The Science of Doodling: Attention Retention

If you look at the notebooks of highly successful people, you will often find the margins filled with geometric shapes, shaded boxes, and aimless squiggles. Doodling is frequently reprimanded as a sign of distraction, but cognitive psychology has proven it is actually an active listening strategy.

Preventing the Default Mode Network

When you are forced to listen to long, continuous, and potentially dry information (like a lecture or a conference call), the brain easily becomes under-aroused. When under-aroused, the Default Mode Network (DMN) takes over, leading to daydreaming and a total loss of auditory focus.

Doodling acts as a cognitive anchor. The physical act of drawing shapes requires a small, continuous amount of motor and visual processing. This minor cognitive load is just enough to prevent the DMN from hijacking your attention, keeping your auditory processing centers online and active.

Improved Memory Recall

A famous 2009 study published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology asked participants to listen to a dull, rambling voicemail. Half were asked to shade in printed shapes while listening; the other half just listened.

The doodlers retained 29% more information than the non-doodlers. By giving the restless parts of the brain a simple, repetitive physical task, doodling prevents the mind from wandering into complete distraction, securing the primary information in working memory.