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Doodling

Creative tools > Doodling

When to use it | How to use it | Example | How it works | See also

When to use it

Use it at any time when you want to think a little creatively.

Use it you are not in a specific creative environment.

You can also use it as a deliberate creative tool.

How to use it

Doodle

Take a pen and paper and just draw. You can do it in meetings, at your desk or pretty much anywhere you can put pen to paper.

Avoid trying to think about the problem. Just let your hand do the drawing.

You can 'draw the problem', draw something abstract or just let your fingers do whatever drawing they want to draw.

You can do it with a spare pen and paper. You can use a pencil. You can do it on a white-board or anywhere. If you're that way inclined, you might even do it as graffitti.

Look at the drawing openly

Look at what you have drawn. What does it tell you? Look at it obliquely and see shapes within the shapes. Let your mind wander and see what it comes up with.

You can also get other people to look at what you have drawn as they may see things that your subconscious is still hiding from you.

Example

I am bored during a meeting. I have a problem I have been working with for a while. So I half listen whilst I draw pictures.

Afterwards, I look at the pictures and wonder what they might mean.

How it works

Doodling lets your subconscious drive your hand. Drawing pictures gets away from words, which are left-brained and logical, and uses right-brained pictures to stimulate creativity.

It is also useful for people who are not so strong with verbal approaches.

See also

Incubation, Rightbraining, Modeling, Exploration