If you've ever wondered why BlackBerry fanatics cherish their smart phones more than some family
members, look no further than Dr. John Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "It's an addiction," he said. "It creates a dopamine squirt, being connected. It turns on our attention system, and we love to be attending to something all the time." (
Click here for more on this affliction.)
But just like gambling and any other addicting activity, BlackBerry abuse can be cracked. It just takes time and willpower. Here are a few tips to set you -- or, excuse us, someone you know -- along the path to BlackBerry sobriety.
Admit the problem.
Not admitting you're addicted means you're trying to change for someone else; realize the costs in your own life.
Completely avoid e-mail for the first hour of every day.
Instead, devote the first hour to your most critical concentrated task. Ask yourself what task in your day requires the most concentration. Is it strategic planning? Creative work? Start the day off being in control of technology, instead of it taking control of you.
A phone call wouldn't kill you.
The general rule of thumb is if an e-mail thread has gone back and forth three times, it's time to pick up the phone and give your contact a call. Use people's phone numbers in their e-mail signatures to get some real voice contact.
Set a realistic e-mail-checking schedule.
Set regular times to process e-mail throughout the day. Instead of checking randomly, devote 20 minutes to e-mail every two hours, or whatever time frame is reasonable for the day. If you're in back-to-back meetings throughout the day, you should take BlackBerry breaks, but don't check your BlackBerry under the table. Turn off the vibrating alert. If you still can't help but look, turn off your device's data connection so you literally can't receive e-mail during meetings.
Build up a tolerance and hang in there.
Not checking your e-mail every other minute may be uncomfortable at first. Start off by building up your tolerance to functioning without up-to-the-minute e-mail access. Don't be distracted by your device's blinking red light.
Turn off your BlackBerry (or even hide it).
During holiday dinner or your child's play, don't just silence your device; power it down. Use a separate phone for emergency calls.
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