7 Benefits of Keeping a Personal Online Journal or Blog

Writing a regular journal or blog is a therapeutic process that helps integrate seemingly unconnected life events. Some believe the process works because the physical act of writing (using your hand-eye coordination) occupies your left brain, leaving your right brain free to access emotions, intuit connections, and create new insights. Journaling reduces stress by getting ‘monkey mind’ thoughts out of your head.

   Writing about problems gives your right brain food for creative problem-solving. Once the creative part of your nature starts working on a problem, solutions bubble up from your subconscious.

   Keeping a daily (or even weekly!) diary is one of the best techniques for discovering patterns, particularly those that are self-defeating. For example, a diary kept over the course of several months will clearly show any reoccurring difficulties like overeating, stress eating, poor (but similar) choices in relationships.

   Writing can help clarify your thoughts, your emotions, and your reactions to certain people or situations. In addition, as you read back through past journals, you’ll have ample evidence of the things that make you happy and those that are distressful. You get to know yourself.

   Journaling can help clarify events, problems, or options. When you’re beset with a mind full of fuzzy, disconnected thoughts flitting here and there, writing about the event or issue will help bring focus and clarity. It can also help you decide on which action to take, or option to choose.

   Keeping an online personal journal is a great way to safeguard memories, and somewhere for you to go back to time and time again to read. And you can pepper it up with photos to make your memoirs even more unforgetable.

   Journaling can be a faster less stressful way of corresponding with family and friends who live at a distance from you. It’s easier to write your diary than it is to get into the mood to compose an email or letter to, say, your brother who lives in Australia. All you have to do is give your brother the website link to your online journal, and he can read it at his leisure and stay up-to-date with your antics.