MOST of us have a least one of them and you will usually find a moment to do it every day.

It can be done just about anywhere, but preferably not when you're driving.

People do it when they're on the telephone, in a meeting, or on a barging holiday with relatives.

School kids spend whole maths lessons engrossed in it and husbands are often caught doing it when their wives are discussing shopping.

To quote that master of the genre, Rolf Harris: "Can yer tell what it is yet?" It is, of course, the art of doodling.

Forget Sudoku. A sustained scribble is still the greatest boredom reliever of all.

School friends in history lessons used to create whole worlds in their text-book margins inhabited by grotesque creatures. Anything to numb the pain of analysing John Kay's Flying Shuttle or Arkwright's Water Frame.

I've made dull meetings at the Guildhall tolerable by sketching a councillor's face with my wrong hand. Achieved some good likenesses too.

In moments of absent-mindedness most of us will scribble a doodle as often as we bite our nails, rub our chins or pick our noses. My notepad is littered with mini-whirlwinds, and crazy shapes.

Not very interesting to others, but it gets me through a phone call to a company spokesperson who's had me on hold with Celine Dion for 15 minutes.

Those of us who thought our doodles were pointless, throwaway scrawls should think again, apparently.

New research by experts such as Anna Koren at the Graphology Centre suggests doodles represent the "physical projection of a hidden, inner emotional desire" and that the study of them can unlock the secrets of our character.

I've had some fun with Koren's online "Doodle Decoder" - to "see what your scribbles say about you".

My geometric shapes show I have an organized brain, the decoder reveals, along with clear thought processes, good planning skills and efficiency. The repetitive whirlwinds mean I'm "just like the Energizer Bunny, these people keep going and going and going".

So, in conclusion, I'm basically a German on speed.

The UK now celebrates a National Doodle Day (the next one is March 3) in aid of worthwhile causes such as Epilepsy Action and The Neurofibromatosis Association.

Hundreds of celebrities, from David Gower to Phil Collins, have donated scribbles to be auctioned on eBay to raise cash.

Its website www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk invites us to send in our sketches along with a £1 donation, in return for a chance to win £1,000.

Click into the site's doodle analysis section - a must to try out on unsuspecting friends.

These were its interpretations of scribbles belonging to four of my colleagues:

Workmate one doodled a flower: "They are revealing a sentimental streak here. Heavy pressure (on the pen) implies a sexual problem while light pressure indicates the wish for an old relationship to be restored."

Workmate two doodled a snake-like animal: "Snakes symbolise sexual ability and/or plenty of straightforward common sense. When the animal is shown coiled expect to find a level of rebellion or a stubborn nature."

Workmate three doodled a square: "The square shows aggression and construction, and the author does not appreciate opposition. They prefer a well-ordered way of doing things."

Workmate four doodled a star: "The star shows a rather ambitious character prepared to bend or even break a rule or two to get what they want. A five-pointed star may have religious connotations while a six-pointed one shows an aggressive streak."

I always knew they were a funny lot.

Some doodles, though, are so surreal as to be beyond interpretation. My father-in-law's for instance.

He is a level-headed fifty-something, who has never, as far as I know, eaten magic mushrooms or swallowed hallucinogenic drugs.

So why on earth does he repeatedly scrawl, "Scooby Doo Where Are You?" on one side of his phone jotter, and "Over Here" on the other?

My guess about the inner meaning?

We could have problems with him.

Updated: 11:11 Friday, October 07, 2005