Does your mind wander when you really should be concentrating? Then grab paper and pen because it’s time to doodle!
Doodling is considered to be a mindless activity – silly drawings you make when you aren’t paying attention or are bored. But author Sunni Brown argues that doodling actually unlocks your mind and helps you pay attention. She makes a fascinating case for why we should reconsider how we think about doodling and what it can do for us in this great Ted Talk.
Here are a few reasons doodling can actually help you as you work to achieve your entrepreneurial dreams.
1. It can help improve your focus. Brown argues that doodling actually slows the mind down and helps to increase focus. So next time you are on a long and boring client call, grab a pen and paper to doodle. Make your doodles about the conversation specifically, and you will find yourself more engaged in the conversation than you have ever been!
2. Great entrepreneurs doodle! Bill Gates doodles to stay focused. Hollywood director Ron Howard doodles before he storyboards a scene to find inspiration, and many other intellectual leaders and others doodle. It’s not just creative or artistic types. Doodling doesn’t have to be fancy; it simply helps the mind to open up and gives way to expression, which is what every great leader needs.
3. You just might stumble upon a great idea! Think about all the great masterpieces. Did they just appear on the canvas? No. They were born out of small and simple ideas that were sketched out by the artists. You are an artist and your business is your painting. You can’t expect to get it right the first time you try. Instead you need to sketch it out. You need to plan. As you doodle you will open up your imagination and stumble upon ideas you may not have thought of otherwise. Allow yourself to doodle as you plan, and you just may find your great masterpiece. Maybe you’ll even design your next great card!
So the next time your brain is feeling a little stuffy, it’s time to doodle! Allow your mind to wander and you will see the benefits of taking pen to paper!