Doodling can help! (:

For all those people out there who get in trouble for doodling all over a test or homework assignment, there is definitely an excuse. Studies show that doodling can help people remember better than those who do not. I found an article on yahoo.com that proved this theory.
They actually set up an experiment to make it true. They had people sit down to listen to a two-and-a-half minute recording of people's names and places they were going. Half of the people were asked to write down only the people's names that were said, while the other half was asked to shade in different shapes, as the recording was listened to. However, the people were not told that it was a memory test. The results of the experiment showed that the people doodling had a higher chance of remembering the names and places said on the recording. Therefore, it is said that when people doodle during a boring task, they will more likely be able to remember the facts, rather than those who just sit there and try to listen!

The following is the link to the article:
http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/takenotedoodlingcanhelpmemory.html