I’ve had a busy week, and at the end of a busy week, it’s good to do something that helps you calm down and take a breath. So tonight I am going to grab a stack of Post-it notes and a black Sharpie. 

I like to sit down at my desk, listen to some chill music, and move the pen on the paper as my mind sees fit. I don’t think much about where the lines are going, it’s like free association but without all that weird Freudian stuff.

I started doing this after watching a video titled “drawing your feelings (a calm guide)” from a YouTube channel called Peter Draws. In the video, Peter simply draws abstract shapes on his Post-its for 50 minutes.

It’s interesting to see how your different moods play out on paper. Sometimes there are heavy lines that leave you with an almost completely covered square of yellow paper. Other times you draw eight, basic lines and move on to the next one.

While drawing mindlessly sounds simple, it’s easy to recognize patterns and run with it. You could see a face starting to take form among the lines, so dot those eyes. It’s fun to get artsy with these. 

During the video, Peter says, “you might feel happy or you might feel some other way. Sometimes this is how I feel,” as he begins to smoothly move the Sharpie across the paper, creating a shape of stripes and curves. For us, it’s not easy to understand what he feels through those lines because they are unique to him. So when you draw how you feel, you’ll likely be the only one to understand it, and that’s what’s nice about it.

It’s like having a journal or diary that you can look back on and see yourself through, but to others who see it, it may just be some scribbles or pretty lines on a page.

Whether you decide to go with the full free association or use some intention in these doodles, there’s consistently something relaxing about it. Maybe it’s the sound of the Sharpie on the paper, or maybe it’s watching lines appear out of seemingly nowhere.

Peter talks throughout the video about how drawing can help us learn about ourselves. It’s best to be open with yourself when making these. You might look at a finished drawing and understand a little better what it is you’re feeling.

Every once in a while Peter will say, “have you ever felt like this before?” On his Post-it note might be some simple lines that resemble a face or a purely abstract shape, but maybe you do feel like that.

Doodling can be a good time to think. Your mind can become serene and allow you to wonder a little bit. Or you could just stay void of thoughts in a meditative sort of way. Both are nice.

It’s a neat way to wind down and is something that works for me. It’s your own gibberish thoughts condensed onto a Post-it note in the form of random dashes of ink. You can really find rhythm within these drawings and see your mood when looking at what you’ve drawn at different points in time.

These mini artworks may take five seconds or five minutes. It all comes down to how you’re feeling and what you want on your Post-it note canvas.