I took an online course in January that was all about making 2013 what you want it to be, and one of the “assignments” was to doodle. Just doodle. Anything – shapes, colours, mind maps, whatever.
This sounds easy, and possibly fun, but I have a mental block against doodling.
I thought about this prompt for a few days before I actually did it. And then when I sat down with my journal open to a blank page, it seemed so very blank. I couldn’t even think where to start.
I’ve never been a big doodler, but I’ve always doodled the same way. I draw triangles.
Each one is built off a line from a previous one, and I add lines quickly. Each new line has to actually make a triangle – none of these weird, four-sided polygons sneaking in.
But doing my usual seemed, somehow, like not the right way. So, to get over the stalling and stumbling with my doodling assignment, I started with words because I had to get some lines down on the paper. And then I said to hell with it and started drawing triangles.
At first all my brain did was analyze. Is this good enough? What else should I be doing? Why am I so ridiculous about this?
Is there such a thing as a good doodler?
Actually, I think there is, and I think that’s where my reluctance comes in. I used to do this triangle doodling mindlessly – in class, when on the phone, in meetings, etc. I would do it when my brain wasn’t busy enough and I could fill a large section of a page quickly. But that’s all it was for me – something at which to fire the synapses in my brain.
And then I met my husband.
He happens to be an artist extraordinaire. He can draw just about anything, and damn well too. My own skills shrank in the light of his far superior ability and I ceased doing anything “artistic.”
This led me to writing more, I think, but my inability to just pick up a marker or a brush or a crayon and just create stares me in the face all the time.
“I’m an artist just like my dad,” Connor said one day as he was painting. And he’s right. Not because he can draw or has particular skill – that’s not the point. To him it’s about the process, not about perfection. It’s about creating something and then moving on to the next and the next instead of stalling and finally starting and then stumbling over your own insecurity.
The point of the exercise was to show that doodling is actually quite productive. According to studies, we were told, people who doodle tend to retain up to 29% more information than those who don’t. I’m not actually sure if this is true for me. When I doodle, I tune out. I do it because I’m bored, not because it’s an innate tendency. But I still don’t just doodle – I’m always doing something else in my head. Writing, generally.
Eventually, while doing this exercise, I realized I had stopped writing in my head and had ceased judging the triangles as being not a good enough way to doodle. I drew some more and then decided they needed colour, so I added some. But I got bored quickly and stopped.
I had explored doodling. I had given it a chance. I had thought about my own patterns with doodling and (over)analyzed its place in my life. I’ve had this post in draft for two months and still didn’t come up with any really profound revelations except this: I prefer to write.
Do you doodle?
If I am listening to something I will retain virtually nothing if I don’t doodle and/or make notes. I make notes a lot. That’s how I learn or retain but I also doodle. For me it’s flowers, tulip shapes or amorphous round flower faces. Or it’s old style penmanship exercises, those circles and lines that were supposed to be perfect and teach you control over your handwriting. (If you were good at it society required that you become a Grade 1 teacher.)
I always think of you as a doodler but I don’t think I got that gene.
I’m not a doodler. At all. I think I may have been when I was much younger. I would just doodle endless spirals. Or I’ll draw horizontal lines, then vertical lines over them. It was all remarkably pointless and not even that pretty.
I prefer writing too.
I tried lines and spirals too but I think that’s where my inner perfectionist takes over. It’s never even enough or straight enough. My writing isn’t perfect either but I think I’ll stick with that.
I absolutely hands down am a doodler. I doodle every day not because it is on a list, but because it is a part of me. It calms me down, helps me think of the right word or the solution to a problem. I use it to fuel my building and art projects as well as I doodle my ideas around a project before I ever plan. I should start doodling my mind maps now that I think of it.
Here’s the thing, I understand what you write because I don’t think everyone has the same things they turn to for comfort or uses the same memory tricks or is inspired by the same things.
It’s totally cool to doodle or not to doodle. As long as you’ve got something that works for you!
I so wish I could do that. I can see how it would be a great habit if your brain is wired that way but I just don’t think mine is.
I doodle while on the phone and some other times. But not often, I have an internal editor that keeps me from being free with it. I need to learn to turn off my editor.
I didn’t have much luck turning off my editor. Such a hard thing to do!
I am a doodler. I draw stars, asterisks, happy faces and hearts. They have to be in some type of a pattern. It helps me to pay attention in really boring meetings. I try and curtail the doodling when I’m in meetings with the bigwigs or my boss.
I am not really a doodler. I can relate to having a very artistic husband. My husband’s doodles look like art, not to mention his actual art. Writing is my thing; art is his. It works well for us.