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The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

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Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#131

Post by dep_b »

Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #59

This is where remote work goes off the rails, but then it’s wild how intentionally isolating the implementation of RTO that many large corporations are doing now. They line people up in rows, put headphones on their heads and wire them up to Teams and Jira to spend the whole day in isolation. Because taking a walk to another floor of building to talk to someone like a normal human being is too wasteful, but somehow f…

God yes. I’ve spent 8 years working remote before the pandemic hit.

Only after that I started coming into offices again because my local freelance customers demanded it.

Spent most days looking at a bunch of nerds with headphones, being ignored until lunch. I had to drag people out of their cocoons to have conversations. Nobody had any collaboration lined up the days I came in.

I mean I see the collaboration thing, but most teams are more autistic working in-office than I was working remote. Apparently I was the only person reaching to other people all the time?

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#132

Post by goda90 »

Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #59

This is where remote work goes off the rails, but then it’s wild how intentionally isolating the implementation of RTO that many large corporations are doing now. They line people up in rows, put headphones on their heads and wire them up to Teams and Jira to spend the whole day in isolation. Because taking a walk to another floor of building to talk to someone like a normal human being is too wasteful, but somehow f…

My employer was very quick to force return to office after covid lockdowns. Like they were willing to pour millions into subdividing offices into closets so people could isolate at work even, but the county health department gave them a stern look and they ended up scraping that and waiting another year to force RTO.

But they actually put their money where their mouth is. Ad-hoc conversations in the hallway, going to chat in person, etc were all encouraged. Holding a meeting over Teams when everyone was in office became almost a taboo. Even team building activities and events saw an increase in frequency.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#133

Post by AbstractH24 »

roland35 wrote: post #124
suzzer99 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working in an open office on cool stuff with legitimate friends was the best work experience I've ever had by far. Most days it didn't even feel like work. Now I wfh full time with people who are just coworkers and I'm miserable.

I also had a fun experience in an open office, but the key element of it was that the office was only about 15-20 people and we were all on the same project and team. When I visited the Big Tech office (as a remote employee), it was an entire floor with rows of unrelated people all together. My team was together but it felt much different, more distracting, and hard to have a conversation without feeling like you are…

I’m part of the minority of folks who think the value of in office outweighs the cost. Particularly amongst those who aren’t in management.

But only if you are working in close proximity to those working on the same projects and leadership going up at least two levels. (leadership, not management)

Why large companies with globally distributed teams see value in having employees in office sitting side by side in isolation is beyond me.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#134

Post by mr_toad »

Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #59

This is where remote work goes off the rails, but then it’s wild how intentionally isolating the implementation of RTO that many large corporations are doing now. They line people up in rows, put headphones on their heads and wire them up to Teams and Jira to spend the whole day in isolation. Because taking a walk to another floor of building to talk to someone like a normal human being is too wasteful, but somehow f…

I pretty sure that Teams has tanked productivity in some offices. It used to be that arranging a meeting required finding a physical space. Now some people are spending their days in back-to-back teams meetings and never get any actual work done.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#136

Post by jvanderbot »

goda90 wrote: post #132
Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #59

This is where remote work goes off the rails, but then it’s wild how intentionally isolating the implementation of RTO that many large corporations are doing now. They line people up in rows, put headphones on their heads and wire them up to Teams and Jira to spend the whole day in isolation. Because taking a walk to another floor of building to talk to someone like a normal human being is too wasteful, but somehow f…

My employer was very quick to force return to office after covid lockdowns. Like they were willing to pour millions into subdividing offices into closets so people could isolate at work even, but the county health department gave them a stern look and they ended up scraping that and waiting another year to force RTO. But they actually put their money where their mouth is. Ad-hoc conversations in the hallway, going to…

I would love an offline only work environment. Just a small cadre of tech obsessed smart folks working in a room and talking when they need to.

In grad school we did this. Everyone was heads down, except when they were stumped they'd go to the whiteboard, which was open invitation to discuss a problem, if you had time.

That kind of "opt in" / volunteering help was way more trust building and low pressure than pulling someone from their flow to ask for help. And otherwise being around a bunch of hard workers helped build motivation.

It just doesn't translate though. No work environment I've experienced recreated that spirit of autonomy and esprit de corps. Instead you get open offices and a ton of "calls" and meetings subdividing time. Add in some boss standing over your shoulder and you bet I'll take my basement office over that any time.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#137

Post by Eddy_Viscosity2 »

mr_toad wrote: post #134
Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #59

This is where remote work goes off the rails, but then it’s wild how intentionally isolating the implementation of RTO that many large corporations are doing now. They line people up in rows, put headphones on their heads and wire them up to Teams and Jira to spend the whole day in isolation. Because taking a walk to another floor of building to talk to someone like a normal human being is too wasteful, but somehow f…

I pretty sure that Teams has tanked productivity in some offices. It used to be that arranging a meeting required finding a physical space. Now some people are spending their days in back-to-back teams meetings and never get any actual work done.

The counter to this is that you can actually have a 5 or 10 minute teams call which was all that was needed to resolve the issue / answer the question / or whatever the meeting was about. Whereas, if it was a physical meeting in a booked room then it would easily expand to fill 30 or 60min or whatever time the room was booked for.

I see this myself. I get a teams call with a manager and a few others, get something sorted and then end the call. Boom. done. The same in a physical meeting would have been a huge time suck.

Having said that. I like being in the office because there are tons of coffee room and hallway conversations that would not have happened if WFH, but were actually really beneficial to keeping everyone informed about whats happening.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#138

Post by viraptor »

BOOSTERHIDROGEN wrote: post #129

So, this is basically what Mark is trying to do, isn't it? Building a metaverse where everyone can virtually body double.

That concept doesn't need metaverse. If you can body double with someone, you can do it over any communication medium.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#139

Post by viraptor »

Uptrenda wrote: post #135

Yeah, nothing like an open office with random interruptions, noises, and movements to improve your focus.

It may not work for you, but... kinda, yes. My most productive days are while waiting for the periodic car checkup at the dealer and it's effectively an open office environment. But no, an actual open office every day would not give the same result. Brains be weird.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#140

Post by snozolli »

onemoresoop wrote: post #32

I may have ADHD, I never went for a diagnosis and found body doubling useful at times, especially when I was in school some decades ago, back then I had no name for it. However, I find white noise very helpful with staying on the task and with increased focus. My company moved, about a year ago, into a very cramped office that is also extremely noisy. This exasperated me, I would get drained of energy in a couple of…

Here's an HN submission from 2022 that I have bookmarked. NYT: Can Brown Noise Turn Off Your Brain?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32998960

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