Body Doubling

I oftentimes want something like this as well. I’m not looking for a taskmaster or someone who could report my work but simply a nonjudgmental human who is just busy themself.

Does the effect fall off with the square of the distance? Is it linear? Is there a threshold?

Does adding a third person (or more people) affect it?

How is it different from, say, sitting in a cafe with another person? Do you have to know each other? If there is a difference what criteria determine that difference? Can one "pretend" that one is "body double"-ing with a unknowing stranger? Or does each person have to know they're doing it?

If you really want to investigate this IMO you're going to have to look at everything from near-field EM to Ramana Maharshi (who often taught in silence), you should study Cybernetics (by which I basically mean read "Introduction to Cybernetics" by Ashby), you should take high-speed video of people doing this and then analyze it for e.g. unconscious synchronization, etc...

I don't know how but personally, this actually works.

Another thing that works is setting a not so exciting but also not so boring tv series playing on your mobile next to you and do work while it plays on. Again no clue how or why it works. My pet theory is that adhd brains just like multi tasking and keeping a portion of extra bandwidth zoned out is helpful in not getting distracted.

My problem is I'd have an overpowering urge to interrupt the other person whenever I was stuck. That and my other mutterings, pacings etc would probably be intolerable.

Historically, this could be the underlying reason for the existence of various professions: adjutant, batman, valet, secretary, personal assitant - perhaps the main function they provided was just providing a presence?