I like multipurpose things. Combo printer/scanner/photocopier. Swiss army knives. Husbands who can cook and knit and do plumbing and electrical work.
In my office/guest room/writing room (another multipurpose thing) I have one of those gymnastics/fitness balls that you can sit on. My massage therapist suggested it for my lower back pain. It makes you sit up straight, because if you don’t, you fall off. Works like a charm.
I use it when I’m writing at the desk. Not only does it help me keep from slouching, but if I’m having a bit of writer’s block, I bounce on it. It’s a nice little fidget for my ADHD brain. I’ll also roll back and forth or from side to side if the search for the perfect word takes more than a minute.
I also use it as a foot stool when I’m sitting in my rocking chair, reading. It keeps my feet in a position for good lymph drainage in my legs. People who sit at desks all day tend to retain water in their ankles.
Again, it’s good for my ADHD. If I stop to think about something I’ve read, I’ll bounce my feet on the ball.
My therapist said that she used hers a lot when her first child was a baby. He had colic and she spent a lot of time holding him while gently bouncing on the ball.
When she suggested I buy a fitness ball, I told her I already had one. Several years ago, the hubby had used a half dozen of them as planets in the garden.
Lemme ‘splain.
For years we held a Halloween party that was an extravaganza. Each year had a theme. One year the theme was space/aliens and he created a solar system in the garden using fitness balls of various sizes set on black-painted stilts. It was pretty cool. You couldn’t see the stilts in the dark and the planets appeared to be floating in space.
After the party, the balls got deflated and put away for some unknown future project.
I think the only purpose we’ve not used the fitness balls for is as fitness balls.
I highly recommend using a fitness ball as a desk chair.