You know that moment when you pick up your phone “just for a second” and somehow 47 minutes disappear?
Yeah. This is the antidote.
Moody Doodles are my go-to when I feel restless, overwhelmed, annoyed, or just plain blah. They take almost no setup, no rules, and no artistic skill. You can do them in 10 minutes. And when you’re done, you feel lighter instead of mentally fried.
If you’re trying to replace even one scroll session a day, this is a beautiful place to start.
What Are Moody Doodles?
Moody Doodles are exactly what they sound like: doodling your mood onto paper.
No plan.
No pressure.
No “is this good?”
Just color, motion, and whatever is sitting in your chest that needs somewhere to go.
You can do this on any paper at all – printer paper, scrap paper, junk mail. I personally use my mixed media journal because I like the thicker pages and the way different supplies layer, but that’s completely optional.
The magic isn’t in the supplies.
It’s in the act of making.
Supplies
Here’s the supplies I used (this is an affiliate link)
And truly — use what you already have. Paint pens, markers, colored pencils, crayons, watercolor. If it makes color on paper, it works.
How I Start (So I Don’t Freeze at a Blank Page)
Sometimes the hardest part is just beginning.
Staring at a blank page can feel weirdly intimidating. So I always give myself a starting point:
I draw three somewhat similar blobs spaced around the outside sections of the page.
That’s it.
You absolutely do not have to do this – but for me, it removes the “where do I start?” spiral. Once the blobs are there, the page isn’t blank anymore. It’s already in motion.
And once I start, I just… keep going.
Doodle Absolutely Everywhere
After the blobs, I doodle over and around them.
Lines.
Swirls.
Dots.
Crosshatching.
Shapes inside shapes.
I overlap. I layer. I fill in space. I change colors mid-line if I feel like it.
There are no rules except one:
Doodle until you cross the line of “this might be too much”… and then doodle some more.
Something happens when you push past that edge. The perfectionism drops. The page becomes about expression instead of aesthetics.
And that’s where the relief lives.
Write It Out (Then Cover It Up)
Many times, I’ll write what’s bothering me right in the middle of the page.
Unfiltered.
Unedited.
Messy handwriting is welcome.
Then I doodle right over it.
By the time I’m finished, you can’t even read what I wrote.
And that’s the point.
It’s not about creating a readable journal entry. It’s about getting the thought out of your head and into your hands. The covering up feels symbolic – like I’ve acknowledged it, processed it, and softened its edges.
It’s therapy with markers.
What to Do With It After
You have two options:
- Leave it in your book and enjoy the layered, chaotic beauty.
- Cut it up.
I love using decorative punches or scissors to turn Moody Doodles into ephemera for future crafts — tags, journal spots, collage layers, card accents.
It’s like your feelings turn into art supplies for later.
There’s something deeply satisfying about that.
Why This Is Better Than Scrolling
When you scroll:
- Your brain is consuming.
- Your body is still.
- Your nervous system stays slightly activated.
When you doodle:
- Your hands are moving.
- Your brain is processing.
- Your nervous system starts to settle.
Ten minutes of doodling can shift your mood more than an hour of passive scrolling ever will.
And unlike your phone, your doodle doesn’t ask anything from you. It doesn’t compare you. It doesn’t update. It just sits there, quietly proof that you made something instead of consuming something.
Try This Tonight
Next time you reach for your phone out of habit, pause.
Grab a piece of paper instead.
Draw three blobs.
Doodle everywhere.
Write what’s bothering you.
Cover it up.
Keep going past “too much.”
Then look at what you created.
You didn’t scroll.
You didn’t numb out.
You made something.
And that’s always a better trade.
If you try Moody Doodles, I’d love to hear what shifted for you — or how you made it your own.