Doodling: Do You Do It?

[snowy]

Evidently doodling is good for keeping your brain active when you're bored:
Bored? Try Doodling To Keep The Brain On Task : NPR

Bored? Try Doodling To Keep The Brain On Task

by Alix Spiegel

Morning Edition, March 12, 2009 · Four years ago at Davos, the famous world economic forum, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared on a panel with Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and the rock star Bono. After the panel, a journalist wandering the stage came across some papers scattered near Blair's seat. The papers were covered in doodles: circles and triangles, boxes and arrows.

"Your standard meeting doodles," says David Greenberg, professor of journalism at Rutgers University.

So this journalist brought his prize to a graphologist who, after careful study, drew some pretty disturbing conclusions. According to experts quoted in the Independent and The Times, the prime minister was clearly "struggling to maintain control in a confusing world" and "is not rooted." Worse, Blair was apparently, "not a natural leader, but more of a spiritual person, like a vicar."

Two other major British newspapers, which had also somehow gotten access to the doodles, came to similar conclusions.

A couple days later, No. 10 Downing Street finally weighed in. It had done a full and thorough investigation and had an important announcement to make:

The doodles were not made by Blair; they were made by Bill Gates. Gates had left them in the next seat over.

Oodles Of Doodles

Gates is a doodler, and he's not alone. Lyndon Johnson doodled. Ralph Waldo Emerson doodled. Ronald Reagan drew pictures of cowboys, horses and hearts crossed with arrows. Most of us doodle at one point or another. But why?

To understand where the compulsion to doodle comes from, the first thing you need to do is look more closely at what happens to the brain when it becomes bored. According to Jackie Andrade, a professor of psychology at the University of Plymouth, though many people assume that the brain is inactive when they're bored, the reverse is actually true.

"If you look at people's brain function when they're bored, we find that they are using a lot of energy — their brains are very active," Andrade says.

The reason, she explains, is that the brain is designed to constantly process information. But when the brain finds an environment barren of stimulating information, it's a problem.

"You wouldn't want the brain to just switch off, because a bear might walk up behind you and attack you; you need to be on the lookout for something happening," Andrade says.

So when the brain lacks sufficient stimulation, it essentially goes on the prowl and scavenges for something to think about. Typically what happens in this situation is that the brain ends up manufacturing its own material.

In other words, the brain turns to daydreams, fantasies of Oscar acceptance speeches and million-dollar lottery wins. But those daydreams take up an enormous amount of energy.

Ergo The Doodle

This brings us back to doodling. The function of doodling, according to Andrade, who recently published a study on doodling in Applied Cognitive Psychology, is to provide just enough cognitive stimulation during an otherwise boring task to prevent the mind from taking the more radical step of totally opting out of the situation and running off into a fantasy world.

Andrade tested her theory by playing a lengthy and boring tape of a telephone message to a collection of people, only half of whom had been given a doodling task. After the tape ended she quizzed them on what they had retained and found that the doodlers remembered much more than the nondoodlers.

"They remembered about 29 percent more information from the tape than the people who were just listening to the tape," Andrade says.

In other words, doodling doesn't detract from concentration; it can help by diminishing the need to resort to daydreams.

It's a very good strategy for the next time you find yourself stuck on a slow-moving panel with an aging rock star and verbose former president.

So how many of you doodle? Do you find that it helps you focus?

I doodle constantly. The margins of all of my notebooks are filled with doodles. I focus on drawing various shapes. Some end up looking like strange gourds. I draw a variety of morning glory-type flowers on almost every page. After reading Watchmen I started trying to draw the outline of the Silk Spectre II, Laurie Juspeczyk. If anyone were to look at my doodles from this last term, they would find me preoccupied with the line of a woman's waist and hip. I also have been known to try and draw anime-style faces.

I might scan some of my doodles later and add them to the thread to show you what I mean, but here's a doodle from President Obama, in honor of National Doodle Day:



Feel free to share your doodles, if you have them.

[BadNick]

I think doodling does sort of let me relax part of my body & brain but still let me hear what's going on while I'm doodling...sort of like a white noise background kind of thing.

I'm not sure how to gauge the quantity, but I think I doodle a lot. I do it pretty much whenever I can "adequately" pay attention to the task at hand, but still have that little sideline going on. I sometimes err to the side of doodling. In school it was mostly during lectures, so I end up hearing most of the lecture but with a notebook full of doodles. Now that I'm in work, I doodle at meetings. I thought it might be because of my strong artistic side but I'm not so sure that's it. I've saved very few of my doodles...most get disposed of when the page they're on is no longer of other value to me...though I think I still have some books and notebooks from high school and college and I bet there's a lot of doodles in those.

[FuglyStick]

I don't have them anymore, but the notebooks I used in college where 90% doodle, with some "informative material" wedged in-between.

[mrklixx]

When I was a little kid, I kinda had this problem. And it's not even that big of a deal, something like 8 percent of kids do it. For some reason, I don't know why. I would just kinda... sit around all day... and draw pictures of dicks. I'd just sit there hours on end drawing dicks. I didn't know what it was. I couldn't touch the pen to the paper without drawing the shape of a penis. It's really fucked up. Here I am. A little kid. And I can't stop drawing dicks to save my own life. Your precious little Becca sat next to me for all of fourth grade.And in the classroom was where I did the majority of my illustrations. I was very secretive about this whole dick operation. Even I thought I was fucking crazy. Imagine what everyone else would think? So I would stash all my dick drawings in this Ghostbusters lunchbox that I had. So one day, I'm finishing up this real big, veiny, triumphant bastard, all of a sudden...She starts crying, she flips out. Then she rats me out to the principal. He finds this Ghostbusters lunchbox dick treasure chest and he fucking flips out. He calls in my parents. Turns out this principal is a religious fanatic, and he thinks I'm possessed by some sort of dick devil. My parents go make me see some therapist, and he's asking me all these dick questions. They literally stopped me from eating foods that were shaped like dicks. No hot dogs, no popsicles... You know how many foods are shaped like dicks? The best kinds.

[Punk.of.Ages]

I doodle on everything! I don't even have to be bored, I just doodle. I have sketch books packed with nothing but simple doodles. Everything I actually draw full out started as a doodle.

There's a thread in the art section with a couple of my doodles in it. Maybe I'll look for them later...

[little_tippler]

I used to doodle a lot more---but yes I doodle. Now I call them my sketches

Even so, I find that study hard to believe. I know that when I pay attention, I take copious notes, and I'm pretty sure I will remember more than a 'doodler', because I was really focused on capturing the information that was being imparted. But that's just me.

I also don't quite agree with the idea that when you're in a class listening, it's not stimulating enough so your brain needs something else. I think, sometimes, no matter how great the information being shared can be, your mind just wanders anyway because it can only take so long of a person's voice droning on, or you may be tired, or have a lot of other things to worry about at the time...I don't see how doodling helps you take in that class better.

I guess it may help in not totally canceling out what you're trying to retain, but I think people just get restless sitting at a desk for very long and need to distract themselves with something else after a while. For myself anyway, if I doodle during a class, I usually get carried away with the doodling and reatin less than I would normally.

[Giant Hamburger]

My name is Giant Hamburger and I am a doodler.

My favorite thing to do is to put little drawings in my kid's lunch.
After several years of this I have developed a reputation at the elementary school.
They get stuffed into a vase when they return home.
The doodles that is, not the children.

[Willravel]

I do doodle. You, too. You do doodle, too.

[Cynthetiq]

Snowy, thank you for posting this, I've been wanting to post a similar article that appeard in Wired a couple of weeks ago.

I used to doodle. Alot. I had to break myself of the habit because it wasn't considered good form in meetings with executives. So I learned to electronic doodle with my gadgets, my palm and my blackberry. To me the doodling was the focuser and kept me able to stand the meetings. Now I'm stuck in a black hole with not being able to pay attention to meetings. It really sucks.

One time in college, I had a professor (Catholic college she was actually a Sister) that wrote all over the blackboard copius amounts of topics that she was going to discuss for the session. Everyone walked in and started writing the moment they sat down until the moment they left. She'd start with each item and keep talking and talking, moving from item to item. I would doodle.

I aced every single test she gave because I looked at my notes for points when she was talking at the same point I was doodling. I could imagine it in my head and pull up the information quickly and easily. It was a simple mnemonic device.

When finals came out, I got a B instead of the deserved A. She claimed that I didn't deserve it because I didn't put as much effort as everyone else who took all those notes. I explained it was my note taking technique and that I was able to regurgitate her lecture from point to point, person to person, incident to incident, all based on my doodles. I even showed her a doodle of an octopus and regurgitated the lecture to her. She was convinced I knew the material, but not convinced that it was fair to the rest of the students who wrote until their hands hurt each and every session.

[Grancey]

I doodle now and always have. My most entertaining doodle memory occurred several years ago when I worked in a department with a supervisor who really disliked me. I was the interim supervisor when she was hired, and maybe she resented me for that? I don't know, doesn't matter anymore. One day during one of our staff meetings, I started doodling. I wasn't ignoring her and doodling. I was listening, taking notes and doodling at the same time. Like Cyn said, doodling helps me listen better. Anyway, in the middle of the meeting she suddenly accussed me of drawing pictures of her with a missle aimed at her. What??? I was shocked, speechless and surprised. I was so unprepared for that comment I didn't know what to say. I had not doodled a face, a body or anything remotely resembling a human or a missile! It was just a doodle. There were some nervous laughs in the room and the meeting progressed. But it sure made staff meetings more interesting after that.

[KellyC]

I used to doodle a lot in high school and my early years of college. Of course, some HS teacher thought I wasn't paying attention and told me to stop. Now come to think of it, I did remember better when I doodle during the lectures. I don't know what happened but I stopped. I should start again...

[Grasshopper Green]

I doodle. None of my college notes had unscathed edges - I doubt my high school notes did either. I don't have as much opportunity now, but I often doodle while I'm on the phone at work. I tend to draw flowers with vines attached to them, diamonds, and pom pom looking things the most. When we used to have weekly staff meetings my coworker would doodle and I would roll my paper up at the edges, because I didn't have a hard surface to doodle on. My boss didn't care. This may seem wierd, but I like watching other people doodle (not draw or write, just doodle). It relaxes me.

[ametc]

I would doodle all the time in class and when the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention, I spoke back at her and told her that it actually helps me.. like chewing gum helps me. I told her I'd make a deal with her.. If I doodled and still got an A in her class, then she'd let me continue to doodle.. if I got anything lower than an A.. I wouldn't doodle anymore. I ended up getting an A and I was allowed to doodle.


EDIT: MORE...


I doodle characters and portraits and people around me. I was pretty good until I graduated highschool. Now, I can't draw for pennies.

[snowy]

It's funny that some of you mention teachers who discouraged your doodling. As many of you know, I spent the last few weeks in a classroom observing a teacher. I took pages upon pages of notes while sitting in the back of the classroom, and I doodled in the margins. Sometimes the kids would come look over my shoulder. The kids seemed surprised that I doodled too, so I flipped through my notes and showed them just how much I doodle. I also take a lot of notes in general. I think the article is right in that me moving my pencil helps me to focus on what's being said. I don't think I'll ever discourage doodling on the part of students--I'd be a complete hypocrite if I did, and I'm not a fan of that.

[genuinegirly]

I don't doodle frequently.
If I start to doodle, it distracts me. A different part of my brain is required for artistic endeavors. I suppose I am in the minority.

[Xerxys]

I don't doodle at all. If I'm not doing something I would otherwise consider "constructive" I just sleep.

[Sue]

I used to doodle, but it's frowned up at work to do things other than work-related, er.. things. Last time I doodled I think was a year ago.

[Crack]

I draw Penises. Seriously. Everywhere. I cannot go by a fogged up window without drawing a penis on it.

I think I need help.

[Daniel_]

I draw geometric doodles - 3D shapes, projections, that sort of thing. I draw boxes and lines round important words.

I don't draw pictures though.

[Tully Mars]

Doodle, guilty.

[mixedmedia]

I used to doodle sort of amoeba shaped things and fill them with dots and stripes and other shapes. Sometimes they would become quite elaborate. But I've fallen out of the habit of doing them. And like Sue says, more than once I got strange looks from people while doing them at work (in meetings). So, I guess I just stopped doing them.

[Redlemon]

I draw arrows with triangular hollow heads. I do the line part first, then the arrowhead. The lines for the arrows all curve around, but no lines touch each other. The arrows don't point in any particular direction.

Some people think I'm drawing sperm, but I'm really not.

[noodle]

noodle doodles. oodles of doodles. i've actually had to explain (and prove) to numerous supervisors, professors and supervisors that i can retain a significantly higher level of information if i doodle. we've done tests. because if i'm not doing something with my hands to make my brain focus on the auditory stimuli, i tend to start wandering.
i'll see if i can scan in some doodles. i have fun ones.

[Destrox]

draw more than doodle in notes/papers,etc

I go for quality when if i'm not going to be listening to someone.

[Eweser]

Originally Posted by FuglyStick

I don't have them anymore, but the notebooks I used in college where 90% doodle, with some "informative material" wedged in-between.

I think mine were more like 95% doodle...

[CinnamonGirl]

Originally Posted by Willravel

I do doodle. You, too. You do doodle, too.

I was so thinking that.


Back to the OP, yep, I definitely do. Only I'm not artsy, so it's always just things like stars, spirals, boxes, and intricate connect-the-lines type stuff.