Fidget Toys for Work, Meetings and Deep Focus

Most of us fidget at work.

We click pens during meetings. Bounce our legs beneath desks. Spin pencils between our fingers. Doodle in notebooks. Pick up whatever happens to be nearby.

And, increasingly, we reach for our phones.

Fidgeting isn't necessarily the problem. The question is what we're fidgeting with, and whether it helps us stay with what we're doing or pulls our attention somewhere else entirely.

A good fidget toy for work should give restless hands something simple and satisfying to do without becoming another distraction.

Here's what to look for.

Why do we fidget while working?

Fidgeting is an incredibly common behaviour.

It can happen when we're restless, bored, thinking, listening, nervous or trying to concentrate. Often, we're barely conscious that we're doing it.

For some people, including some adults with ADHD, movement can also be part of how they manage restlessness and stimulation.

You might notice yourself fidgeting more during certain types of work.

Long meetings.

Video calls.

Reading.

Listening.

Thinking through a difficult problem.

The afternoon slump.

Tasks where your brain needs to remain engaged but your hands have very little to do.

There's growing research into the relationship between movement, fidgeting and attention, although the evidence is more complicated than simply saying that fidget toys improve concentration.

We've explored the research in more detail in The Science of Fidgeting.

Whatever the reason, fidgeting at work is hardly unusual.

The important thing is choosing something appropriate for the environment you're working in.

What makes a good fidget toy for work?

A fidget you use at your desk has a slightly different job from one you might use at home.

It needs to fit around your work rather than compete with it.

For us, the best fidget toys for work tend to have a few things in common.

You can use them without looking

This might be the most important quality of all.

If you need to constantly look down to operate a fidget, it's competing for your visual attention.

A good desk fidget should eventually become almost instinctive.

Your fingers know where the button is.

Your thumb finds the wheel.

Your hand operates the switch without you having to think about it.

The interaction stays in your hands while your attention stays somewhere else.

The movement is simple

A fidget doesn't need to be complicated to be satisfying.

In fact, complexity can work against it.

Games, puzzles and intricate mechanisms can be enjoyable, but they also ask something from your brain.

If the goal is to use an object while concentrating on something else, repetitive interactions often make more sense.

Click.

Roll.

Turn.

Slide.

Switch.

Repeat.

There's a useful distinction here.

Occupying your hands isn't the same as occupying your mind.

For focused work, we generally want to do the first without unnecessarily doing the second.

It suits your environment

A loud mechanical switch can be extremely satisfying when you're working alone.

The same switch might be less popular in a silent meeting room.

Think about where you'll actually use your fidget.

At home?

In a studio?

In an open-plan office?

On video calls?

In meetings?

While travelling?

The right fidget for one environment might be completely wrong for another.

The best types of fidget toys for work

Different movements provide different kinds of tactile feedback.

There isn't one type that works for everybody.

Buttons and switches

If you're someone who constantly clicks pens, keyboard switches or anything else that happens to move, a button or switch can provide a similarly definite physical action.

Pressing a button gives you a clear beginning and end.

A switch provides resistance followed by movement.

Then you do it again.

This kind of mechanical feedback can be particularly satisfying, but it's worth considering noise if you work around other people.

Focus Switch takes this interaction back to its simplest form: a solid walnut handheld object with a mechanical metal toggle switch.

It doesn't control anything digital.

That's the point.

Rollers and ball fidgets

Rolling movements tend to be smoother and quieter.

A ball or bearing beneath your thumb provides continuous movement without the distinct start and stop of a button.

This makes rolling mechanisms particularly interesting for meetings, calls and shared spaces where repetitive clicking might become distracting to other people.

Sliders

Sliders provide a simple back-and-forth movement.

Depending on the design, they can be smooth, magnetic or mechanical.

Their appeal is often in the repetition. Push. Pull. Repeat.

They can also be operated relatively discreetly beneath a desk or while listening to someone speak.

Dials and wheels

Dials provide rotational movement and can range from completely smooth to deliberately stepped.

A well-made dial provides subtle resistance through your fingertips.

There's also something reassuringly familiar about them.

We've spent generations interacting with physical dials on radios, cameras, audio equipment, machinery and appliances.

Your fingers already know what to do.

Multi-control desk fidgets

Sometimes your hands don't want the same movement all day.

A combination of controls allows you to move between buttons, switches, sliders, wheels and dials depending on what feels right.

This idea is at the heart of Focus Deck.

Focus Deck is an analogue desktop focus tool combining several tactile controls in one object. It is designed to sit permanently within your workspace, ready for the moments when your hands want something to do while your brain is occupied elsewhere.

Quiet fidget toys for meetings

Meetings present a particular problem.

They're one of the situations where many of us naturally start fidgeting, but they're also one of the environments where an audible fidget can be most distracting to somebody else.

For meetings, quieter interactions generally make more sense.

Look for:

• smooth rolling mechanisms

• silent sliders

• low-noise dials

• textured objects

• thumb stones

• rings or small handheld objects

• controls with minimal clicking

Size matters too.

A meeting fidget should ideally be something you can use naturally without turning it into the centre of attention.

You should be able to keep listening, maintain eye contact and participate in the conversation while your hands are doing something relatively simple.

If you're thinking more about the fidget than the meeting, it probably isn't doing its job.

What about video calls?

Video calls are slightly different.

Nobody on the other side of the screen needs to know what your hands are doing beneath the camera.

That makes them an ideal environment for desktop fidgets.

A switch, roller, dial or other tactile object can sit beside your keyboard and be used while you're listening.

There's another benefit here too.

Your hands have somewhere to go that isn't your phone.

That matters because the alternative to fidgeting at a desk isn't necessarily sitting perfectly still.

Sometimes it's opening another browser tab.

Checking your phone.

Looking at Slack.

Refreshing your inbox.

Scrolling through something that has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation you're supposed to be listening to.

A physical object can't send you a notification.

Fidget toys for deep work

Deep focus requires something slightly different again.

If you're writing, designing, coding or solving a difficult problem, you probably don't want a fidget demanding conscious attention.

This is where simple, repetitive interactions become useful.

The ideal interaction is one that quickly becomes familiar enough to operate almost automatically.

There's no score.

No objective.

No streak to maintain.

No screen to check.

Nothing to complete.

Just movement.

A physical focus tool can also become part of the ritual of working.

Notebook open.

Phone away.

Headphones on.

Focus tool on the desk.

Begin.

Small environmental cues can help create a distinction between distracted time and focused time.

Desk fidget or handheld fidget?

This mostly depends on where and how you work.

A desk fidget

A desktop fidget can be larger, heavier and more substantial.

It doesn't need to fit into a pocket.

Weight can actually be an advantage because the object stays where you put it and can provide more resistance.

Desk fidgets work particularly well for home offices, studios and permanent workspaces.

A handheld fidget

A handheld fidget needs to be smaller and more portable.

You can take it between rooms, carry it to meetings or put it in your bag when travelling.

If your working day involves moving between different environments, portability becomes much more important.

There's no reason you can't have both.

One object might live permanently beside your keyboard while another travels with you.

Clicky vs quiet fidgets at work

Sound is part of tactile feedback.

That's why mechanical keyboards, switches and buttons can be so satisfying.

You don't just feel the interaction.

You hear it.

But the people sitting around you hear it too.

A clicky fidget might be perfect if you work from home, have your own studio or spend much of your day wearing headphones.

In a library, shared office or meeting room, a quieter interaction is probably the more considerate choice.

Neither is inherently better.

Choose according to context.

What should a professional fidget toy look like?

This is subjective, but it was one of the questions that led to Focus Lab in the first place.

A lot of fidget toys look like toys.

Bright plastics.

Novelty shapes.

Lots of colours.

There's nothing wrong with that.

But we wondered why there weren't more tactile objects designed specifically for adult desks.

Something you might happily leave beside a good notebook, mechanical keyboard, camera or piece of audio equipment.

Something made from materials that feel better with time rather than disposable plastic.

Something you'd be happy to pick up in a meeting.

That's why material and appearance matter to us.

Walnut.

Steel.

Aluminium.

Mechanical switches.

Physical controls.

Objects designed to belong in the workspace rather than be hidden away when somebody walks into the room.

Fidgeting, work and ADHD

Fidget toys are particularly popular among adults with ADHD.

For some people with ADHD, movement can accompany listening, thinking or concentrating, and many people develop their own fidgeting behaviours long before they ever buy a dedicated fidget tool.

But it's important to be careful about the claims we make.

There is research exploring spontaneous movement, attention and ADHD, but that isn't the same as evidence that every fidget toy improves concentration.

Different people respond differently.

Different tasks require different levels of attention.

And a fidget that helps one person might simply distract another.

We don't describe Focus Lab products as treatments for ADHD.

We think of them as tools.

Physical objects that give restless hands somewhere to go.

If you'd like to explore the research behind this in more depth, read The Science of Fidgeting.

How to choose a fidget toy for work

Start by watching what you already do.

If you constantly click pens, you might enjoy a mechanical switch or button.

If you roll objects between your fingers, look for something offering smooth continuous movement.

If you rotate rings or fiddle with knobs, try a dial or wheel.

If you need something during meetings, prioritise quietness and portability.

If you're mostly working from your own desk, you can choose something larger, heavier and more tactile.

And if you constantly find your hand reaching towards your phone, consider putting something else within reach instead.

The best fidget isn't necessarily the one with the most features.

It's the one you instinctively reach for without it becoming the thing you're concentrating on.

Give your hands somewhere else to go

Modern work asks a lot from our attention.

Our computers contain our work, messages, meetings, email, news, entertainment and distractions, often separated by nothing more than a browser tab.

Our phones are even worse.

Sometimes we don't pick them up because we actually want anything.

Our hands just go there.

Perhaps the answer isn't trying to eliminate that restless impulse entirely.

Perhaps it's giving it somewhere better to go.

That's the idea behind Focus Lab.

We make beautifully designed analogue tools for restless hands and busy minds.

Objects that can sit on your desk, live in your hand and provide something physical to interact with while you work.

No batteries.

No notifications.

No apps.

No distractions.

Explore Focus Switch

Discover Focus Deck

For a broader introduction to different fidget types, materials and tactile feedback, read The Focus Lab Guide to Fidget Toys for Adults.

Or explore the Focus Lab Journal for more ideas about attention, distraction, tactile design and working with fewer screens.

About the author.

Will Saunders is a UK-based designer and founder of UK Focus Lab, a studio creating analogue tools for focus and calmer work. He writes about attention, distraction, tactile design, creativity and our increasingly complicated relationship with technology.