I worked at a place that had pairing stations at separate tables in the team area. We were supposed to pair when doing any coding.<p>In practice we paired when doing difficult stuff. It worked well.<p>Tips:<p>Don&#x27;t pair at your desk. Use a pairing station.<p>Pair for a task, short if possible. If not, timebox.<p>Pair for short periods!<p>Train yourself to be productive while pairing. Don&#x27;t relax. A short period of hard work.<p>Pick a consistent pairing time and make it a habit. Such as after standup, after lunch, whatever. Some times when you would not be productive solo, like after lunch, you can be productive in a pair. Experiment.<p>Failure modes:<p>Long, unproductive, exhausting pairing periods. People will quit.<p>That one guy that nobody wants to pair with. Happens, sorry.<p>Sitting there twiddling your thumbs while your pair partner writes an email. Only pair for coding &#x2F; debugging &#x2F; testing! Don&#x27;t pair at your desk.