Get Ready, Get Set, Doodle!

I was a hardcore doodler in school. Most of my class notes and notebooks contained some sort of doodle on the page. My favorite things to doodle were just lines and shapes with different patterns. I would often start with one small shape like a circle and then would just keep building and building upon that shape with other designs and shapes until that doodle encompassed a large portion of the page. As an adult, I still doodle on any nearby piece of scrap paper when I’m talking on the phone, in a meeting, or when I want to spontaneously scribble. I recently was given a rainbow swirled colored pencil, which adds a whole new element of fun to my scribbles!

Observers might be quick to assume that one is not paying attention when they doodle, however doodling can actually help with focus. In fact, there are many benefits of doodling on our body and mind and doodling can enhance our creativity and productivity.

What exactly is doodling? Doodling is the act of drawing, sketching, or scribbling without a final goal in mind. There are no guidelines for what a doodle should look like, so each doodle is unique to the individual. The doodle might be linear, cylindrical, diagonal, spherical, or polka dotted. It could be just shapes or the doodle might take the form of a specific image, creature, person, or animal.

Doodling enhances concentration and memory

While doodling has been associated with distraction and inattention, doodling has been found to improve concentration and our ability to recall information. Have you ever attended a lecture or work meeting and felt your eyes start to glaze over from all the continuous information being thrown at you? An overload of information and paying intense attention to something for too long can strain the brain, causing us to lose focus. Researchers theorize that the act of doodling keeps the brain alert and awake during otherwise boring tasks, providing just enough stimulation while preventing mental strain. This allows new material to be more easily retained. Drawing can also help create connections in our brains between pieces of information. Psychologist Jackie Andrade at the University of Plymouth in the UK published one of the largest studies on doodling. Participants were asked to listen to a dull 2.5 minute voicemail message, unaware that their memory was being tested. Half the participants were asked to shade in some squares and circles during the message, and the other half did nothing. The participants were then asked to recall elements of the message. It was found that the participants who doodled concentrated on the voice recording better and could recall more information. If we consider doodling to be fun, it might also increase the enjoyment of learning, which could lead us to being more engaged with the material we are trying to learn.

With all that being said, there is a time and place for doodling. If we need to be interacting in a meeting or class discussion, doodling can turn into a distraction if we become fully immersed in the doodle. If we need to take in visuals, then the unstructured doodling can weaken recall of graphs or charts.

Doodling provides stress relief and pleasure

Research has found that the rhythmic and repetitive motion of drawing can elicit the relaxation response. Doodling calms the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls the 'flight or fight' response, decreasing our perceived level of stress. Art in any form, has been shown to lower cortisol levels, the stress hormone. By tapping into mind/body coordination, doodling can be a meditative experience. Doodling can also be a simple act of pleasure used to decrease addictive behaviors and regulate mood. Researchers from Drexel University in Philadelphia examined brain activation measured during three forms of creative self-expression: coloring, doodling, and free drawing. All three art-making activities, particularly doodling, activated the reward pathways in the brain. Researchers believe that the art-making process can enhance blood flow to the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which has been shown to trigger positive feelings.

Doodling supports mindfulness

Doodling helps us to be more present in the moment without judging our thoughts and feelings. It is a technique that can help calm and quiet our racing mind. By allowing our minds to be free, letting go of certain ideas and expectations, we can enter a state of self-acceptance. This may lead to unexpected discoveries. For clients who struggle with perfectionism and experience stress as a result of high expectations for themselves, I often recommend that they try doodling. When we doodle, we don’t have to be an artist and we don’t have to be perfect. The doodle isn’t for anyone else to see, it is just for ourselves.

Doodling helps us process emotions and understand ourselves better

Sometimes we do not have the exact words to express how we are feeling and it can get difficult to even understand how we are feeling at times. Images might more easily come to mind to describe how we are feeling. A University of California San Diego team was testing out a digital sketch platform called UbiSketch over a four week period. The images that testers sketched often conveyed their feelings and were sent to their friends and family. One tester sent a picture of her term paper looming over her as a deadline approached. Many researchers also believe our scribbles can give us insight into what's going on under the surface, which can help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Doodling supports creativity and problem solving

Doodling is multi-modal in nature and allows us to tap into our creative, playful side. It not only engages our mind, hand, and vision, but engages more of our senses, which makes us more involved in what we’re doing. Doodling is thought to stimulate multiple areas of the brain that activates our creative thinking skills and may help us analyze information differently. Instead of writing full pages of notes or trying to memorize everything someone has said to us, we can turn the complex information into images we will more easily remember. Turning abstract concepts into scribbles also helps us relate to the material better. This can then help us explore a topic in greater depth or better explain the topic to someone else. “Tunnel vision” is a term used to describe someone who focuses exclusively on a single point of view. This can easily happen when we're trying to solve a problem or complete a task. We become laser-focused on the information in front of us and have difficulty looking at the material from a different angle or point of view. Doodling allows us to take a step backwards and connect overarching ideas and concepts. It is this big-picture thinking that can lead to innovative solutions.

Studies have shown that when we make a free drawing, like when we are doodling, the brain goes into the Alpha wave frequencies. Alpha waves are brain patterns that often show up when someone is in a highly productive state of flow. It has been suggested that doodling evokes more brain activation than other focused-drawing activities which may come with boundaries or limitations. Even just short periods of doodling helps individuals perceive themselves as having better ideas and more capable of solving problems.

Also - doodling can just simply be fun. Doodling allows us to create anything we want and lets our imagination run wild!

Scribble Drawing Exercise

Scribble drawing is an exercise I frequently use with clients. It’s a great exercise for both frequent doodlers and those new to doodling. Scribble drawing is a way to practice letting go of expectations and challenging the need to draw “perfectly.” There is no “good” or “bad” because it’s just a scribble! It helps us to focus our mind on the here and now by turning away from worries, negative thoughts, planning, and overanalyzing. We instead focus on the scribble. Scribble drawing can be used to aid in relaxation, to practice mindfulness, and to promote creativity. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Get a piece of paper (small to regular sized) and something to draw with (pencil, pen, colored pencil, marker).

Step 2: Draw a continuous line, filling the paper up. Do not lift up your pen. Just let the pen wander without worrying what your drawing will look like. The line will cross over itself. Do this for several moments until you feel that you have filled your paper. If you notice your mind wandering: acknowledge the thought, take a deep breath, and return your focus back to the doodle.

Step 3: Look at the spaces created between the lines of your doodle. Spend several minutes filling in the spaces with colors, shapes, patterns, and designs. You can also create certain images out of the spaces - like faces or animals. Again, if your mind starts to wander, bring your focus back to your doodle. You might choose to set a timer, continue to doodle until you feel your stress has decreased, or continue until you feel complete with the drawing.

Step 4: Complete your doodle. Notice how your body and mind are feeling now. What sensations do you notice? Take a moment and look at your doodle. Let go of any judgment. Appreciate what you have drawn and how all of the parts have come together.

Variation:

Do the exact same exercise, but listen to music while scribbling.You can explore different types of music with this exercise (familiar, unfamiliar, with lyrics, instrumental). Once you’ve chosen a song, create the scribble drawing for the duration of the song. Start by drawing the continuous line and switch over to filling in the spaces whenever you feel that it’s right. You can focus on different elements in the music to inspire your drawing - such as following the beat of the music, the speed, vocal range, or instruments - or just use the music to set a mood. Sometimes adding music can help to further focus on the here and now of scribbling. Notice if adding music affected you differently. Did you notice any different sensations in your body? After trying scribble drawing with and without music, you may decide that you like one way over the other or both equally!

When To Doodle

Below are some ideas of situations in which it might be helpful to doodle. You might want to keep a “doodle” notebook handy or pieces of paper nearby your office, workspace, or in your bedroom. You can doodle for 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or as long as you want/need.

Feeling overwhelmed and stressed
Needing to take a mental break during the work day
To help you transition from tasks or roles (ex. Engage in a doodling practice when first coming home from school or work)
To help you fall asleep at night
Having difficulty getting started with a project - doodling might help with inspiration
Feeling stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed in the middle of a project
Make it a daily morning mindfulness practice to start the day with less worries
Make it daily night practice to unwind
If you’re having difficulty remembering new material - create images that represent the topics/ideas

If you’re unsure what to doodle, here are some more ideas:

Patterned shapes: draw open shapes and fill them in with different patterns (straight lines, zig-zags, polka dots, waves)
Expanding flower: Start by drawing a simple center shape, like a circle, with four semi-circular petals surrounding it. Then add another row of petals, and continue adding rows outward until your flower reaches your desired size
Repeated shapes to fill an area or page. Shapes such as bubbles, circles, triangles, Waves, Tiny leaf shapes, Spirals, Short lines, long lines, curvy lines, wavy lines, dots, “Checkerboard” patterns – make a grid and color in every other square