I used to doodle a lot, especially during class in high school and college. I still doodle occasionally at work, but I'm not in an environment where that's appreciated. In fact, I've been told explicitly not to draw, even when there's nothing else to do.
I've got another coworker who also has artistic tendencies. He ignores the rule. Sometimes, I'm very tempted to. I'll be temptation-free as the holiday season ramps up, but right after I'm going to have absolutely nothing to do except endlessly clean the already-perfect glass front door.
Writing is right out. I take notes at work–no one's caught me at it and I doubt they could enforce a rule against it even if they didn't want me to–but that's not nearly as distracting as actual writing. Doodling is idle and doesn't require a lot of focus. Writing, on the other hand ….
I don't know where I go, but I do go elsewhere. When I'm writing I'm not even on this planet, not mentally, anyway. Much as I'd like to put words on the page at work, that really would distract me far too much. I couldn't single-task, much less multi-task, if I wrote at work.
But a rule against doodling? Really?
I have a good job, great coworkers, and a fairly low-stress station to work at. I shouldn't complain. Every hiring period we have people banging on the door wanting to work where I work. Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm having my soul sucked right out of me. The rule against doodling is yet another reminder that I'm being paid (not particularly handsomely) to spend precious minutes and hours that I will not get back, ever, doing stuff that has very little value in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes I become painfully aware that if my work day were transported toward the end of my lifespan, I would be extremely resentful of having to spend those last moments doing work for which I'm not very well appreciated. That's fucked up. Time is taken way too much for granted, not just by we who have it, but by those who employ us. I doubt there are even a handful of administrators who consider that they are buying part of a human being's lifespan, never mind appreciating that the very same human being is willing to come to work for them with the very real possibility that those moments might be their last.
Looking at employment in this way is crucial. I'll never say, don't get a job because you'll lose valuable time. Economically speaking, you need to do something to support yourself. Realistically speaking, working is better for you than playing video games all day in just about every way–socially, emotionally and physically. But I wouldn't take it for granted that you're supposed to be miserable for peanuts, and if the job is actually harming you, you have to get out and do something else. I hope some employers out there who might be reading this will become more aware too that although there are such things as minimum wage and employment markets, time is precious, priceless and can't be returned to the person you're buying them from. That deserves some respect, especially if that person is giving it willingly, cheerfully, and with integrity.