7 Incredible Benefits Of Doodling And How To Get Started

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Today we are talking about doodling again. After all, this is one of my absolute favorite things to do, and I’ll always be so thankful to Bullet Journaling for pushing me to doodle more.

But we won’t be learning how to doodle. Today, my goal is to share the benefits of doodling with you, as well as convince you that you can doodle even if you never did before.

At first, I couldn’t doodle. Like, not at all. But in 2018 when I discovered the Bullet Journal system, I decided to give it a better try and push through and tadam! I’m pretty happy with my doodles at the moment.

But apart from just being a wonderful way to decorate my Bullet Journal pages, I learned that doodling offers far more benefits.

And it’s not as difficult as you might think – just check my Beginner’s Guide To Doodling or my post How To Start Doodling And 13 Easy Doodles To Try.

Today we will go through some of those benefits. Also!  Be sure to scroll until the end because I’ll be sharing some tips and resources to learn to doodle if it’s not something you never did before.

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Benefits Of Doodling

There are many, to be honest. Some were very unexpected when I was doing research for this post!

But as you know, I’m always very personal, so I’ll be only sharing the things I experienced myself. So here they are!

Relaxation

The first and very basic one is that doodling helps you to relax.

Doodling as an activity doesn’t really require you to think too much, just enough to put your brain into a little pause and relax.

I often find that when I doodle, I end up worrying less, my mind kind of just aimlessly wanders, and sometimes, this is just what you need!

Problem Solving

You know how sometimes you have a problem and you just think of it ALL the time? It’s so annoying! Sometimes it even goes to the point that nothing new comes to mind and you’re stuck with no solution.

Well, doodling allows your brain to get distracted from focusing on the problem and to work it out by itself without you pushing.

Yeah, it sounds pretty insane, but sometimes you just need to take a break and step away, and the solution will just come to you. Doodling is a great practice to do just that!

Creativity

Well duh, this of course is a no-brainer. When you doodle you work your creative muscles.

I always say that creativity is not as much of a God-given talent as it is a muscle, and anyone can train it and be more creative.

Doodling is a great way for you to develop your creativity.

Encourage Self Discovery

When you doodle you turn off your mind and let your inner self appear. It’s a great opportunity for self-discovery.

So next time you sit down to doodle, don’t concentrate on the quality of your doodles. rather things that meaning can be behind the final result of your doodling session.

Better Memory Retention

It was a pleasant surprise when I figured this one out because all my life I was told that in order to remember something better, I need to read or listen to it with all my attention.

But according to this research, doodling actually helps you to stay alert and attentive and prevents you from daydreaming, which ultimately leads to you remember the material much better.

If only I found this out in my college days instead of spending most of my lectures in a daydreaming daze.

Process Emotions

Doodling was actually extremely beneficial for my mental health and for dealing with emotions.

In a way, doodling is kind of like meditation, when you allow yourself to step back for a second, analyze your feelings and find strength within.

During my latest turmoil, instead of coming home and crying like a baby, I sat down and started doodling some patterns. It took me probably half an hour to fill out the entire page, but after I was done, I had a clearer mind, calmer emotions, and was actually feeling pretty ok.

Of all types of calming down, be it yoga, meditation, or journaling, doodling is probably my favorite one and the most effective.

Alleviate Stress

There is something very calming about doodling, and I found it to be one of the best ways to relieve any stress.

Allowing yourself to create repetitive forms and generally allowing yourself to make mistakes with no fear of mistakes is probably what makes doodling a great way to let go of stress.

It’s like that one activity in your life where there is no judgment and no fear, just pure enjoyment.

And to me, it sounds like this little stress-free place we all need in our lives.

How To Doodle

To get all those benefits, you don’t need to be amazing at doodling; you need to start doodling. 

It’s not about things being perfect or looking great, so if you doodle for any of the things I mentioned above, you need to take the pen and start drawing lines. What comes out is not that important.

Schedule some time for yourself, pick a piece of paper, and dive into it. It can be mandalas, patterns, or actually doodles of whatever you want. The idea is just to let your hand draw whatever.

Don’t worry if you make mistakes; it doesn’t matter. 

Don’t worry if things don’t look perfectly straight. It doesn’t matter. 

Just enjoy yourself and do your best! If you need any ideas, you can always check my blog post on Doodling Prompts To Help You Work On Your Creativity.

Now, in case you want to learn doodling in a more Bullet Journal sense, like how to doodle different things to decorate your journal, I got you covered.

I have recently released my FREE course “Doodling 101” which will help you to learn doodling from zero.

This course will give you all the knowledge, tips, and tricks to start doodling like a pro!

Or you can sign up in the form below and get all the links sent directly to your inbox.

A Book Of 150 Doodles

Another great way to learn to doodle is by following tutorials, and I’ve created an ebook just with that.

This book which started with 150 tutorials has been updated to 150.

You’ll learn how to doodle 150 different things from zero, and it’s extremely beginner-friendly; you’ll be able to draw even if you’ve never doodled before.

And as a bonus, you can also get it 10% off with code DOODLE10.

For some more doodling books, check my post 11 Books On Doodling and 11 Doodling Books For Adults.

When To Doodle

Doodling is a practice like yoga or meditation. So you get more benefits when you do it more often, whether you doodle for better memory, calm mind or to improve your drawing skills.

It’s all about keeping practicing!

Here I want to mention a few situations when you might want to slot out some doodling time and get wonderful benefits from it:

• When you’re feeling particularly stressed, anxious, or overthinking the situation
• When you’re feeling stuck and need a creative solution to your problem
• Before an event or interaction that usually makes you upset or stressed, like a job interview or that big family dinner where you’ll be introducing your new boyfriend
• When you’re tired and just need to relax and unwind. Netflix and wine are great options but try from time to time do doodling instead and see how that goes

Try to get into the habit of doodling on a regular basis, it will help you both to be more creative and have better mental health.

What’s the best way doodling has helped you so far?

Let us know in the comments.

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And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob.

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