Patchy memory? Try doodling

If you’ve always thought it was rude for people to doodle in their notebooks while you gave a presentation, don’t be. They’re just paying attention to you.

In an experiment by the University of Plymouth, it found that those who doodled while listening to a recorded message had 29% better memory retention than those who didn’t doodle.

The participants (who were not told that this was going to be a memory test) were played a two-and-a-half minute recording of a woman who was rambling on about her birthday party. In the recording, the woman mentioned eight names of places as well as eight people who are definitely coming to the party.

After the recording, when they were all asked to list the names of party guests and places mentioned, those who were told beforehand to doodle manage to list an average of 7.5 names and places, while those who didn’t doodle listed only 5.8.

“Tests of memory or attention will often use a second task to selectively block a particular mental process,” psychologist Jackie Andrade said. “My research shows that beneficial effects of secondary tasks, such as doodling, on concentration may offset the effects of selective blockade.”

In addition, Andrade said, doodling “may be something we do because it helps to keep us on track with a boring task, rather than being an unnecessary distraction that we should try to resist doing.”