How to run your own ADHD coworking sessions
A simple format is enough.
The short version: try one today
- Five minutes: everyone shares one goal.
- Fifty minutes: silent work.
- Five minutes: say what you did.
Nobody around to work with? Priori has body doubling sessions built in. (We make it. It's free to download.)
You do not need a membership, a training course or a nice background to host a focus hour. You need a call link, a timer and two or three people who are also avoiding something. Running your own ADHD coworking sessions is mostly a matter of picking a simple format and sticking to it.
The 5-50-5 format
One hour, three parts. It fits in a calendar slot and nobody has to wonder what happens next.
- Five minutes: everyone shares one goal for the session.
- Fifty minutes: silent work, microphones muted.
- Five minutes: everyone says what they did.
That is the entire structure. It works on a video call or around a kitchen table. You can run it with one friend or with six people from your course the week before exams.
Why each part earns its place
The opening five minutes turns a vague intention into a sentence. 'Work on my dissertation' becomes 'write the methods paragraph about interviews'. Saying it to other people makes it feel real, and hearing their goals reminds you that everyone has something they have been putting off.
One goal each, not a list. If someone reads out seven items, ask gently which one comes first.
The fifty minutes of silence is where the body doubling happens. Other people are present and working, which gives your brain a cue to do the same. Fifty is a starting point. If your group fades at thirty, shorten it, and if you like even smaller chunks there are ideas in adjusting the Pomodoro method.
The closing five minutes gives the session a finish line. ADHD brains often get little sense of reward from long tasks, and saying 'I wrote 400 words' to people who nod is a small, real payoff. It also makes the next session easier to turn up to.
Hosting ADHD coworking sessions without becoming the manager
As host you keep time. You do not supervise anyone's work. Set a timer everyone can see or hear, say 'starting now', and then do your own task. If you spend the fifty minutes watching whether others are working, you have given yourself a job and lost your session.
A few practical choices make it smoother. Use the same link every time. Send the invite with the start time and one line explaining the format. Start on time even if only one person is there, because waiting teaches everyone that the start is soft.
Share the hosting if you can. Women with ADHD often end up carrying the organising for a group and then quietly burn out on it. A simple rota, or 'whoever joins first runs the timer', keeps it from becoming your unpaid role.
Make cameras optional and say so. Some people focus better when seen, and others spend the whole time managing how they look.
Common wobbles and fixes
The check-in eats twenty minutes. This is the big one, because you like each other. Use a timer for the opening too, and move real catch-ups to after the session for anyone who wants to stay.
Someone reports that they did nothing. Thank them for saying it and move on. No fixing, no advice unless they ask. A group where it is safe to admit a bad session is a group people come back to.
People stop turning up. Attendance always dips. Run it anyway with whoever comes, even if that is one other person. A fixed weekly slot, say Sunday at 4pm before the week starts, survives better than a poll each time.
You stop wanting to host. That is allowed. Pause it, hand it over, or spend a few weeks as a guest in someone else's room. This guide on what to look for in an online body doubling group will help you pick one.
Quick questions
How long should an ADHD coworking session be?
An hour split into five minutes of goals, fifty minutes of silent work and five minutes of sharing results is a solid default. If fifty minutes feels too long for your group, shorten the work block and keep the short check-in and check-out.
How many people do I need to run a coworking session?
Two is enough, you and one other person. Small groups of three to six tend to keep check-ins quick, and larger groups work too if the host is strict about the timer.