10 Reasons to Doodle

The process > the product

This holiday, give yourself the gift of random sketches, the gift of free-expression, the gift of doodling. Here’s why it’s the best (and cheapest!) hobby to take up.

1: Because sometimes you need to vent privately.
Sketches made in frustration can never be interpretted by anyone else as the outpouring of raw and prickly feelings they truly are. A diary full of of abstract shapes can never be used to bully or shame you, and yet: the expression is fully made.

2: Because sometimes you just don’t have the words.
You may not be able to articulate just what you’re experiencing, but putting ink to paper can somehow give shape to the sensations your vocabulary just can’t wrangle. Words themselves themselves abstractions of concepts: so doodles can be, in their own way, more precise abstractions of the ineffable.

3: Because distraction can be soothing.
The shape of the doodle becomes a container for all sorts of unease. You’ll feel calmer after making these contained messes. Get some sketches out of your body to get on with everything else

.4: Because it’s naturally rewarding.
Accidental symmetry, delightful combinations of haphazard lines, and swirls expressing the simple physics of a wandering hand remind you that artful expression is a natural byproduct of your humanity.

5: Because it’s a form of thinking that unlocks all the others.
Mentally stuck? Doodle and an answer will appear. Emotionally confused? Grab a pen and sense will get made. Generally annoyed? You’ll sort it out on paper. Your brain is a tangle of weird energy. Trust the drawings to un-knot the gnarly bits of it.

6: Because it feels good.
Doodling is physical movement that unlocks good chemicals. When you can’t jump up and go for a run, doodling scratches the itch to move. (See also: fidget spinners and crochet hooks.)

7: Because it sometimes ends up as something beautiful.
Every now and then a doodle rises to the level of art: a subjective appraisal that is forever yours to make. And that’s the kind of tiny win we all need more of in our lives.

8: Because it’s impossible to do wrong.
Enjoy the freedom of instant mastery of an art form. You put the pen exactly where it was meant to be. You made the exact shape that was meant to appear. Revel in your work. Like dogs, all doodles are good doodles.

9: Because it’s a gateway medium to more.
Doodles lead to notes. Notes lead to theories. Theories lead to experiments. Experiments lead to discoveries. Discoveries lead to skill and joy and a universe revealed to be worth staying in. This stuff gets addictive fast. Whatever you are looking for, you can doodle a path (or a million) toward it

10: Because it’s good medicine.
If there was a pill that did as much for you as doodling can, everybody would be gobbling them. Doodling is a brain, mood, and skill booster unavailable in stores, and a form of therapy not covered by insurance. The only side-effect is the doodle itself. It’s just so dang good for you.