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Concentrate Better By Doodling
Kelson writes "The next time you see someone doodling during a meeting, don't criticize them for drifting off. It turns out that doodling is the mind's way of keeping itself just busy enough to avoid checking out entirely and slipping off into a daydream, and doodlers actually remember more of that boring talk. (Judging by my college notes, this probably helped me remember a lot of otherwise-boring lectures.)"
I understand things the first time I hear them in almost all cases. This has been true since childhood. As a direct result, the normal teaching style in most gradeschools (say something, then repeat it in slightly different ways many many times) was nearly unbearably boring for me. I would try and allieviate this boredom by doodling, and this often got me in trouble.
I'd like to go back and find the fucking idiots who wouldn't just leave me alone and let me draw and show them this article.
The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
A few weeks ago I met my High School Philosophy teacher from around 20 years ago. I greeted him and he didn't remember me at first, then asked for a few more names from my promotion. He said "that was a good year, and then: "You are the doodling guy!".
Yeah, I spent all his classes producing convoluted tesselations and stuff while I listened, then just read anything he proposed. He told me he was expecting a complete disaster at first but in fact I was one of the best students he'd ever had, neck to neck with another doodler a few years later.
I work at home (telecommuter for 2 years now), and whenever I get stuck doing menial work, I turn on the TV. I have to watch sitcom drivel to keep it from being too engaging, but it keeps me on task, and keeps me from drifting off onto Slashdot...like I'm doing now. CRAP!