Are you secretly checking emails on your BlackBerry? The first thing you do in the morning is checking for new mails? If somebody confronts and suggests that you are addicted to your BlackBerry you reply and explain in detail why the BlackBerry Smartphone is the best device on the market?

If these situations sound familiar to you, you are probably very close to or are already addicted to you BlackBerry Smartphone. While it is good that you have found your favorite smartphone, it is essential that you reflect whether your BlackBerry has a negative impact on your productivity, relationships and ultimately life.

Who is the Boss: You or your BlackBerry?

The BlackBerry can indeed make you really productive but you have to be careful whether it is getting too much in your life. You have to remember that you probably bought your BlackBerry not just for the sake of owning a BlackBerry but instead because you want to achieve your goals with the help of a BlackBerry.

The essential question is this: Is your BlackBerry helping you to achieve your goals, or have you become a worker for you BlackBerry?

If you want to be slave to your BlackBerry then go ahead and set all alarms on your mobile so you are immediately notified whenever you get a new message. If you want to change this you should take action today and get rid of your BlackBerry addiction today.

 

Here are some tips how to break your BlackBerry addiction.

Turn off your notifications

You are not Pavlov’s dog that creates saliva whenever he hears a bell ringing. So the first step to break your BlackBerry addiction is to turn off all notifications whenever you receive a new email or text message.

Reduce the number of our emails on your BlackBerry

You don’t need to receive each and every email on your BlackBerry, especially not the spam emails that you won’t read anyway. If you receive them on your BlackBerry it is not only spam but it also steals your attention. So instead of being a slave to important emails (probably the reason why you bought your BlackBerry) you become a slave to spam emails or other email newsletters that you once subscribed to. Create a filter for the emails that you forward to your BlackBerry.

Take control of the times when you check your BlackBerry

Resist the urge to continuously check for new emails even if you have turned of notifications. You should initially start by checking your BlackBerry only every 15 minutes and try to extend to check your emails whenever you have a few spare minutes to quickly check your emails i.e. while you are waiting for your coffee at the coffee machine.

Consciously turn off your BlackBerry

Even if you are scared that nobody can reach you if your BlackBerry is turned off, you can simply switch off data services which means that you can be reached on the phone, but your emails will not be delivered. To do this you can turn of data traffic on your BlackBerry but leave GSM functionality on, go to Applications > Options > Mobile Network > Data Services On/Off. Additionally you can turn on and off your BlackBerry at specific times (which is also helpful to sustain battery life. To do this go to Applications > Options > Auto On/Off.

These are the most important tips and tricks to break your BlackBerry addictions – do you have any other experiences in dealing with BlackBerry addiction? Let us know in the comments!

And remember: The ultimate goal is to have your BlackBerry working for you, rather then you working for it.

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Everybody has experienced moments when one is totally absorbed in a task, outside distractions disappear and all feelings of time are gone. These moments when one is able to be in “the zone” and work highly concentrated is called “Flow”. This concept has been introduced by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In his book “Flow – The Psychology of Optimal Experience” where he describes the mental state of mind when one is able to deliver peak performances.

In today’s always-on world people struggle to get into this mode of working with constant interruptions from phone calls, emails and twitter messages. Nevertheless when everything becomes busy it is even more important to be able to take a step back, refocus and get into a “flow mode” to be able to get work efficiently done.

The following steps help you get into the flow state

1. Block noise and audible distractions

In order to fully engage in your work mode it is necessary to block all external distractions. Essentially this means to turn off phones (send them to voice mail), to close all applications on your computer that interrupt you with notifications (email, instant messaging, twitter accounts) and even to tell you colleagues that you can not be disturbed in the next hours. It helps in addition to block ambient noise if there is a risk that it might distract you. Earplugs can help you to block out all ambient noise and focus on the task in front of you. Some people are able to listen to music when they work and if you are one of these I highly recommend one of the many internet radio stations (http://www.shoutcast.com/) that will help you get into the right mood for work. I personally listen to classical music when I have to write articles, when I do creative work I tend to listen to very upbeat pop-music and when I am really busy or have to do a lot of repetitive task I prefer techno and house music. But everyone has his own preferences and the only important thing is that you are not distracted by lyrics, commercials or jingles.

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