Doodling helps me focus?

[lord_carbo]

I was doodling in social studies. It's not that I think that the teacher is boring. He is actually pretty good at making it fun. It's probably more or less just history. It bores me unless we are watching a fictional documentary or something else.

Well, anyway, I was doodling while the teacher was telling us the story about Gilgamesh, and here comes the student teacher who tells me to stop doodling. I complied with his rule, and stopped doodling.

Suddenly, I totally lost focus. Everything that I heard was going in through one ear and out the other. The part inbetween where Gilgamesh and Inkidu (spelling might be wrong) are fighting and the part where they kill the bull totally went through me because I wasn't doodling. I only remember a few vague details from that.

I started doodling again at about that point, and something was quite odd: I was focused. No more did I only get a little of what the teacher said, but I heard the entire lesson. I wasn't even doodling anything that had to do with the lesson. I was just doodling random stuff.

The fact that I couldn't focus was definately from my ADD. There is no doubt about that. What is odd is how when I was doodling I took in more from the lesson.

I'm guessing is that I am so used to doodling, that I can do it subconciously so I do not get distracted by something that would make me lose any focus at all. When I try to fully focus, though, I instead start daydreaming, which makes it a lot harder to pay attention to someone talking at the same time, in fact, impossible for me.

Think of it as this:

I can only do one thing at a time: Doodle or daydream.

If I do none I'll start to daydream, but I don't want to daydream because it makes me lose a lot of focus. If I doodle, it doesn't take much focus, but it makes it so I cannot daydream.

I assume that there is something everyone can do so they pay more attention, and perhaps not just doodling as in my case.

Discuss?

[jamuko]

Wow... I've come to this same conclusion myself. As far as I know I don't have ADD, but I've experienced the same "doodle-focus" phenomenon. XP People are always skeptical when I tell them about this, but it's so true.

I guess doodling just gives you a small motor task to occupy yourself. It gives your hands and eyes something simple to focus on while leaving your ears and mind open to absorb the lecture. Like yours, my mind will easily wander if I'm not doodling. Maybe there's too much external stimulation without it...

I think doodling prevents daydreaming since it occupies your visual sense. Your mind can't wander off into another place (visually) if it's focused on the picture you're drawing. The only thing to be careful of is that you don't get too involved in the doodle, or you'll start daydreaming about the doodle (stickfights and the like)... it's best to do something more mindless.

I remember things from class best when I was doodling during them, and I also make the best doodles when I was listening in class during them. XD It's a symbiotic relationship.

[Squeek]

Eh, I just sleep in class. I can't draw anyway.

But it does make sense. If you occupy certain senses onto some "mindless" task, you're essentially amplifying the other senses. It's like how some people suggest that blind people have their other senses amplified, so they can hear better or something.

Unfortunately, since I can't draw, I do useless math and write random Internet wordisms on my paper about 1,000 times in various locations. Ask Jamuko. She's seen it. Adorning the page of my "notes" for certain classes you can find "ASDF", "QRQ", and "O RLY" among many other hilarities.

~Squeek

[Tasselfoot]

I think you guys just have serious focus issues and monster ADD. Ridalin for ALL OF YOU.

I used to count in a notebook... but I did that INSTEAD of paying attention in class, not to make me pay attention. Would usually get into the 2000s before getting bored.

My advice? Instead of doodling to focus, try taking notes. Still in the doodle realm, only this time... its relavent to your schoolwork.

PS - I can't help laughing at how young you are. Social Studies... don't think I had that after 8th grade... 8 or 9 years ago.

[Squeek]

Tass, I've gotten up to 255 in Binary. Afterwards, I picked out symmetrical patterns of all 256 combinations and various other "neat" combos.

Top that.

~Squeek

[NightSonnett]

Actually, this is really interesting.

Two of my friends have ADHD, and when they take their meds, they are constantly doodling, or one of them is constantly drawing boxes. It freaks me out sometimes because it's like they are completely just focused in on whatever they're drawing.

But it's cool because they pay a lot more attention in class if they are doodling or drawing boxes. They are able to contribute to class discussions while they just doodle away. It looks as if they aren't paying attention, but they are. It's interesting.

I still dislike medication for ADD and ADHD though. I've had too many bad experiences with it.

[jamuko]

Good point about the blindness thing... I hadn't even thought of that. It's probably the same principle.

Tass, I don't doodle for the sole purpose of focusing... I doodle because I like to doodle, and happened to notice this rather convenient side-effect. And I do take notes... but not on every little word they say. I've learned by now that I do better from listening and actually understanding while taking notes on a few points to remind me of those things, rather than trying to scramble to write down everything I can and attempting to cram it all in my brain later.

I just realized something else. Since your mind is left open while doodling, it spends the time contemplating whatever it has to work with; in this case, the stuff coming in through your ears. You take it in on a deeper level than you do just listening regularly... like it's actually connecting subconsciously. That's what it feels like. I think it's the same kind of thing as when you study or do homework right before sleeping. When you sleep, you end up going over all that stuff without even trying! Idle brain processes FTW!

And hehe, yes, I bear witness to the fact that Squeek's notes are bursting with awesomeness. ASDF button... XD

Aaaaand, another advantage to doodling on your notes: it gives each page a unique look, which is actually helpful on tests when you're trying to refer back to them in your mind. It's like landmarks in road directions. "You know where that place is? It's by the McDonald's... yeah, I remember seeing that next to the grocery store." It works the same way when you remember doodling certain things next to certain notes. "Yeah, it was Freud who said that... I remember seeing both his name and that quote next to the giant 'ASDF' on my notes."

...Oops, I wrote a lot.

[jewpinthethird]

Try drawing what your teachers are talking about.

Example:


Washington: Let's Make
Washington & Adams: DEMOCRACY!

[GuidoHunter]

Originally Posted by MrESqueek

Tass, I've gotten up to 255 in Binary. Afterwards, I picked out symmetrical patterns of all 256 combinations and various other "neat" combos.

Top that.

~Squeek

One time I tried to hand calculate 2^3^4^5^6^7. Due to a slight error, I ended up just calculating 5^42. Took me a few days.

On-topic, though, some people do weird things to make them concentrate. I read about a study showing that sticking your tongue out will help you focus. Not the turning-up-my-nose kind of sticking your tongue out, but like when it just sneaks out of the corner of your mouth. I've seen it work myself, especially in watching kids try to perform a very intricate task.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[Tasselfoot]

255 x 8 < 2000... and, binary is all 0s and 1s. counting to 2000 is 0-9. Also, I did it all on 1 piece of paper. I wrote REALLY small. Takes alot of time. Then drawing lines to seperate rows, then making patterns between the numbers and the lines, as I fit 32 per column, i think, so numbers shifted down 4 lines and over 3 columns per 100.

This was all in HS.

[lord_carbo]

Originally Posted by NightSonnett

Actually, this is really interesting.

Two of my friends have ADHD, and when they take their meds, they are constantly doodling, or one of them is constantly drawing boxes. It freaks me out sometimes because it's like they are completely just focused in on whatever they're drawing.

But it's cool because they pay a lot more attention in class if they are doodling or drawing boxes. They are able to contribute to class discussions while they just doodle away. It looks as if they aren't paying attention, but they are. It's interesting.

I still dislike medication for ADD and ADHD though. I've had too many bad experiences with it.

Medications that make you draw XD

I personally don't take meds. I find it as the easy way out. Counciling, therapy, ect. are the best ways to overcome ADD, and it has a lasting effect.

Originally Posted by GuidoHunter

On-topic, though, some people do weird things to make them concentrate. I read about a study showing that sticking your tongue out will help you focus. Not the turning-up-my-nose kind of sticking your tongue out, but like when it just sneaks out of the corner of your mouth. I've seen it work myself, especially in watching kids try to perform a very intricate task.

I should really try that.

[MonkeyFoo]

I don't need no arms around me,
I don't need no drugs to calm me,
I have seen the writing on the wall,
Don't think I need anything at all.

I don't usually take my ADHD meds, but they sure are awesome for standardized testing.

I used to doodle a whole lot on everything, many years ago, but more lately if I doodle I make a scribble and then illustrate off of it until it looks recognizable. Last one I made was a goat. Then I gave it evil eyebrows, and I wrote every possible anagram of goat, starting with ones that are actually words, like toga. It tends to take all of my attention, but I still learned how to factor polynomials using synthetic division, with complex numbers.

[deltro300111]

I found myself randomly doing whatever Jewpin did for the Jewish migration from egypt to the promised land, it was completely illegible, but I remembered it- obviously