I have recently been needing to clean out things that have been in storage for far too long. Among them old school notebooks which were frequently filled with complex doodles around my class notes. Little did I know then that my scribbles were good for my health.
Science has proven that doing anything that is creative helps "reset" your physical, neurological and mental systems because it uses the side of your brain that not dealing with day-to-day decision making. Even something as simple as doodling is good for you!
What I call the "Doodle Game" is an easy gateway to creatively resetting your brain. You can use any medium you have on hand: pencil, pen, watercolor, any kind of paper. Here is an easy option: grab a pen (a high-lighter is fun) in your non-dominant hand, don't think about it (you can even close your eyes) and make some random marks on scrap paper, simple marks, complicated marks, whatever. Then switch to your dominant hand (using a different pen makes it easy to see the inspiration marks) and doodle over or around them. It is that simple! Do the marks remind you of something you want to turn the mark into? Do you just feel like surrounding or filling the marks with geometric or swirly shapes? Does it grow into something more elaborate? Just making marks is the key.
There are no rules so don't overthink it. In fact, don't think at all, the goal is the give yourself a mental reset! Enjoy the process of messing about with marks.
(PS this is a great game to play with others, including little people, when you are waiting for something. Restaurant paper napkins and a ballpoint pen from my purse made hungry kids happy to wait until the food arrived many times.)