Stuck to the cupboard above my desk is a lump of Blu-Tack. Not because I want to adhere things to my wall, but because I use it like a fidget cube to distract my hands when I’m thinking. It’s kind of messy, it gets stuck under my nails sometimes, and if I drop it I have to throw it away, because tbh I don’t vacuum that often. But these disadvantages are far outweighed by how relaxing it is to pull and squish it.

But Blu-Tack no more! I found Crazy Aaron’s Magical Thinking Putty.

It’s a viscous silicone-based non-Newtonian fluid, which flows very slowly (but not as slowly as pitch), so for all practical purposes, it’s a rubbery, gel-like solid when you play with it. Just like Blu-Tack.

This stuff is totally old hat in the US, so Americans are saying “Jeez, duh!” and rolling their eyes at me here, but it’s only just hit popularity in NZ. If you’re a Kiwi, until Jan 31 MightyApe has some colors on sale in the mini-tins for only $3 (Whitcoulls stock it too). And for thinking purposes, a mini-tin is a perfectly cromulent amount. It fits in my everyday carry so I can get it out when I’m puzzling out a plot point. It senses as tacky to the fingers, but it doesn’t leave your skin sticky at all (magic!). Pro tip: don’t leave it sitting on the open page of a notebook while you take a bathroom break because it will sluggishly but inevitably drool all over the shop and it is not easy to pick off paper.

I got Super Scarab because it’s iridescent purple/teal and I am six years old. I put it right up there with Brain.FM as a key productivity tool. Possibly not coincidentally, I just had my most productive two weeks of writing since August 2016. For any aspies out there who like slightly sticky, rubbery textures, and have not yet tried putty as an executive-function-enhancing tool, give it a go.