Lifestyle — Why Drawing A Doodle Helps You Pay Attention

I'm a constant doodler. It doesn't matter if I'm in meetings at work, on the train or even in a one-on-one conversation.

If there's a surface and something to draw with, I'm probably doodling.

My old notebooks and diaries are filled with my doodles. Most of them aren't even drawings of anything; they're just squiggly lines and random shapes filling up the majority of each page.

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Back in high school, my friend even referred to my drawings as “demon doodles” because of the intense mindset I got into while I was doodling.

Contrary to her belief, I was not possessed by anything. I was just extremely focused.

In school, my teachers would mistake my doodling for not paying attention, but in fact, it was the opposite. Just because I wasn't staring at them and nodding my head in agreement didn't mean I wasn't paying attention.

In fact, I was paying more attention. It helped me stay focused.

The mindlessness of taking a pen to paper when I didn't care about what I was drawing kept me from nodding off during the college math courses my liberal arts college required me to take.

Doodling is often seen as rude, but it actually helps me ward off distraction.

When my concentration starts fogging over, I'll start doodling instead of reaching for my phone. It always works for me.

So, when I came across a study about how doodling can actually help you pay better attention, I was thrilled. I wanted to send it to all the teachers I'd ever had, to my friends, to my parents and to my co-workers.

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Finally, my constant nonsense sketching made sense to other people. The study completely affirmed my already held belief that doodling aids concentration.

To learn more about how doodling can improve your attention, watch the video above.

Now, get doodling!