The Art of Doodling

I spend a lot of time on the telephone when I’m at work. Looking back through my message pad before my boss went on holiday to make sure I’d done everything, it appears that I am incapable of holding a telephone conversation without drawing over everything. I am Doodle Queen!

Apparently, this does not actually mean that I’m not paying the slightest bit of attention to the person on the other end, as according to the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, doodling can actually help with remembering the details of a conversation. It appears that if you are focused on your little picture, it actually prevents your mind from wandering during a long conversation rather than the doodling distracting you.

For me, sometimes my doodles are just random scribbles, but more often they relate to the person I’m speaking to. When I’m on the phone to the boy, I tend to doodle flowers (this may sound unbearably cute, but most of the time the flower has turned into more of a triffid by the end of the conversation!)

I think, even though you’re not really aware of what you’re doodling – perhaps just starting off with a random shape, the doodle can definitely reveal your state of mind at the time. We had a particular client whose name was always surrounded by grumpy thunderclouds, raindrops and lightening by the time he’d finally got off the phone. There’s definitely more doodling going on when I’m talking to people who are annoying or frustrating me. My speciality appears to be unhappy little creatures! Here’s a couple of my favourites...