Lacking concentration? Feeling stuck at work? Not being able to reach fresh ideas?
You might be surprised to find out that drawing can be of great help here.
Drawing, doodling, or sketching isn’t just there for kids to develop their motor skills or their undiscovered genius.
Sketching actually offers a variety of benefits to a mind of any age boosting creativity, focus, and attention span.
To find out how you can employ drawing to boost your creativity, stay tuned.
Table of Contents
Boosting Concentration
If you want to check how sketching can aid your focus, try listening to a lecture, an educational YouTube video, or a Ted Talk video while doodling away. Although you might think doodling will pose a distraction in you memorizing what you’re hearing, you will actually be quite astonished by the amount of information you’ve been able to retain. This happens due to drawing providing you with some extra mileage out of performing a task and storing the information in your memory for longer.
Go ahead and even try doodling while attending a work meeting. You will be surprised by how present you actually are and how your mind is stopped from wandering off so much. And yes, make sure people believe you are actually writing down some notes instead of drawing stars, hearts, spiderwebs, or flowers. Not your thing? Maybe sketching faces might do it. If so, check out this guide to drawing a nose easy.
Whatever it is that interests you, go ahead. Forget about self-consciousness, too. You don’t even have to show your work to anyone for the drawing to be an effective activity.
Staying in the Moment
Similar to meditation, doodling can have the same relaxing effect on your brain. Although drawing while trying to solve a problem may feel as though you’re shutting down, you are actually entering a state of mindfulness where you are becoming more aware of your mind processes helping you reach answers and ideas for the task at hand. Rather than relying on your consciousness so much, embrace the power of the subconscious mind which really is the one coming up with the most effective solutions.
Think of it as a brainstorming session, only performed through a meditative state triggered by simple doodling.
Brain Food
Just like your body, your brain needs nourishment to stay fit and healthy. We believe we are handling this by keeping our brains entertained by solving various everyday problems at work and home. Now, what helps us do this is primarily our left brain hemisphere, the analytical one. But what about the right one?
This is where drawing, doodling, or sketching comes into play. By drawing you are activating your right brain hemisphere which causes your learning synapses to expend your brain power and abilities. This results in strengthening stored memories and boosting your brain’s capacity. It might occur to you that drawing is too simple of a task, not as demanding as learning a new language or playing chess. However, it actually equally helps expand your brain’s cognitive skills, and, in addition to that, it is far handier and it costs you nothing.
Developing a Doodling Habit
There are several steps you can take when approaching the method of drawing to increase your creativity. Although to some people drawing doesn’t really require any preparation, others enjoy the process of starting a new habit by doing some homework first:
- Stop by an art supplies store and see what materials speak to you and inspire your creative side.
- Start by simply testing the materials at home and see which colors or techniques you enjoy without employing any drawing rules.
- If in need of a structured approach, check out drawing courses or watch YouTube videos for some instructions on how to draw what you want.
- Close your eyes and draw without any pressure.
- Switch the hand you draw with to see how you feel.
- Think of a feeling you have and try to illustrate it with shapes and colors.
- Let your friends join in and have fun together doodling and talking.
- Start drawing as soon as you wake up as a way to relax and get your creative juices flowing.
- Decide on the type of objects you want to draw for the day: fruit, faces, animals, etc.
Although a quite simple method, you can benefit so much from drawing. From releasing any tension and feeling childlike again to boosting your memory and producing effective solutions. We say you give it a try and enjoy the process of becoming freer, more capable, and more creative.
