Doodling: Why do I scribble when on the phone or in a meeting?

Checkerboards, a mini-wall of China, mandalas, clouds, arrows, arabesques, flowerets and other doodles tend to sneakily make their way onto any empty paper we might be holding. During a discussion, a lengthy meeting or a sudden phone call, we illustrate our pads, Post-its or corners of the pages of our austere reports with spontaneous scribbles. Once the conversation or the meeting ends, we hurry to crumple them – discreetly if possible.

Why do we scribble?

Scribbling at the office or during a phone call, particularly when we are sitting, is “a door opened to the unconscious”, according to graphologist, Sylvie Chermet-Carroy. She states, “A creative gesture, where we give freedom to our imagination, we scribble to stop worrying, facilitate the wait, but also to escape and be inspired.”

Should we be worried about scribbling?

Absolutely not. We hide or we tear our scribbles out of fear of being considered bored, but rather than betraying a lack of concentration, they indicate that we are concentrating or deepening our ideas.

No complex!

Even Victor Hugo scribbled and loved doing it, “It amuses me between two stanzas”. Essentially it is a secret language just for oneself.

Scribbling is useful…

Because it is also, “A way to release oneself from tension and from fleeting feelings”, reassures the psychologist, François Sulger.

Scribbling reveals our personality

A scribble corresponds to a psychological, emotional state at a given moment. Thus, it is necessary to not take it as an absolute truth. We do not view life as dark because we scribble with a black pen. Nevertheless, the disposition of the scribbles on a sheet may reveal some character traits, especially if they are recurrent – at the top for projects, and at the bottom for rooting.

Isabelle Soing