I would say though that one benefit of pairing that I've definitely experienced is that it can keep you from chasing bad ideas down deep, pointless rabbit holes

I would say though that one benefit of pairing that I've definitely experienced is that it can keep you from chasing bad ideas down deep, pointless rabbit holes. A lot of the time, when I pair (usually informally), the other person sees something quickly that I missed, or questions some assumption I've been making that turns out to have been incorrect or misguided. If I'd had that input, I might have saved a hour or two running into dead ends. But I'm not sure what the best way to balance it would be - I would never want to do the Pivotal-style all-day every-day pairing, but it's hard to know when you could benefit from another set of eyes, especially when you're already deep into something. Maybe a morning-afternoon split on alternating days or something like that?