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Many people with ADHD find it easier to stay focused on housework, homework, bill paying, and other tasks when someone else is around to keep them company.

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What's a body double? In the movies, it's an actor who stands in for the leading man or woman during certain shots. But in the world of ADHD, a body double is someone who sits with a person with ADHD as he tackles tasks that might be difficult to complete alone.

Many people with ADHD find it easier to stay focused on housework, homework, bill paying, and other tasks when someone else is around to keep them company. The body double may just sit quietly. He may read, listen to music on headphones, or work on the task that the person with ADHD is working on. Hard work is simply more fun when someone else is nearby.

A body double could be someone who lives with the person who has ADHD - a roommate, spouse, or parent. Depending on the task to be performed, the body double might be a sympathetic friend or another person with ADHD. Body doubles can be helpful for getting stuff done in a wide range of situations - including the following five:
[Free Download: 10 Rules for ADHD-Proof Productivity]
1. You need help with housework.
Many adults with ADHD find chores easier to accomplish if they form a support group with others who have ADHD. Going house-to-house, cleaning with a team, seems to get the job done.

Next time you want to yell at your child to clean her room, try being a body double instead. Don't do the work for your child. Offer suggestions: "Remember, socks go in the top drawer," or "Balls go in the red box and hats on the shelf." Often, an encouraging adult's presence is all a child needs to stay on task.

2. You keep falling behind on paperwork.
If you're having trouble paying your bills, filling out insurance forms, or completing other financial tasks, a body double can be a godsend.

3. You're determined to stick with an exercise regimen.
It's easier to stick to a routine when a body double expects you to show up for workouts. Set up a time to run each morning, or schedule an exercise class together several days a week.
[Free Webinar Replay: How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Unlocks Positivity and Productivity for Adults with ADHD]
4. Your child has trouble with homework.
Your presence in the room reminds your child that help is available, and provides the "brakes" that keep her from distractions. Feel free to offer an occasional encouraging word, but don't overdo it. You're not there to coach.

A body double can help college students, too. Set up a regular time and place to meet with the body double (typically several times a week in a library or another quiet place). If the student is late, the body double calls to remind her. The double could be a classmate doing his own coursework or a friend who just reads or listens to music on headphones.

5. A college student needs help eating right.
College students with ADHD often forget to stop for meals. Having a set time to eat with friends will help develop a regular routine. The student might even go grocery shopping with his body double for food to have on hand in the dorm.
Patricia Quinn, M.D., is a member of the ADDitude ADHD Medical Review Panel. ["Need to Get More Done? (Don't We All?)"]

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What's a body double? In the movies, it's an actor who stands in for the leading man or woman during certain shots. But in the world of ADHD, a body double is someone who sits with a person with ADHD as he tackles tasks that might be difficult to complete alone.

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I Get By w/a Little Help from My Friends

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I Get By w/a Little Help from My Friends

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When my executive dysfunction and anxiety get the better of me on big deadlines and work tasks, working with my friends helps me overcome that. ADHD circles refer to this as "body doubling" (I'll post an article about it here as well), and it's basically how I completed both my MA and my PhD.

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(Adorable/Wholesome) video games #3 : Toem

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(Adorable/Wholesome) video games #3 : Toem

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After finishing Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Ry and I wanted another game to play together and found this ADORABLE Swedish game about going on adventures and taking pictures. The game is so relaxing and wholesome and the soundtrack is a perfect background zen music for reading or writing.

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TOEM - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch

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Irreverent video games w/Ry #2: West of Loathing

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Irreverent video games w/Ry #2: West of Loathing

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A hilarious choose your own adventure game where you build your character and make choices on your journey west. Ry and I have built our character "Opal Cody" and are attempting to embody the "chaotic neutral" of a "morally grey" character.

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West of Loathing Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch

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Irreverent video games w/Ry #1: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

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Irreverent video games w/Ry #1: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

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I'm not a gamer but I love watching Ry play and experiencing the game as an interactive narrative. This was the first game Ry and I played together which perfectly fit our tongue-in-cheek humor.

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Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion Launch Trailer

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Buying myself flowers & Rainbow's fascination

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Buying myself flowers & Rainbow's fascination

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Flowers always make me smile, so I've started treating myself to flowers when I need a pick me up. Ever since she was a kitten Rainbow has been fascinated by the colorful bouquets I bring home. She'll always sniff them and check them out but is so good about not eating them. (Kiz on the other hand....)

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I've been learning more about various kinds of pagan spirituality and practices, including tarot reading. When I do a daily tarot pull, I use it as a moment of reflection on my life and thinking about life and lessons. Here you can see how I use drawing and colors in my journal to reflect on what I'm learning.

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I love that cats just live their lives the best they can and aren't bothered by how their joy disrupts their humans' plans. In this pic I was trying to put together a small storage shelf for my kitchen when Kiz decided the in-progress shelf was a perfect place to sleep. He promptly loafed himself into the upside down frame every time I stopped building for even a second.

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Rare moments of self confidence (and being early!)

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Rare moments of self confidence (and being early!)

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I've always struggled with self confidence and body dysmorphia, so when I catch my reflection in the mirror and actually find joy in it I try to honor that and praise myself. In addition, my ADHD makes my processing of time hard so that getting places at specific times difficult and anxiety inducing.  On this day I was supervising a student teacher and arrived early. Then, when I saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I really liked my outfit and overall look and felt proud of myself for being early and confident in my overall presence. It was a good day.

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Mentoring kiddos w/Trinity & being a kid again

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Mentoring kiddos w/Trinity & being a kid again

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One of the things I love about working at Trinity is remembering the joy of kids' imaginative play. In this pic I'm helping my mentee build a tree fort on a hiking trail at Carson Park.

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My partner, Ry, is a hilarious storyteller who always knows how to make me lose it laughing. We have coffee over FaceTime every morning to start the day since he lives in Pittsburgh and I live here. Above you can see him using a visual aid to explain the mathematic equation of the idiom "Fuck around and find out."

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I'd never been to a Renaissance festival before but have always wanted to go to one. I asked my newer friend Mel if she wanted to go to the MN Ren fair with me and she was stoked! I love any kind of nerdy English, science, and/or history kind of outing like this and was so thankful to have a friend who wanted to join with me.

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My sweet cat sitter, Melissa, & my goofy Kiz

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My sweet cat sitter, Melissa, & my goofy Kiz

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The first time I left my furbabies to visit Ry I was so nervous! My anxiety kept making me imagine terrible things. But my sweet cat sitter, a former student named Melissa, is THE BEST with them! She loves them like they're her own. My goofy orange boy Kiz is obsessed with her! She always calls him her buddy. Just look at the JOY on this furball's face! (Also he has this tiny dark spot in his fur under his chin that makes me think of it as his "soul patch.")

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I grew up in the country in a small rural area in SC. We didn't have anything like the cities I've experienced since I left. Every time I see a city skyline, especially all lit up at night, it makes me stop and admire the beauty. The above is the view of Pittsburgh from my partner's apartment. Another thing I loved about this pic is the wispy grey night clouds, a phenomenon that always fascinates me.

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I'm not just obsessed with my own pets. Getting pics of my friends' pets from across the country makes me so happy! One of my besties, Rachel (whom I call "R") has a tradition of dressing her corgi mix Fable as Disney villains every Halloween. This year her parents were visiting from Florida to safely ride out Hurricane Ian and they brought their dogs with them. R dressed them up as Smee and the crocodile to complete the picture. This one had me and our other bestie C cackling when we saw it!

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My ADHD makes being in the moment difficult sometimes. I try to remember moments by taking pictures that encapsulate an event, especially by staging items together. This wedding had a polaroid camera set up for people to take pics as keepsakes. I loved the idea of taking a digital picture of this physical picture to capture the moment (I also LOVE how happy you can tell we both are from our genuine smiles.)

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Being awkward and laughing loudly in public w/Ry

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Being awkward and laughing loudly in public w/Ry

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Ry and I are NOT graceful people, but we do have a sense of humor. One of our favorite things to laugh about is when one of us does something super awkward in public...like when I knocked the table at his friend's wedding and spilled red wine all over the white table cloths. He started laughing so hard that he turned red in the face! It's his goal in life to make my do a "spit take" laugh in public one day, ideally with red wine in a fancy restaurant.

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I have always adored this quote from The Velveteen Rabbit, especially since I was (ahem, am...) someone who had well-loved "REAL" stuffed animals (my first I can remember was a stuffed seal named Baby that was the first thing I saved my money for and bought as a kid). The following quote not only popped into my head when I saw Biggie (see the other post), but also made me think of how Ry makes me feel beautiful and loved even on days when I can't see it myself: "But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

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Well-loved stuffed animals (Biggie) & perfect gifts

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Well-loved stuffed animals (Biggie) & perfect gifts

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When my partner and I started dating, one thing we bonded over was our neurodiversity. We both have depression, anxiety, and ADHD, and I bought him this stuffed animal as a cute "thinking of you" gift to make him smile. When he shared the accompanying book with his niece (Hannah) and sister, they both cried it resonated so much. Ry let her keep it and she named him Biggie; he goes everywhere with Hannah. Seeing him here when I visited, well-worn with love, reminded me of The Velveteen Rabbit.

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I found this company that creates stuffed animal companions and books to teach SEL to kids and help them practice affirmations. "Bigfoot" is one of my favorites. His focus is self esteem: "Bigfoot reminds us that we are kind and strong, and that the world is better with us in it. Self-Esteem supports children in building a strong foundation of security, safety, and connection by boosting confidence and encouraging them to believe in their self-worth."

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Collecting treasures & making nature art

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Collecting treasures & making nature art

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I like to gather small things that catch my attention throughout the day. These little trinkets help me feel more present/in the moment. I've been playing with ideas for how to keep these items like making nature art/3D collages. I gathered these from Rochester, NY while helping my partner babysit his nieces.

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Lying on the floor, kitten biscuits, and Halloween cat eyes 

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Lying on the floor, kitten biscuits, and Halloween cat eyes 

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My kitchen floor is where my cats and I often sit as a family. Some days when I come home from work really tired I'll just go sit on the floor with them. Here you see me awake in the middle of the night after I got the idea for THIS lesson. Rainbow hopped up on my back and began kneading my back (aka making biscuits) before curling up to keep me company for the long haul. I also LOVE her little yellow glowing eyes in this clip. Friends call her my house panther.

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This giant C pillow (Ry calls it my snake pillow) is so versatile. I use it to sleep better at night as a cuddler and also to make my work chair cozier. When I come home from work I often find Rainbow curled up in the hole snoozing.

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I often forget to feed myself before it becomes a problem. Couple that with other stresses in life and work and I can get overstimulated and struggle to process. This happened while helping my partner, Ry, babysit his nieces. Ry recognized I needed help and sat me down with a cup of coffee while he made me breakfast.

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When I'm working in my kitchen, Rainbow & Kiz always stay with me, sleeping on the kitchen rug behind me.

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After a hard day at work I went to bed early. When I woke up in the middle of the night, both of my babies (Kismet & Rainbow) were cuddled up on my lap.