Last week I was in the line to check into the DisneyLand resort in Hong Kong during Christmas eve I saw a very interesting site. Right in front of me there were about 4-5 families some westerners and some from China. It was an all familiar site fathers with the bags, mothers taking care of the noisy kids and the entire environment filled with Disney Magic.

However one thing in common was all the Fathers were busy with their heads buried on their blackberry screen and their thumbs frantically moving up and down the device. I could only imagine there level of Blackberry Addiction that during the entire 5-8 minutes they were indifferent to the entire surrounding and while the kids were in the magic world of Disney..Papa was high on his corporate mail...

There has been a lot of talk about the Blackberry and how it has been a great productivity tool but at the same time the addiction of Blackberry devices commonly called Crackberry.

A study just out from Rutgers University says those Blackberry email devices you see attached to everyone’s hips ‘can be so addictive that owners may need to be weaned off them with treatment similar to that given to drug user,’ and that Blackberries are ‘fuelling a rise in email and internet addiction, with sufferers able to survive only a few minutes without checking for new mail.’

I have so far some across many people who can be classified as Blackberry Addicts.. with one of the person I know the effect is so extreme that he cant even have a conversation with you looking at your face every time you talk to him he is busy doing something on his Blackberry and responds to you while he is reading or writing a message!!

About 3 years back I too was getting addicted to my Blackberry and followed some tips and tricks which have made me ‘clean’ I thought it will be great if I can share some of them with you.

1. Email is Not SMS

Blackberry devices had somehow managed to create a sense of urgency in the minds of the user so much so that most of the users are compelled to reply to the message at whatever time of the day and night. I myself remember waking up in the middle of the night See the light blink on my Blackberry and respond to a message. While some of the mails are suitable for Blackberry use I have seen people write paragraphs and paragraphs of text as replies to emails which was sent to them a few minutes back.

SMS(Short Messaging Service) is something which was really designed to be a truly PUSH mail service where you expect the person to respond to your SMS almost instantly. However Blackberries have done that to Corporate Email. Its not uncommon for Bosses, Clients and Partners to expect an Email response almost instantly if they know you have a Blackberry whatever time of the day or night....

TIP #1 - Don’t be in a hurry to respond to your Blackberry Emails...however compelled you feel...

2. Shut off that dam Light

The most annoying thing about the Blackberry is the Blinking Light every time you get an Email message. Normally if you get a tone or a vibration it is one time but as the light keeps constantly blinking. It makes you compelled to pick up your Blackberry and check the mail.

TIP #2 - Switch of the light and any visual indication that you have got mail

3. No QWERTY Keypad

With bigger and fancier keypads the Blackberry devices compelled you to write bigger and longer messages without getting much time to apply any thought to what you are typing. There are many instances of people (and myself) cursing themselves for sending that message....which is most of the time done in a fit or anger!! and due to the smaller screen of the blackberry you don’t get much chance to review the message simple send. Shifting to a traditional and much more sleeker telephone keypad which ten keys automatically restricts you for typing long messages and therefore reduces your chances or screwing up..

TIP #3 - Switch from the QWERTY Keypad to regular Phone Keypad

4. Switch it off on weekends and night

I really don’t see the point of keeping you Blackberry switched on on at night and during weekends. Best way is to keep it off and in case you do want to check switch it on once or twice during the day. It can pull in all the messages. Most of the devices also come with a feature to pull emails every 1 to 2 hrs during weekends and after office hours.

TIP #4 - Keep blackberry OFF at night and pull for 1 to 2 hour push intervals during weekends

5. Filter out all Non-Essential mail

Setup filters on your blackberry where you can filter non-essential emails like newsletters, Google Alerts and recurring non-essential emails so that they don’t hit you blackberry. The worst thing is when you start reading stupid newsletters and emails which were not really that important in the middle of the night

TIP #5 Setup filters to keep non-essential emails away

6. Get rid of the Blackberry

There was a time when Blackberry Truly had to monopoly on reliable Push Email services. I believe they did it well by adding a lot of features which made people addicted to their devices... Times have changes there are many devices from Nokia, Samsung, HTC, IPHONE etc. which do push email very well and have much higher degree of control on how you want to receive your emails and at what intervals. I have moved to a Nokia N95 8 GB and use a free push mail software from SEVEN which is amazingly feature rich. I have also noticed that since I moved away from the Blackberry my push email addiction has declined and is now GONE :-) I think the design and the form factor off traditional phones somehow helps you get over the addiction compared to the design of the blackberry device which is all inviting and tempting you to pick up the device and type a message!

TIP #6 Move to other devices which push mail capabilities

Finally there is no real trick to get rid of your addictions... My dad told me once that the get rid of one addiction you have to get into another addiction and for now looks like my new found addiction is FACEBOOK !

Would love to here what you think about this ??388203