Why Do You Doodle?

Image credit: Susanne Downes (Barbados)

Waiting for an important call or an email? or – You are on a conference call but your mind is not actually there? Sounds familiar? Ever caught yourself in a situation where your attention is totally out of focus, and you just start scribbling with a pen in your hands – on that piece of paper in front of you. Well, did you know that all that scribbling and drawing actually has a name?

It’s called doodling…

Lately, doodling has become an art. It is incredible how a doodle is easily turned into a remarkable piece of art. Apart from the fact that it does magic for expressing our creativity, it also has some significant health benefits. Doodling helps us stay concentrated and improves our imagination while boosting our artistic mindset.  

Doodling helps our brain stay alert! – It is a reaction of our fight-or-flight mode, when our brain is starting to shut off and, doodling becomes the last resort to keep our brain awake. Nowadays, doodling is a part of different therapies which aid in decreasing stress levels and also increasing dopamine – a feel-good hormone. 

Dr. Jackie Andrade conducted a research with 40 people. He asked them to listen to a 2-minute boring conversation, and didn’t warn them they would have been questioned upon completion. What he discovered however, might just be the reason why doodling is an art nowadays.

Dr. Andrade learned that people who doodled while they were listening to a conversation, payed attention – 29% more! – than the others who didn’t. 

So, what does your doodle work say about you?

These are the 8 most common types of doodles that might say something about your personality: 

Circles show your need to belong and be loved

Squares show you’re a realistic person

– Triangles show you’re enthusiastic and energetic

Hearts mean you are romantic and sentimental

– Spider web indicates you’re an influential person

– If you’re often doodling flowers with a big round center, it means you have a great social life, but if your flowers are smaller with much details, it might mean you have OCD

– Boxes might mean you’re a materialist

Coils and spirals suggest you’re creative and artistic.

If only those drawings were able to talk, they would tell so much. Doodling knows no rules. Everyone is expressing themselves in their own way, and, that is what is beautiful about this movement. Each doodle tells a story, and reveals different characteristics of the artist.

Do keep in mind that, the most important thing is that doodling is fun and if we are having fun while learning or just listening to something that’s not so interesting, why wouldn’t we, right?