I was just reading an interesting article over on the SouthBendTribune.com website entitled “Saving marriage from the BlackBerry” and it offers 3 tips for keeping your BlackBerry addiction from spilling over into your personal life. I must admit that, at least at some level, I practice all three of these tips.
The first tip is no BlackBerry in the bedroom. My motivation for keeping my BlackBerry out of the bedroom is a bit different than the one suggested in the article, however. The constant blinking light and the random vibration from incoming email drives me nuts. Additionally, keeping my BlackBerry in my bedroom would counteract the benefits of tip number two.
More tips after the jump…
The second tip is out of sight out of mind. I leave my BlackBerry on the mantel above my fireplace. I’ve got a power adapter for both my BlackBerry and Bluetooth headset there and the spot is remote enough that I can’t see the notification light or hear the vibration of incoming emails, however, is convenient enough that I don’t have to scramble to get there quickly if the phone rings.
The last tip is to set designated hours for BlackBerry use. I simply don’t check my BlackBerry after 9:00 P.M. if I am at home. This brings up a BlackBerry feature request. Wouldn’t it be cool of you could automatically set your BlackBerry to change profiles based on a schedule? I notice that I check my BlackBerry much less frequently if I forget to change the profile back from phone only. I would love it if I could automatically set it to go phone only on back on a schedule.
Maybe it’s just my BES platform, but my Blackberry has an Auto On/Off setting. Off at 9pm, on again at 8am for wedded bliss. I may set the 8am turn on time back 15 minutes as it has a tendency to start beeping/vibrating/lighting up wildly while I’m on the bus stop with the kids.