Monday, July 12, 2010

Priscilla ~ Taking Sketchy Notes

Fun Fact  ~  I have found that I listen and retain what I hear, much better if I am sketching at the same time.  Does anyone else out there have this same disorder?  I'm actually not seeking medical attention for it, though, as it is quite fun.  =0)

Typically, I'll sketch and doodle while taking notes during a meeting, an event, or a speaker presentation.   Often, what will happen is that I end up creating possible new characters, or ideas for new images while I am listening attentively.  The topic or theme of the presentation I am listening to, also sometimes has an affect on what I sketch.  Later, when I look at the sketches I created, what I heard comes right back to me.

So, I guess it could be called taking sketchy notes!?

"Lined Paper Girl"

14 comments:

  1. Did you always get in trouble in school for doodling/sketching? I did! When I became a teacher myself, I never stopped students from sketching! It's not a disorder. It's a learning strategy! So keep sketching!

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  2. I'm a sketchy listener too. In school now they teach students to sketch little doodles on the reading passages to help them remember key points of the story - the world is catching up to you!

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  3. Yes, I do the same thing! In my old corporate job, my boss told me that it looked like I wasn't paying attention in meetings, but then she would say that I took excellent notes (which she would always refer back to since she could never find hers!) Check out this little info about a study that proves your theory! http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1882127,00.html

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  4. Thank you, Jane, for your encouragement and for allowing your students to sketch while they listened, too! Yay!

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  5. Heather! Great News about students and their freedom to sketch and doodle ~ so true that it helps them remember. =0) I just knew i wasn't alone in this!!

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  6. Redheaded Stepchild! ~ Thank You so much for sharing that awesome article link with us all! I love that "Doodling aids memory" !!! YES!!
    And thanks for sharing about your old corporate job ~ hilarious.

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  7. I do the same thing- I used to score points with teachers- they loved it. You just had to draw flattering pictures of them. I still do this- at conferences. It's much more interesting to revisit your notes when they are illustrated!

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  8. Yes, Kelly! definitely more fun to revisit when illustrations are included!

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  9. I find it also works the other way round - I do my best drawing/sketching while 'watching' whodunnits on TV and I (one-handedly!) solved a problem in a pastel painting once while paying full attention to what a friend was telling me about her problems on the phone!

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  10. Judy! I love it! Great visual; you, on the phone while painting with your pastels - finding success! Thanks for sharing!

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  11. What a fun post! Yes, I totally sketch while listening. It's funny how people don't realize that you aren't being rude, you're actually paying better attention!

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  12. Thanks, Joy! Fun to know we are all in the same camp, and it's happy campers we are while we sketch, aren't we?!

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  13. Your post and all of the comments summed exactly what I do too, listen better when I doodle, it's not rude, and I look at the sketch and remember what I heard. Thank you for sharing :)

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  14. kindred spirits! thank you for your comment, Casey!

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