On Monday morning, Sarah Isenberg began her workday by logging onto a 9:30 a.m. Zoom session with a bunch of strangers. For the next three hours, they worked alongside each other in mostly silence, breaking every hour or so for collective stretching or deep breathing.
Welcome to the world of "productivity babysitters," "accountabilibuddies" and "procrastination nannies" — paid services to keep tabs on you for a set time period to help you get work done.
Isenberg is a month into her membership with Caveday, one such service. Among a variety of productivity tools, it offers deep-focus "cave" sessions where, for between $30 and $40 a month, you can sign up to plow through your to-do list for one to three hours at a time.
"At the base level, productivity babysitters are someone who plays the role of the person that says, 'Keep going,'" Jeremy Redleaf, a Caveday co-founder, tells CNBC Make It.
Redleaf likens the cave experience to a fitness class or trainer, but instead of training physical muscles, you train your focus.
Isenberg, a self-employed health coach based in Boston, says she signs up for a three-hour cave almost every workday, and it's now the primary way she gets work done. She's not alone.
'A very adult and grown-up thing'
Despite the childlike terminology, this strategy of collective, distraction-free work is actually a "very adult and grown-up thing," Redleaf says. Caveday's members include Oscar and Emmy winners, bestselling authors and a number of CEOs, he adds.
Other similar platforms include Focusmate — which pairs strangers together as "accountability partners" for one-on-one, virtual co-working sessions — and Supporti, an app that also virtually matches you to an "accountabilibuddy."
Dan Shipper, CEO of business newsletter platform Every, uses a virtual assistant to hold him accountable for working through his chaotic and overwhelming email inbox, he said in a March TED Talk. At the beginning of an hour, it sends him a message asking how many emails are in his inbox — and at the end, the same question again.
"I felt like I should not need a babysitter to do my work," Shipper said. "[But] it turns out just that little interaction a few times a week makes a gigantic difference for me."
Bestselling author and leadership expert Simon Sinek has also admitted to hiring someone to watch him while he works.
"I have a babysitter — that's what her title is, she's my babysitter — who comes over and her entire job is to sit in my apartment and make sure that I'm working," Sinek told the Australia Broadcasting Corporation's "The Weekly with Charlie Pickering" in 2017.
Free strategies you can use instead
Not everyone wants to hire a stranger to watch them work. Redleaf, who says he's become well-versed in the science of productivity, offers a few free strategies that anyone can apply.
First: "Get really good at turning notifications off," says Redleaf. Productivity can be easily disrupted by the impromptu ping of a text message or news alert. Using "Do Not Disturb" features can help avoid those spontaneous distractions.
Next, put your phone out of sight. "Research shows that having a phone in sight, even if turned off, can reduce your cognitive performance," Redleaf says.
Finally, use timeboxing to block out scheduled periods specifically for singular tasks. Timeboxing proponents include bestselling author and former monk Jay Shetty, who says he uses the strategy to avoid to-do lists.
"Most successful and productive people don't even use to-do lists," Shetty said on a recent episode of his "On Purpose" podcast. "They have scheduled tasks."
It also helps you avoid multi-tasking, which is a distraction in disguise, Redleaf says — since switching between several tasks can lead to lost focus.
Other tips from Redleaf include:
- Work in 45- to 55-minute chunks during times in the day when you're most productive, and 20- to 35-minute chunks when you're usually more tired.
- At the end of each chunk, take an eight- to 10-minute break that contrasts with the type of work you're doing. If your work is boring and tedious, do a puzzle to re-engage your brain. If you spend all day looking at spreadsheets, go for a walk.
- If you're not in charge of your own work schedule, take advantage of moments in your day that you can control. For instance, take a walk before work, or shut your eyes and practice mindful breathing at your desk when possible.
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