9 Best Fidget Toys for Play & Productivity (2023)

Fidget spinners may have brought fidget toys into the spotlight, but they’re far from the only toys designed specifically for fidgeting.

While you might have grown up to the admonishment “Don’t fidget!”, there are actually good reasons to fidget. Fidgeting can release excess energy, keep you alert, and be an outlet for your nervous jitters.

Fidget toys can be a fun conversation piece on your desk. They give something to do besides tapping your pen when you need to stop and think and will help you endure endless phone conferences.

Fidget toys are a playful hack to stay focused and productive. Here are some of our favorites.

The best known and most widely accepted office fidget toy is the stress ball. Stress balls come in all colors and styles, from corporate with company logos to cute cartoon characters.

But whatever the outer styling, stress balls are typically flexible plastic balls used to manually squeeze and knead to reduce stress, strengthen your hands or just because it’s a fun sensation. While you could for a standard ball, why not go for something with a little playful flair like this potato stress toy from Alpi.

Looking for a classy gift to celebrate a new job or promotion? Playable Art Helicon comes with 38 laser-cut wood pieces assembled on a brass tube. It includes a solid wood display stand and comes in a gift box with a magnetic catch.

The best part though is the unique and mesmerizing shapes it makes when you spin it. It’s kinetic artwork that transforms from a helix to a pinecone shape and then back again. It makes beautiful office decor as well as a fidget toy.

If you’re looking to upgrade your fidget spinner experience, try these optical illusion balls which seems to magically spin unfurling a continuously flowing helix seems to merge into your desktop. Roughly the size of a ping pong ball, you can get 3-5 minutes spinning time. It’s nearly silent and comes in a range of subdued metallic colors.

What better way to fidget than with mini magnets crafted for you to build, mash or smash. If your ideal fidget toy encourages creativity and imagination, this is the one for you.

You can build shapes or create your own masterpiece while you’re on a conference call. No matter how you use it, LICRAFT Magnetic Balls add a little zen flow to your desk.

Want a little bit of everything? This 3-pack of fidget toys comes with a fidget controller pad, one six-roller chain, and one key flippy chain.

Whether you get bored easily, or want to share them with your co-workers this is a great kit that covers all the basic fidget toy styles.

It seems to be a requirement that all corporate executives in movies need a Newton’s Cradle on their desk. The name comes from Newton’s Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The principle is demonstrated through the toy itself as the balls transfer momentum back and forth.

Whether you’re looking for a demonstration of the laws of physics or just want the peaceful and reassuring clicking from the balls going back and forth, this is a fun addition to your desktop fidget toys.

You might think of spinnings tops being more for the preschool crowd but spinning tops as an adult is surprisingly relaxing. With a ball handle, silicone spin grip, and precision bearing, the spin time lasts up to 3 minutes.

These tops also double as a conversation started with themes based around various historical UFO sightings. It comes in a variety of sightings including Roswell, Cussac, and Rendlesham.

While this cube might remind you of a Rubik’s cube, it actually behaves much differently. It’s a hinged aluminum alloy cube that folds in and out in different shapes with no “right answer” the goal is simply to move.

When arranged as a cube it measures 1.57″ cubed and is a great size to slip into a pocket or bag. It even comes with its own carrying case.

This spinner takes a little time to warm up to and get it moving but once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can do it with minimal distraction. It’s a soothing motion for your deep thinking sessions.

The stainless steel chainmail rings are loose enough to keep pulling over each other and the weave is an endless pattern. It’s not completely silent but does have a nice click of the metal loops engaging. They come in a variety of sizes and colors.