Fidgeting, Fiddling, Stimming: an Undervalued Key to Creativity?
“Nie huśtaj diabła” ("Don't rock the devil")
My parents would say this to me whenever I was swinging my legs back and forth when sat at the kitchen table as a child. Whilst annoying and inconvenient, is it possible that my behaviour was in fact the wisdom of my body?
The Research of Fidgeting
“We have at our disposal a flexible and sensitive mechanism for making the necessary adjustments [to maintain optimal alertness levels] : fidgeting. At times we may use small rthythmic movements to calm our anxiety and allow us to focus; at other moments, we may drum our fingers or tap our feet to stave off drowsiness, or toy with an object like a pen or a paperclip as we ponder a dificult concept.
Isbister, a professor of computational media at the University of California, Santa Cruz, believes that the social disapproval directed at fidgeting is misplaced. Though we imagine that we can manage our mental activity from within our heads, it's often more effective to employ movements of our bodies for that purpose - to engage in what she calls "embodied self-regulation". Isbister would reverse the usual chain of command in which the brain tells the body what to do. "Changing what the body does," she notes, "can change our feelings, perceptions, and thoughts."
— “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain” by Annie Murphy Paul
Many autistic and ADHD people might say to this: "Well, yes, that's obvious!". But that's not so obvious to most people, so let's look into this further.
The Benefits of Fidgeting
“Research suggests that fidgeting can extend our minds in several ways beyond simply modulating our arousal. The playful nature of these movements may induce in us a mildly positive mood state, of the kind that has been linked to more flexible and creative thinking. Alternatively, their mindless and repetitive character may occupy just enough mental bandwidth to keep our minds from wandering from the job at hand. One study found that people who were directed to doodle while carrying out a boring listening task remembered 29 percent more information than people who did not doodle, likely because the latter group had let their attention slip away entirely.”
— “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain” by Annie Murphy Paul
Here comes a personal anecdote: When I was working in the financial services industry, I once worked with a colleague whose doodling in meetings was raised during their annual performance management review (as apparently it didn't look professional). In fact, they ended up having an explicit goal in their personal development plan to reduce the amount of doodling in meetings…
Should Office Workers Try and Fidget MORE?
“Perhaps most intriguing is Isbister's theory that fidgeting can supply us with a range of sensory experiences entirely missing from our arid encounters with screen and keyboard. "Today's digital devices tend to be smooth, hard, and sleek," she writes, while the fidget objects she crowdsourced exhibit "a wide range of textures, from the smoothness of a stone to the roughness of a walnut shell to the tackiness of cellophane tape". (...) It's as if we use fidgeting to remind ourselves that we are more than just a brain - that we have a body, too, replete with rich capacities for feeling and acting. Thinking while moving brings the full range of our faculties into play.”
— “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain” by Annie Murphy Paul
An Autist's Perspective on The Importance of Fidgeting
Dr Nick Walker, an autistic activist, talks in her dissertation about the experience of re-discovering fidgeting (stimming in neurodiversity speak) as an adult:
“Over the course of a decade, all the issues that had been part of my long state of psychospiritual crisis largely resolved themselves. The persistent feelings of futility, alienation, anxiety, depression, and loss all slowly faded away; my baseline emotional state gradually became one of happy serenity. My cognitive capacities further improved, enabling me to engage in writing and scholarship at levels that would have been impossible for me when I was 30, and opening the door to an academic teaching career. My creativity blossomed, and I began writing fiction for publication. I had more energy to live my life and to follow through on plans and projects—partly because I was happier and more enthusiastic about what I was doing in my life, but also because “[t]he chronic tension of muscular armoring requires a constant energy supply” (E. W. L. Smith, 1985, p. 44) and thus, the more character armor one releases, the more energy one has available for better things.
I had felt for so long that there was something missing in every aspect of my life, that I was missing some crucial piece. It turned out that what was missing from my life was me: the embodied dance of my authentic autistic self, which I’d long ago lost and had now regained.”
Fostering an Open Fidgeting Culture in the Workplace
The research is clear: we should let people move their bodies - whether that's subtle fidgeting, fiddling or stimming, or more pronounced movement like a walk and talk meeting - so that they can think better.
Here are three ways to get started with encouraging and normalising thinking with the body:
Allowing people to fidget or fiddle with things is great but don't stop just there: nudge your people to do so by providing fidgeting tools! Make sure there are pens (quiet ones ideally!), stress balls or other fidget items available in physical meeting locations.
Be the role model yourself, even more so if you're in a senior leadership position: give fidgeting a go and notice how it alters your capacity to think.
When you’re chairing a meeting, and feel safe and brave enough, ask: "What are you thinking with today?" and invite people to share their tools to enable them to stay still and present by moving.
How I Embed Stimming in my Neurodiversity Coaching and Neurodiversity Training Practice
I set expectations from the start and role model stimming
At the start of a coaching or training session, I'll give an explicit invitation to fidget. I'm very likely to be stimming myself, usually using a small object like a seashell or stone (whatever I have near me or pack in my bag if meeting in person!). I might even share what fidgeting tool I’m using that day.
I let others experience stimming
The "Enabling Neurodivergent Minds to Thrive” neurodiversity training session has a module on stimming and it's probably my favourite part of the training. Not because I love stimmimg (I do), but because of what I observe in the room: as we discuss the topic, more people start to openly stim, whether that's by playing with a pen or doodling. It's joyous to see it - and even more joyous to make people aware of naturally engaging with moving their bodies!
I help clients to embody change, not just to think about change
When coaching neurodivergent clients, I go even deeper, beyond promoting stimming. With client's permission (and when a suitable opportunity presents itself and it's safe to do so), I work with a client's entire sensory experience, that is external and internal sensations, as well as the mind. This practice of ‘embodied coaching’ has been shown to produce more long-lasting results.
About the Author:
Alicja Nocon is the founder of Expand the Circle. Her mission is to empower late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults to contribute in the workplace on their own terms and for it to make business sense.
Alicja offers coaching and mentoring for neurodivergent adults and neurodivergent employees with autism or ADHD, neurodiversity training for organisations and enjoys speaking at panels and other events.
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