Celebrate Doodle Day and help support people with epilepsy

The Business Optimizer team loves doodling as a tool to beat stress and aid concentration. That’s why we’re 100 percent behind this great initiative in aid of Epilepsy Action.

Doodle Day became a worldwide event in 2004 to raise awareness and funds for epilepsy research and support, thanks to the efforts and campaign innovations of Epilepsy Action. First falling on September 17th, the day moves around a little from year to year.

This year, Epilepsy Action is celebrating Doodle Day on September 17th.

The event sees a host of famous faces picking up their pens, pencils, and paints to doodle. Each year, their doodles are available to buy in an online auction, with monies raised going to support people affected by epilepsy.

This year, famous participants include the British actress Stephanie Cole, the illustrator and co-creator of the Angelina Ballerina series of children’s books Helen Craig, Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery, musician Jools Holland, and fashion designer Christina Stambolian. Their doodles, together with those of the other famous participants, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder following a three-day eBay auction.

Why do we love doodling?

Epilepsy Action says that our doodles are fragments of a map that shows how our minds work. Like anything we produce in an idle moment while the focus of our attention is elsewhere, they can reveal parts of ourselves inadvertently; showing how our mind works in off-guarded moments.

Plenty of famous people doodle in moments when their mind is elsewhere – including an impressive rollcall of American presidents!

In fact, doodling has been shown to help with memory retention and with concentration. In boring meetings, researchers have suggested, doodling keeps your brain engaged and ensures that you continue to pay attention.

How to get started with doodling

Getting started with doodling is as simple as three easy steps:

• Choose your surface
• Choose your medium
• Relax and experiment: let your mind and hands wander!

If you’d like to ideas for what to draw, you can find some ideas on our blog about doodling and sketching, including comic books, mandalas, and fashion design.

Want to know more?

Find out more about Doodle Day on 17th September 2021 here.

Make a donation to Epilepsy Action here.

Or to participate in a doodling event yourself, why not check out our list of 2021 art competitions?

Or discover other ways that paper can help you beat stress!