Defending the Doodlers

Doodling during meetings is one of my quirks. I think I may have been gently reprimanded about it by email today. My boss forwarded us an article entitled, "5 Biggest Mistakes You're Making at Work"


This was number 5:
Office oops: You doodle during meetings.
Overcome it: Scrolling through your BlackBerry or doodling during the proceedings is a no-no, says Liz Bywater, Ph.D., a career consultant in Yardley, Pennsylvania. Indulging in these sorts of distractions not only disconnects you from the issue at hand, it tells others you don’t care. To prevent meetings from becoming snoozy, spend at least a few minutes researching the topics on the agenda beforehand. By showing up prepared, you’ll be driven to contribute and less susceptible to distractions."


And then he asked me what I thought about #5.


I had to defend myself:


Hi Boss,


I'm not sure if I can let go of that yet but maybe I'll try to replace it with something less distracting to others? =)


I've been doodling in class since kinder until college; I'm not trying to defend my quirks but it helps stimulate my mind and this is where I got all the ideas that our business is now enjoying, from the (A) to (B) and the (C) that continually saves us $3,000 a month. I read in college that this is common among artists, and I accept that not everyone can understand or approve of it. I'll try to reduce it but I can't promise to eliminate it =)


Here boss, check this out:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1882127,00.html
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/doodlerecall/

Thanks,

Johnny Cursive
Resident Smart Ass
of a Corporate Office


 I am NOT going down without a fight.

10 coumouents:

Mugen said...

And I am known to indulge in drinking imaginary fluids from a plastic bottle during meetings. Hahaha.

How very anal of me.

Anonymous said...

oh come on, what could be worse than bursting into a song?

http://mymorningsafter.blogspot.com/2009/12/lutang-moment.html

Tristan Tan said...

Dude, I doodle a lot too. Haha.

In one training, we were told that doodlers are usually creatives stuck in non-creative fields and that doodling helps stimulate the mind and, in a weird way, also helps doodlers listen.

So, continue doodling. It's a good thing. But of course, bursting out into a song (ala John Stanley) every so often can take your boss's mind off your doodling. Or maybe bring a stress ball... that squeeks?

citybuoy said...

oh cool! i doodle too. go johnny! defend all doodlers in the whole wide world! :D

john vincent said...

hail to all the doodlers! =)
sarap kaya magdoodle lalo na pag super boring ang meeting!

Chip said...

When I am in a very boring meeting, I pretend to be very enthusiastic and attentive to what people are talking about. And seeing them believe that I am so into the discussion is fun.

Ah. The frustrated actor in me. :)

red the mod said...

Would writing uncontrollably during meetings be considered literary doodling? Not to the level of hypergraphia of course, but often I find it easier to focus when I take down notes. Annotating them simultaneously, and creating lines, delineations and typologic and diagrammatic interpretations of the subject at hand.

I also doodle, but often in geometric verses, and hyperbolic trajectories. Artists have this unspoken license for deviance. Because emotionally, our expressive factions are better honed and impulsive.

Thanks for taking a stand for all the doodlers out there, me included. I hope your boss isn't as myopic as other corporate drones.

Darc Diarist said...

hear hear. yey for doodlers! :)

VICTOR said...

There's one thing worse than doodling. It's doodling while pretending to listen to whoever's speaking at a meeting i.e. by nodding a lot. LOL.

Unknown said...

I remember being told to stop doodling in High school, I was even given the whole speech from my history teacher about how it is distracting me from the "actual learning process".
I kinda scoffed at it, haha. Doodling was actually my way of being able to memories things, like I would draw out small historical funny cartoons to remember dates and important events.
I once had a Riceball cartoon doodle of WWII. My Hitler Rice ball looked evil and delicious : D


So YAY FOR DOODLERS
~