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REAL LIFE NEWS: WHY DOODLING IS A GOOD THING

by Hazed

So you're in a meeting, and to pass the time while you listen to a boring speaker drone on and on about something incomprehensible and unnecessary, you start to doodle. Most people watching this would conclude that you were not paying attention - but they would be wrong.

A new study shows that doodling is actually a sign of an alert mind.

Researchers from Plymouth University in England carried out memory tests on 40 volunteers. The participants were asked to listen to a phone call and then recall names and places. They found that those that doodled during the call performed 29% better than the non-doodlers.

The reason, say the experts, is that if you are doodling you are not daydreaming. That is a much more taxing diversion that's more likely to distract you from whatever task you are supposed to be accomplishing. Doodling doesn't use up as many resources as daydreaming, so those that doodle stay more focussed.

Professor Alan Badeley, from the British Psychological Society, said, "Doodling is a relatively undemanding task so this makes sense. The temptation during meetings or telephone conversations that you are not particularly engaged with is to start thinking about things. You visualise things such as holidays. Then that takes you away from the task at hand. Or you may even end up nodding off.

"However, by comparison, doodling is not that taxing and keeps you more alert so you are more likely to absorb what is being said."

The moral: next time you get bored in a meeting, start doodling!

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