Many people hate the population known as the doodlers. These are the people who sit in classes and meetings and scribble on the corner of their papers. They fidget when forced to sit still for extended periods of time. Their notebooks are filled with seemingly random lines and squiggles and other geometric patterns.
I am a habitual doodler. If I can draw on something, I will. I buy extra Sharpie pens, a Costco-sized pack of colored Sharpies and an extra journal or notebook in preparation for a new school year. I can always be found with some kind of doodle in progress.
When I was in junior high, I was often told to put my drawings away during class because the teacher thought I wasn’t paying attention. However, I always left class remembering every word that he or she said. I aced my quizzes and tests despite my accused lack of focus in class.
Friends and family will ask me, “How on earth do you keep your grades up? You’re always working on some art project!” Despite their disbelief, the art is the answer to my academic achievement.
Doodling has long been dismissed as a waste of time and a distraction in the classroom. However, research in neuroscience and psychology prove that doodling is a thinking tool that helps people stay focused, remember information better and understand new or unfamiliar concepts. A blank page gives the brain room to expand upon inspiration and ideas.
In a less-than-interesting lecture, students are more likely to remember the information if they are doodling instead of daydreaming. Daydreaming requires more of the brain’s processing power. For example, you begin thinking about what classes you want to take next semester, which leads to thinking about graduation, which leads to thinking about your future plans. Before you know it, your brain is using what psychologists call “executive functioning,” which requires significant mental employment.
Doodling, on the other hand, does not demand executive functions from the brain. Your brain only expends a small amount of cognitive exertion to steer you away from daydreaming. Doodling forces your brain to use just enough energy to keep you from daydreaming, but not so much energy that you are unable to pay attention.
I have personally found that I associate a particular doodle with what I was listening to as I drew. I can look back at my seemingly ambiguous lines and squiggles and I remember my geology lesson about plate tectonics.
Artwork also provides an outlet for complex emotions that can’t be put into words. In times of emotional distress, I turn to art to express my grief, hurt or anger. In times of joy, art embodies my overflowing happiness. When words fail me, doodles allow me to make sense of the situation.
The next time someone gives you a hard time about doodling during class or a meeting, you can tell them with complete confidence that you have been listening to every word. You may even remember better than the people who weren't doodling! Your journals full of random drawings are not a reminder of time wasted, but of a habit you don't need to break.
