Journal Vs Blog

Last year, I wrote 250 blog entries. Do the math.

250 entries divided by 365 days in the year = a 68.5% efficiency.

That number is misleading though since my goal was to write a blog entry every weekday. So let’s revise the numbers

52 weeks in a year times 5 days a week = 260 potential blogging days

I actually posted 250 entries so let’s divide that by 260 to get a 96% efficiency rate.

I would say that’s a pretty good record.

Let’s look at my journal now. I started it up quite a long time ago. I have managed to keep it updated but my entries have gotten to be very few and far between. I want to correct that this year. I have lots of things to write about that I wouldn’t want to put on the World Wide Web. My journal still has a purpose, even if I have neglected it.

Total Journal Entries 56

56 divided by 365 days in the year = 15% efficiency

Of course blog entries are short, most are only about 300 words long. My journal entries by nature are much larger, most of them are anywhere from a page and a half to six pages.

Total journal pages for 2008 = 134 pages.

Each entry is then roughly 2 and a half pages long. I guess that’s not too bad. I bet if I counted the number of pages I did the year before, it would probably be pretty close to that number as well.

There used to be a time when I wrote in my journal every single day. I love being able to look back at my old writing and relive those moments in time. I really wish I could write in them more, but I just don’t have the time. I write blog entries, journal entries, and fiction.

I probably write now more than I ever did. I guess I don’t need to keep score. This really isn’t a contest. My blog and my journal both have their place and my attention. They both are permanent records of my thoughts at the time. As such, my writing serves as a time machine to my mind state and feelings at the time of each entry. That is the magic behind my writing and what keeps me going.


8 responses to “Journal Vs Blog”

  1. A journal is one thing I wish I kept more. Even with your 15% efficiency (and off-the-wall page count), that’s pretty impressive. I wonder what I’m missing by blogging and not journaling. I would definitely write about different things. I feel like I’m missing part of my family’s history… and then I realize my wife journals nearly every day. I knew there was a reason I got married!

  2. Hi Ryan,

    My journal and blog are completely different beasts. I think it is along the same lines as Barbara’s blog post today. Our online lives are often different than out regular lives.

    I sometimes write journal entries that could be blog posts but most of the times they are more personal and I would never think about saying the same things here on Silent Cacophony. I guess that’s just the way it is.

    I wonder, does you wife ever let you read her journal? And why is it that journalling seems to be something that women do moreso than men?

  3. Hi Chase,
    Its been a long time been busy with life but i have been trying to keep both a blog and a journal and with the journal i do better but ever since i got my laptop i thought id be able to blog more but its hard to joggle everything in life. But hey hope everything is going well with u!!
    Lizzy

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