I came across a story in the NPR radio archives about doodling. If you check out the link you'll find a audio stream that describes a study which shows that people who are doodling while listening to a message can retain 29% more information than those aren't doodling.
According to the story, doodling helps the mind focus, keeping it active, and preventing it from simply shutting down in moments of boredom.
I find this information validating, and in a way justifying despite all the dirty looks I've received in classrooms from instructors who have heard the quiet traces of my pen scrolling across my lecture notes with relentless repetition.
I guess you can call it an obsession. I tried to resist the urge to doodle during class on a few occasions. The desire to grab my pen was like an itch I was dying to scratch. I'd have to hide the pen from my sight, but that would only work for a short time because I would eventually notice everyone else around me holding a pen, and the longing would intensify. I would hear the scribble of students taking notes and convince myself that if I could just limit my pen usage to words pertaining to the german language, everything would be OK. I realized that NOT doodling during class became more of a distraction.
My last german instructor however didn't seem to mind it so much, I think she understood that it was my way of participating; either that or she appreciated my attempts to stay awake through the class.
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