Think doodlers are not paying attention? Think again. Studies show that doodling increases concentration and creative thinking. As a dedicated doodler, I take comfort in that news. In fact, I’ve been known to invite writing workshop participants to doodle while I talk. I try not to talk too long. I like to experiment with fun ways of learning. Sometimes we write about our doodles. You never know what a doodle will tell you.

Sunni Brown takes the art of doodling seriously. She’s written books about doodling, uses doodling in group training sessions, and has started a movement, The Doodle Revolution.

In her “Doodlers, unite!” Ted Talk she makes the case for doodling. “Doodling is an incredibly powerful tool,” she says, “and it is a tool that we need to remember and to re-learn.” Video runs 5 minutes, 51 seconds.

• Need more proof? Check out all the resources at Sunni Brown’s Doodle Revolution.
• Buy her book Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. It’s an O’Reilly book! I used to work for O’Reilly. Great company!
• The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently is forthcoming (November 2013) and will be available here.

Here are some other resources:

• “What does doodling do?” is an article in which Jackie Anrade explains her scientific study, which shows that doodling improves concentration. If you don’t need all the technical details, check out this simple analysis of Anrade’s research and other fun ideas in “Understanding Kids Who Doodle,” a short article in San Diego Family.
• Head over to Creativity Portal to “Explore the New Wisdom of Doodling.” This brief article includes lots of links where you can play with doodling online.
• Be sure to check out Draw a Stickman, an interactive animation that lets you draw a character and enter a visual story that will make you laugh. Don’t worry. You can draw Stick woman. I did. A Star woman.

How do you doodle?