As a stroke survivor, managing my energy is crucial.

If you have ADHD or are navigating life post-stroke, you might understand this struggle. If not, just know how thankful I am for my husband’s support, even when he didn’t realize he was being my body double. He actually just asked me what I was even talking about—body... what?! (lol). Tomorrow, I plan to ask him to help me again, hoping that will keep the momentum going. I’m also considering plugging in my headphones now (maybe?) to help boost my motivation. Why hadn’t I thought of putting on music before?

So, how do you find motivation to get through your to-do list? Have you ever felt that overwhelming weight of a long list staring at you? How do you cope when motivation is lacking or debilitating? Let’s inspire each other!

And just for fun, here’s a GIF that captures that feeling of rocking it—like when you finally tackle your to-do list and feel on top of the world! Link to GIF.

What’s one task you’ve been putting off that you’d like to tackle? Let’s support one another on this journey!