Peggy Duncan's Suite Minute blog. Computer tips and tricks that make work easy.

I’ve read several stories that report how President-Elect Barack Obama, like so many other people, is addicted to his BlackBerry. I’m sure he feels torn right now at the thought of having to give it up once he enters the White House. But I think he’s going to feel so much better once he gets over the initial shock.

Occupations such as 9-1-1 operators, receptionists, specialists for medical emergencies, and high-level technicians on call may have to be available the instant something rings, beeps, buzzes, or dings, but why do you?

Here are some benefits that you and President-Elect Obama will discover after curbing a BlackBerry addiction.

Manage email better. The BlackBerry allows you to monitor email, not manage it. President-Elect Obama will now conduct his email on a laptop. He’ll soon discover that he’ll be able to give better answers, keep track of what’s been answered, and have a better sense of what needs additional follow-up. He’ll be able to move messages into a logical folder system, answer routine emails faster with templates, signatures, or AutoText, easily slide emails to the calendar, and so much more.

If your Inbox is a mess with hundreds or thousands of messages stored there, the BlackBerry only compounds the problem. You have messages in two places, anyone having to help you with it stays confused about what you’ve already done, you half answer requests that have to be revisited, and you forget what you’ve already done or said because you’re doing it on the go without giving it enough thought. I love my BlackBerry too, but I don’t try to run my life from it. That’s Outlook’s job.

I’m not on an Exchange server so I can’t sync my Inbox, meaning that although I delete the messages from my BlackBerry, they still show up on my laptop. Consequently when I’m away from my laptop, I monitor the messages on the BlackBerry, answer only the ones that require a quick response, then delete everything else. I deal with anything requiring me to think and track when I get back to my laptop. I keep my Inbox to one screen and the BlackBerry Inbox empty.

Show staff you trust them. Are you always “on” because you don’t think your team can get things done without you? Everyone should be trained well enough to make good decisions based on well thought-out processes and procedures. If this is not the case, why not? While pulling together the best team and most organized transition in our history, it’ll be OK to miss an email or two.

Do better work. Once your addiction is in check, you’ll be able to complete a thought, finish what you started, and pay more attention to what counts. We have some serious messes you’ll have to lead us out of and we need you totally focused on that.

Set boundaries and stick to it. When you’re questioned about not responding immediately, work to change the culture. Let your team know that you prefer to stay focused on what is most important and the email routine you’ve created works better for you. The results of more focused efforts will speak for you.

Get back ability to concentrate. When you need to focus on something important, don’t let anything get in your way. Stop walking down the street bumping into poles and people while you’re thumbing and scrolling. Yes, you’re brilliant and can manage several things at once! However, to lead us out of this mess, you’re going to have to put your brain cells in overdrive and not waste any.

Listen more intently. With the ringing and buzzing gone, you’ll listen and get it right the first time instead of having to double-back or double-check. They’re going to come at you with everything they’ve got so leave nothing to chance.

Make others around you feel worthy. The most important person in the room is the one you’re with. Don’t disrespect them by not fully listening. At work, turn your BlackBerry off in all meetings. You’re the boss and no one will say anything, but trust me, that doesn’t make people feel good, and it causes the meeting to last longer than it should. People want your undivided attention as a sign of respect. When you head for home (as in your private quarters), leave it in your desk. Do not take it home.

Sleep better at night. Once you stop sleeping with your beloved BlackBerry under your pillow, you’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep, rediscover what it’s like to dream, and feel more refreshed the next morning. If someone can’t sleep and starts sending messages in the middle of the night, it’s just plain foolishness to jump up and answer (not you Mr. President-Elect–I mean other people).

As much as I love email, I don’t want to be tied to it 24/7/365. If you’ve got it so bad that your work and home life suffers, box up your BlackBerry and ship it to yourself with 3-5 day ground delivery. You’ll find that life goes on.

When you get it back, you’ll be more sensible with it. Every time you start to feel the urge to overindulge, ship it again.

If you want to learn more about how to manage email, check out my email workshops, Webinars on managing email overload, and my book, Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2003. For more help with an email addiction, click here for a previous post.

If you have any other benefits or solutions, please add to comments.

Check out this video of someone with this addiction. It’s hilarious.

PEACE.

Related Posts
Cure Email Addiction: 15 Things to Try

Changes I Made to My BlackBerry That Made It Easier to Use

Peggy Duncan, Email Overload Expert

Filed under: Business Growth, General Technology, Word-Excel-PowerPoint