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Trial: 🪞 Body Doubling to make progress on Training Modules (Focus Time)

Request for comments

Need

While we all understand that professional development and training modules are important, it can be difficult to find or make time to complete these modules.

Approach

I'd like to try body doubling to see if a group of interested Support Engineers can make meaningful progress on one or more training modules in this way. To that end, I propose trying something like this:

  • Once a week, we work on our chosen training modules on Zoom or in a Slack huddle but:
    • 📹 Video is optional
      • You're welcome to have it on at the beginning to kick things off and at the end to 🎊 celebrate.
    • 🎧 Listen to music or whatever else helps you focus

The call timeline would look like this:

  • 00:00 | Everyone quickly notes what they are working on and what they want to get done
  • 00:05 | 🎤 Microphones off, 🎥 Video on or off, however you're comfortable
  • 00:50 | 🎁 Everyone quickly notes how it went, what progress they made.
  • 00:55 | 🌊 The call ends (so folks can make it to their next meeting)

Benefit

  • Interested Support Engineers make progress on training modules.
  • Dedicating time to focusing on training modules is normalized.

Competition / Alternatives

  • We make no changes: progress on training modules continues as it is.

💻 Additional Notes

I'm seeking your input as I'd like to trial this starting some time in November. I'm happy to lead the session during working hours in AMER. If there is enough interest during working hours in other regions, I would encourage folks to sign up to lead a similar session.

✨ A Note from me, Brie

I have found body doubling to be super useful in the past. If you're interested, you can learn more:

You don't have to go very far, join the #bodydouble_friends channel on Slack.

Body doubling is hard to describe and goes by different names/terms including virtual coworking and social mirroring.

Edited by Brie Carranza