Hawser: an AI Body Double That Notices When You Drift
What is body doubling and why it works
Body doubling is one of the simplest focus tricks there is: you do your work while another person is present. They might be sitting across the table on their own project, or just on a video call in another window. They are not checking on you or managing you. They are simply there.
That quiet presence does something real. When someone else is around, the cost of slipping into your phone or a random tab goes up. You feel a soft sense of being witnessed, and that is usually enough to keep you moving instead of avoiding the thing you set out to do. The other person becomes a gentle anchor for your attention.
This is why body doubling is so popular with people who have ADHD, and with anyone who works alone. Avoidance thrives in isolation. A blank room makes it easy to wander off and never quite come back. Another presence in the room, even a passive one, keeps you accountable and shortens the gap between sitting down and actually starting.
Hawser as an AI body double
Hawser brings that same effect to your own computer, without needing to schedule a session with a friend or hop on a call. You start a co-working session on one task for a set time, and a companion is there alongside you for the whole block.
The difference is that this companion is actually paying attention. Unlike a silent video call where the other person is deep in their own work and would never notice you slip away, Hawser watches what you are doing against the task you said you would focus on. The moment you wander off, it checks in instead of letting the whole block quietly slide away from you.
That is the core idea behind Hawser. A blocker can't tell a 10-hour work day from a 10-hour binge. Hawser can. It does not run on a dumb timer that has no idea what you are actually doing. It works off what you set out to do, so it only steps in when you have genuinely drifted, and it nudges you back rather than locking you out of your own machine.
Around the co-working sessions, you also get the rest of Hawser: plain English control ("block YouTube after 20 minutes"), voice dictation that types for you in any app, and learning cards slipped between work blocks. It is a body double that does more than just sit there.
An honest note on real humans
If what you specifically want is a real person on the other side, that is a completely valid thing to want, and Hawser does not pretend to be one. There are paid body doubling services and free Discord and community groups built entirely around live co-working with other humans, and those are great when you want the social connection.
Hawser is for the other moments: when you want the body doubling effect on demand, privately, on your own computer, without coordinating with anyone or sharing your screen with a stranger. You can fire up a focused session at midnight on a whim, and the companion is right there.
Why I built this
I never used Cold Turkey itself, but I lived on the hard blockers it represents, the kind that just lock you out or boot you off your computer once you have used something "too long." They drove me up the wall, because my life does not run on a fixed schedule. One day I am heads down working for ten hours straight. The next, I might sink ten hours into a video game, and that is completely fine. A rigid blocker cannot tell those two days apart. It enforces the same dumb rule and kicks me off either way, usually on the day I needed it least.
That is the whole reason Hawser exists. It does not run on an arbitrary timer that has no idea what your day actually looks like. It works off what you set out to do, so ten hours of real work is never treated like the enemy, and it only steps in when you have genuinely drifted from it. It adapts to your day instead of fighting it.
Frequently asked questions
What is body doubling?
Body doubling is working on a task while another person is present, either in the room or on a call. Their presence keeps you accountable and makes it harder to drift into avoidance, even if they are doing their own thing.
Does body doubling work for ADHD?
Many people with ADHD find body doubling helpful because the presence of another person reduces avoidance and adds gentle external accountability. It is a popular strategy, though results vary from person to person.
Can an app be a body double?
Yes. Hawser acts as an AI body double. You start a co-working session on one task for a set time, and the companion checks in if you wander off. Unlike a silent video call, it is actually paying attention to whether you are on task.
Is Hawser free to try?
Yes. Hawser is free for 7 days with no credit card, then $25 per month. It runs on your own Windows computer, so your sessions stay private.