Hello Sweet Friend:
Have you ever found yourself doodling away at a meeting… and then instantly worried that others would think you had totally tuned out?
The doodle shame is real!
There’s a prevailing belief that doodling means that you’re completely unfocused. It’s a bad habit we need to break… or is it?
What if all that doodle shame has been stopping you from doing something awesome? What if doodling has a ton of benefits?
When you doodling you’re actually tapping into a powerful tool for memory retention, stress relief and tons more. You deserve to doodle in peace! So let’s bust some doodling myths together and look at what makes your doodle sessions so wonderful.
What Exactly Is Doodling
For my non doodling friends, doodles are simply a form of spontaneous drawing. There are truly no rules. And you don’t need to be a skilled artist to join in, because it’s all about no-judgement, freestyle drawing.
On the surface it might look like a silly, distracting activity, which may be why doodling has such a bad rap.
But whether you’re drawing in the margins of your notebook, or filling up a blank page in your journal, you actually have a lot to gain.
The Awesome Benefits of Doodling
1. Better Memory
You’re not distracted when you’re creating those fun scribbles and swirls. You’re tapping into a useful memory tool!
Sunni Brown, author of The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently, says that doodlers retain up to 29% more information than non-doodlers (Woah!) And the our smart friends at Harvard agree. So you aren’t tuned out when you doodle, you’re all the way tuned in.
2. Boost Focus
Doodling also functions as a visual language, allowing you to focus.
Freestyle scribbles help your brain:
- Make sense of your experiences
- Fill in memory gaps
- Keep your focus on the present
Ultimately doodling helps you relax and concentrate. Which makes it a great tool for boring meetings; you’re not zoned out, you’re zoned in!
Related: 5 Goal Setting Tips That Will Help You Achieve Your Dreams
3. Problem Solve
We’ve activated your memory and focus, now you’re ready to problem solve baby!
Freestyle scribbles can help your mind work things out, especially when you’re struggling to concentrate. It gives you the opportunity to analyze things from a different perspective. And can lead to those glorious ah-hah moments. Just let your mind and pen wander freely, your beautiful mind will do the rest.
4. Relieve Stress
Those doodles are also activating your brain’s reward pathways. Which, in turn, can:
- Boost your self-perception
- Improve your mood
- Make you feel amazing.
You can also use doodling as a tool for emotional expression, so you can work through those stressful moments and feel better.
Not to mention, retaining more information is going to ease a ton of stress too. Look at you, rocking it with those doodles!
Related: How To Reduce Stress – 6 Fantastic Tips From Psychiatrists
5. Bring Your Ideas To Life
Feeling inspired? A quick doodle helps you scribble that genius on paper fast! And then you have a wonderful visual starting point.
The best part – your doodles don’t have to make sense to anyone but you. To others, your doodle may look like a scribbly bunch of nothing, but as long as it makes sense to you you’re golden!
This is a tool that professionals like Frank Gehry Rolls, creator of amazing buildings like the Walt Disney Concert Hall, regularly use to begin work on their creations. So you’re in good company if this works for you too.
6. Express Yourself
A doodle session is a lovely form of free, creative expression. Something many of us don’t do often enough.
When you were a kid, you drew, painted and coloured without self-criticism. It didn’t matter if you were good at it. You were just having fun, that’s what mattered. And that should still be all that matters. Even as an adult, you need and deserve some judgement free, artistic fun.
Since doodling is a form of spontaneous, judgement free drawing, it’s provides you with an enjoyable, pressure free way to express yourself creatively. And it can even help you work through creative blocks. Isn’t that awesome?!
Related: 6 Remarkable Benefits of Colouring For Adults
Final Thoughts
Now that’s a lot of fantastic benefits from a simple doodling session!
Bust out your pens and pencils and scribble away, shame free. Because now you know that you’re focused and creating magic on those pages.
Do you like to doodle? Were you surprised by any of these awesome benefits? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
Health and love,
Thought of the day: I know what self-care works for me. I’ll tap into whatever feels right.
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Heather
I doodle all the time. I didn’t realize there were so many benefits!
Bryan
The most revealing thing to me is when I discover I have been doodling, but wasn’t aware of it, like when I am actually daydreaming while doodling. The results really get me thinking about what must be going on in my subconscious!
Ntensibe Edgar
Oh yes, I love doodling! It keeps me very relaxed and calm and besides, I get to freely express my inner thoughts and feelings.
April
I had no idea that doodling was so good for the mind. Now I know why I do it so much!
Kuntala
I never knew this about doodling, but it makes so much sense. I routinely find myself doodling little outlines around important information that I need to remember.
Elizabeth O
I’ve always found doodling to be so soothing, and I always remember important information more readily if I’ve drawn little borders and things around it. I guess now I know why!
Emily Fata
I love both doodling and colouring as a way of decompressing after a long day. Clearly, I’m not the only one! 🙂
Monidipa Dutta
I love doodling too, it actually helps me to relax. It helps. I had helped me a lot!
Angela Ricardo Bethea
Those are some great points and I totally agree with you on that. I doodle sometimes to organize my thoughts.
Amy
Oh wow! I had no idea doodling could be so good for your mental health. I knew it allowed you to be creative and all but as a stress reliever and improving memory? Never really thought of it that way. Very cool.
emman damian
Apart from improving my mental health, it helps me express my emotions. Also, doodling helps improve my creativity. It’s fun to be artistic sometimes!
Neha
I absolutely agree that free style drawing can help with boosting mood! I need to get doodling in my free time too!
Nikola Roza
Never realized that there’s so much to doodling. Thought that was something only children do.
glad to learn of its awesome benefits.
I’m off to doodle now!
Sue Done
I’m going to make my new business wrapping paper as a doodle-sheet so that customers can colour it in. I think that doodle-art is very trendy right now. Thanks again Sara xxx
Laurie
I couldn’t find my 86 year old husband’s green puffer jacket this morning. Looked everywhere. Assumed he’d put it away some weird place. This afternoon I spent a couple of hours doodling, trying to finish a page I started last night. Doodling can function as meditation. It’s said to be good for mental health. Is said to clear the mind. I started doing them a few years ago. Have tons of them, but stopped a year or so ago. A few days ago, I was downstairs looking at them, and wondered why I stopped doing them, and thought damn, I should start doing them again! and did. So, this afternoon there I was busy with my PaperMate SharpWriter doodling in my sketch pad when it came to me out of nowhere: The barber shop! His jacket must be at the barber shop! I called, and sure enough his jacket AND hat are there. Will pick them up tomorrow. 🤗
Our son who lives in California left for home this morning after spending a week here helping out after my husband and I both had Covid. He had taken my husband to the barber shop a couple of days ago.