Zen and the Art of BlackBerry

New Shortcut Found

2009-10-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

I just noticed an awesome feature in the newer BlackBerry OS devices (I currently use a Tour 9630). If you hold down the Menu Key (the key with the dots that looks like an actual blackberry, directly to the left of the track ball) the active application window will appear (aka the Application Switcher). This works in any window or application that you're using, and allows you to quickly and easily switch between applications.

This window (commonly known as the Application Switcher) can still be invoked by holding down the ALT key and the Escape Key (key directly to the right of the track ball).

This shortcut is a significant enhancement that allows you to switch applications quickly using only one hand.

Happy Multi-Tasking!!!

Creating a Search Shortcut

2009-09-10T05:49:00.000-04:00

Not everyone is familiar with. creating a search shortcut for your messaging list. Most are familiar with clicking built in shortcuts like alt-o for outgoing or alt-p for phone logs.

Here is how to create a message list shortcut:

Example: alt-w for all email messages that have attachments.

Open your message list.
Click menu button to access drop down.
Choose Search

At this point you can configure your search criteria however you wish. For this example we will leave all input fields blank, and choose 'Type' = "Email with Attachments"

Next, click the menu button and select 'Save'.
Give the shortcut a title (for this example we are using "Email with attachment").
Choose the shortcut key (example uses 'w').

Click the menu button and select 'Save', and you're done.

From that point on, whenever you're in your message list application and hit alt-w, it will produce a list of only those messages on your device that have attachments.

Also notice that the application ribbon will display the name you've given to the saved search.

The Power of Auto Text

2009-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Some people call this the poor man's spell-check, but Auto Text is much more powerful. It was initially developed to automatically fix spelling errors. For instance if you type 'teh', it will "auto text" or correct it and type 'the'. How else can you use this feature? I have several email templates, signatures, and common lists set on my BlackBerry as Auto Text entries. To add an Auto Text entry, just go to Options>Auto Text and choose "new" from the drop down menu. When I type 'sigb' my BlackBerry populates my business email signature; when I type 'sigp' it populates my personal signature.

Are there any other lists or set of instructions that you send out on a regular basis? Make an Auto Text entry and save yourself the thumb-taps or having to wait until you get back to the office. Examples: An Online Auto Sales Rep uses Auto Text to send out quick email messages with quotes and feature/benefits (excalade1xl); An Insurance Adjuster sends out claim instructions (carclaim1); A Sales Operations Manager sends out instructions for online reporting access and setup (reportinginst). . . .and the list goes on and on.

Extension Dialing

2009-08-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Extension Dialing
Please, please, please. . . if you learn nothing else from reading this post, please use this tip. The BlackBerry gives you the option to dial extensions automatically or to dial via a pop-up. If you enter in a comma into your dialing string, the BlackBerry will pause for 2 seconds then dial the next string after the pause. If you place an 'x' after the first string, your BlackBerry will give you a pop-up window that looks like this:

So, when you schedule a Conference Call, use the following dial string to make dialing into the bridge easier for your BlackBerry users:

10-digit phone number,'X'extension (ex: 1-800-555-1212,X123456)
If the Conference Call requires you to push the '#' key after entering in the extension, add the '#' character to the end of the extension dialing string (ex: 1-800-555-1212,X123456#)

Quotations

2009-07-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

Mark Twain
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years.”

Impatica ShowMate

2009-03-15T09:30:00.000-04:00

Impatica, Inc.'s BlackBerry Presentation viewer takes your BlackBerry to a whole other level. Coupled with the ShowMate, this is the ultimate for any road warrior or sales professional who has to present PowerPoint regularly.

The ShowMate is a device that is about the size of a small computer mouse that connects to a standard LCD Projector. Your BlackBerry connects to this device using Bluetooth or a standard USB cable.

Once connected, you can project a PowerPoint Presentation directly from your BlackBerry! No need to lug your laptop anymore, just bring your BlackBerry and ShowMate.

But wait, it gets better. You can view the 'Notes' portion of the slide while projecting the 'Slide'. This feature alone is a reason to leave the laptop behind because you cannot do this using your laptop and the native PowerPoint interface.

Speaking of Shortcuts . . .

2009-02-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

Attention Application Developers.

If you're developing a BlackBerry java application, please consider those of us out here in the BlackBerry user community who love to leverage their keyboard shortcuts. If your application does not currently have a shortcut assigned, it is fairly simple to do as long as you have a unique shortcut value in the name that is not being used by another application.

Here is the BlackBerry Developer Knowledge Center Article that describes how to do this. It is pretty simple however, and you only need to add \u0332 directly after the letter you want to serve as the homescreen shortcut (Project Properties>Resource Tab "application name").

Example: BeeJive's title would look like this if they wanted to use the 'J' key as the shortcut:

BeeJ\uo332ive

QPQ: Quid Pro Quo

2009-01-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

Quid Pro Quo (QPQ) is a Latin proverb that basically means:

You get what you pay for, and pay for what you get.

In other words, if you are looking for something that is free, be prepared to have the quality be commensurate with the price. Another way that I have heard this proverb described is:

"The bitterness of poor workmanship remains long after the sweetness of a low price forgotten." - Unknown

This is not to say that there are not high quality free applications out there for your BlackBerry because there definitely are. But, more full feature applications will typically cost money. Google Maps (free) works great; but, TeleNav ($10 per month) is much more feature rich with voice-guided directions, etc.

Themes have been highly popular in BlackBerry circles. Some are free, others are for a fee. Keep in mind that (as I have done this myself) it can take anywhere from 3-7 hours to create a theme. Really good ones take much longer to design and develop. A small donation to the developer of $2-3 is more than appropriate.

To that end, here are a list of my favorite BlackBerry applicationss, both free and for a fee:

FREE
Google Apps (Maps, Mail and Search)
WorldMate Live
BBWeather
ITookthisonmyphone
Viigo
Facebook
CellSpin
ShoZu
eTrade Mobile

Cost Money:
IdeaMatrix
FollowUp!
BeeJive IM
TeleNav
Impatica ShowMate/Presenter
FindIt

The 4 Principles of Zen and the Art of BlackBerry

2008-08-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is going to be somewhat of a review of my previous posts, but hopefully it will tie everything together.

In Zen Buddhism, the 4 Noble Truths deal with stress (1 - stress and suffering, 2 - the origin of stress, 3 - cessation of stress, and 4 - the path to cessation of stress). The Four Noble Truths are summed up like this:

Stress is to be comprehended,
The origination of stress abandoned,
The cessation of stress realized and
The path to the cessation of stress developed.

Email is the perfect embodiment of these truths, and Zen and the Art of Blackberry is a way to cope with the madness of email, and hopefully reach that state of balance (seeking truth for its own sake). Once we recognize email as the ultimate source of stress and the true drain on our time and attention, we can begin to apply the ZABB Principles.

1st ZABB Principle - Seeing White
Admitting you have a problem and then letting go. Once you recognize that email is a drain on your time you can build a plan to get out from under the burden of sorrow.

2nd ZABB Principle - Manage it Anywhere
You've built a strategy, now globilize it (take it mobile, take it anywhere). You are shifting your paradigm about how you manage your email and building consistency with all communications.

3rd ZABB Principle - Leverage Your Technology
You're beginning to "See White" and can extend that to all communications. You are finally seeing the fruits of your strategy and the stress begins to fade away.

4th ZABB Principle - Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should
Do not send a 5 paragraph email when either 3 sentences will do or you can pick up the phone. Extend your email strategy and expand how you communicate (with and without your devices). More face to face meetings, phone calls and personal/social interaction.

Micromanaging your email is a major source of stress, so you must let go. Start over by developing a sustainable strategy. Once you do this, the realization of the cessation of stress becomes a reality and you can expand your vision to other aspects of your communication.

In my humble opinion, BlackBerry is the only device that gives you the completeness that you seek, and the capabilities to execute on your vision. Let me know if you disagree.

4th ZABB Principle - Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should

2008-08-15T07:30:00.000-04:00

The 4th Principle of Zen and the Art of BlackBerry is "Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should". This is really more about a broader sense of communication etiquette, but it is especially important when managing how you send email messages.

Just because you can . . .
Send a 5 paragraph email message, doesn't mean you should.
Some people insist on sending the 'War and Peace' (Leo Tolstoy's 1400+ page, 560,000 word epic novel just in case you do not understand the reference) version of everything, do not be one of these people. I get 150-200 email messages per day, so I do not have time for your verbose over-indulgent prose. Here are some alternatives to sending a 2000 word essay as an email:

Attach a document (1 page text, or 2-3 Power Point Slides)
Boil it down to a handful of concise bullet points and keep it simple
Get to the point already
PICK UP THE PHONE
Step away from the Cubicle and walk over to have a real live chat
Schedule some time to discuss whether via the phone or in person

Refer to any of the following web sites for more information about the specific strategy. You could go as far as I have and include a link to one in your email signature line:

Five Sentences
Four Sentences
Three Sentences
Two Sentences

Just because you can . . .
Send an impassioned email response, doesn't mean you should.
The best cure I have found for NOT sending these email bombs is to "Save As Draft". Wait at least 4 hours then read again and decide if you really want to hit send. Take a deep breath, center yourself and release. Sometimes the act of witting gets it off your chest without having to actually send it.

Remember one of Murphy's Laws: You Can't Cure Stupid. Do not think that your precisely and strong worded email message is going to actually do the trick. Many generations that have come before you have attempted to cure this infectious disease with no luck. Trust me, there is no cure. As my philosophy professor once said, "Some people just drive around with their high-beams on all the time."

Just because you can . . .
Forward every email message you think is funny to a distro, doesn't mean you should.
I call this the 'eff dubl ew kolen' (aka FW:) syndrome. Don't get me wrong, there are some extremely funny emails that get forwarded no doubt. But if you have a distribution list specifically to forward those spam messages to everyone you know, you are an eff dubl ew kolen. Please stop this now. There is a great quote from a movie that puts it in perspective for the ef dubl ew kolens of the world:

"Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor but they couldn't possibly all have good taste [and a good sense of humor]."
When Harry Met Sally (A Rob Reiner Film), dialog by Marie played by Carrie Fisher

There are a lot of other "Just because you can, doesn't mean you shoulds" out there. The bottom line is that by you should have a strategy that works for email by now and you must extend this and expand how you communicate (with and without your devices). More face to face meetings, phone calls and personal and social interaction. You will finally free yourself from that burden of sorrow, and maybe help out the rest of us a little bit too.

3rd ZABB Principle: Leverage Your Technology

2008-07-07T20:00:00.007-04:00

If you have followed along with Zen and the Art of BlackBerry (ZABB), you should now be Seeing White and Managing It Anywhere. Let's talk about the 3rd ZABB Principle: Leverage Your Technology.

In today's mobile environment the term Smartphone has become an overused term in my humble opinion. Just because a device has email, a web browser, SMS, a camera and you can watch TV or listen to music does not make it a "Smart" phone. These are table stakes, and a truly "Smart" device should have some built in intelligence that makes it intuitive and easier to use.

I been fortunate in my job functions to have access to multiple devices, and I have tried everything from a Treo to Windows Phone to Windows Mobile. Even though I am not a big fan of "list posts", the following is a short list of what I consider the most relevant intelligent design aspects of the BlackBerry (there are many more not covered here). These are what set it apart quite as quite possibly the only device that can be legitimately classified as a Smartphone:

Keyboard Shortcuts
This has too much to list in one post, but let's just say that the keyboard shortcuts leave any touch screen device in the dust. Quite possibly one of the single biggest productivity gains is the use of keyboard shortcuts. Follow the link above for a more in-depth review.

In/Out of Holster Sensing
The BlackBerry has a magnetic sensor in the device, and a magnetic contact in the holster. The device actually knows when it is In and when it is Out (not quite Heidi Klum). This means you can set your ringer setting for in or out of the holster. Your BlackBerry knows when to be quiet and when to make some noise.

Auto Text
Some people call this the poor man's spell-check, but Auto Text is much more powerful. It was initially developed to automatically fix spelling errors. For instance if you type 'teh', it will "auto text" or correct it and type 'the'. How else can you use this feature? I have several email templates, signatures, and common lists set on my BlackBerry as Auto Text entries. To add an Auto Text entry, just go to Options>Auto Text and choose "new" from the drop down menu. When I type 'sigb' my BlackBerry populates my business email signature; when I type 'sigp' it populates my personal signature.

Extension Dialing
Please, please, please. . . if you learn nothing else from reading this post, please use this tip. The BlackBerry gives you the option to dial extensions automatically or to dial via a pop-up. If you enter in a comma into your dialing string, the BlackBerry will pause for 2 seconds then dial the next string after the pause. If you place an 'x' after the first string, your BlackBerry will give you a pop-up window that looks like this:

So, when you schedule a Conference Call, use the following dial string to make dialing into the bridge easier for your BlackBerry users:

10-digit phone number,'X'extension (ex: 1-800-555-1212,X123456)
If the Conference Call requires you to push the '#' key after entering in the extension, add the '#' character to the end of the extension dialing string (ex: 1-800-555-1212,X123456#)

This is more than just a cool trick, it is a common courtesy and down right Conference Call etiquette. Make sure the next meeting you schedule that you're placing this dialing string into the "Location" field in the Outlook meeting maker. Too bad no other "Smart" devices have this capability.

Embedded dialing/messaging
The BlackBerry recognizes a phone number or email address regardless of which application you're using (calendar, web browser, address book, task, email, etc.) and allows you to click on it to dial/compose. Kinda makes sense for a "Smart" device, but a majority of other "Smart" devices fall short of this basic intelligence.

Choice (unified messaging or separate mailboxes)
The BlackBerry gives you the ability to choose whether you want all of your various email addresses delivering messages to a single unified Inbox, or having separate Inboxes for each email account (you can even have a separate Inbox for your SMS messages). You can also customize the appearance of the messages from each account, so you will see which email account a message is from even if they are in the unified message Inbox.

Java-based OS and development environment (More Open)
Although the OS for BlackBerry is proprietary, it is Java-based. Anyone can develop an application for the BlackBerry device, and there are literally Thousands of applications commercially available (for Free and for $). BlackBerry Developer has a software developer's kit if you're into that sort of thing. Plazmic has a unique software developer's kit that allows you to create your own customized themes. This is a WYSIWYG program is easy to use even for the novice (the acronym above means What You See Is What You Get).

Field Logic
The BlackBerry makes it difficult to screw things up. It knows whether you're in a number field or a text field, avoiding the need to Shift/Alt in certain applications. It even learns more about you as you use it. For example, if you use an email account to send an email to your mother, your BlackBerry will default to that email account the next time you compose an email to her.
When you're in an email field and you press the Space key, the BlackBerry will automatically place an '@' or period where appropriate. When entering in a web address into the browser, pressing the Space key enters in a period (aka "dot", in other words it puts the dot in .com) where appropriate.

True Push Email
This one should probably be at the top of the list. No other provider (with the exception of Good Technology. . .acquired by Motorola and subsequently seems to have faded into oblivion) has a true "Push" email regardless of what the handset manufacturer or platform developer tells you. All other email services try to fake push by having the device "check" for email in the background periodically. Yes, even Microsoft's Active Sync and yes the email platform that the iPhone has. . .all technically pull. If you set your device to mimic real-time push, the device does all of the heavy lifting by checking in the background (a lot) which will have a very noticeable impact on your battery life. With BlackBerry, the server does all of the heavy lifting (BIS or BES) by checking your mail and pushing whatever is new to your device.

So, how "Smart" is your Smartphone. If you're not using a BlackBerry, let's face it: your phone is just not the sharpest crayon in the box.

Next time we will discuss the 4th ZABB Principle: Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should.

BlackBerry Shortcuts

2008-06-25T20:00:00.002-04:00

There are many different shortcuts you can use to make your BlackBerry experience better. I have classified these into a few different categories: Home Screen, Applications and Advanced shortcuts. Please notice that these shortcuts are based on a full QWERTY BlackBerry and the shortcuts for the Sure Type devices can be found at Discover Blackberry or Stinsondogg's Tips (If you use any of these documents, please make a small donation. I do not want to have to get up on my soapbox about Quid Pro Quo).

This post contains a lot of information and is really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shortcuts. Here is a real world example of how I integrate shortcuts:

I open a message, read it, then process it which typically involves a response and/or scheduled appointment or task. I take the relative action, then choose 'I' to file the message into its appropriate folder. When you do this, the message remains open. I then use the 'N' key to move to the next message in my list. This is great because you do not have to open/close each message, etc. I rarely use the track-ball when processing email.
Home Screen Shortcuts
The home screen shortcuts will unfortunately only work if you have a full QWERTY keyboard device (one key per letter). The Sure Type devices (2 letters per key) do have shortcuts for the applications, but do not have home screen shortcuts. The first step to being able to use home screen keyboard shortcuts is to set your device up to not dial from the home screen. To do this, go to Phone>Options>General Settings> and set the value for 'Dial From Home Screen:' to "No". See the screen shot below:

Once you have done this, you will notice something different about the names (bottom of the screen when you have an icon highlighted). For certain icons/applications, one letter in the name of the icon/application will be underlined. This is how you know what the shortcut key is to launch that application.

In this screenshot, you see that the Messages icon is selected, and the letter 'M' is underlined. So, from anywhere on your home screen you can click the 'M' key and this will launch the Messages/Inbox. Here is a list of other common home screen shortcuts:

L = Calendar
A= Address Book
B= Browser
N= BlackBerry Messenger
T= Tasks
O= Options
U= Calculator
C= Compose
V= Save Messages
R= Alarm
K= Lock Keypad

Keep in mind that some 3rd Party Applications also have Keyboard Shortcuts (examples include: i=IdeaMatrix, x= Windows Live Messenger).

Application Specific Shortcuts
There are many shortcuts you can use while working within a particular application (like Messages, Calendar, etc.). First, here are a few shortcuts that are common among all native applications and most 3rd Party Applications:

T= Top - this takes you to the top of the page/document/list
B= Bottom - this takes you to the top of the page/document/list
Space Bar = Page Down
N= Next Item
P= Previous Item

Text Input

Push and Hold a letter to capitalize (Keyrate set to Normal in Options>Screen/Keyboard)
Space Key twice, enters a period
Space Key in an email field populates the '@' symbol and period
Space Key when entering a web address places a period (aka "dot")

Messages

U= Jump to the 1st Unread message in the list
N= when you have a message open, it will open he next message; when you're viewing the messages list, this will jump to the next date header chronologically
P= when you have a message open, it will open he previous message; when you're viewing the messages list, this will jump to the previous date header chronologically
I= File Message to a Folder (will open a list of folders you have to file into -- requires BES)
R= Reply To
L= Reply All
F= Forward
Alt-P= filters message list to show Phone Logs only
Alt-S= filters message list to show SMS messages only
Alt-I= filters message list to show only Incoming Messages
Alt-O= filters message list to show only Outgoing Messages

Browser

A= Add Bookmark
K= Open Bookmark List
G= Open the 'Go To' command to allow you enter a URL
H= Jump to your designated Home Page
Del key= functions like a back page button

Advanced Shortcuts
Alt + Escape Key = Application Switcher

The Alt key will open and options menu when that field is selected and allow you to scroll through the list of options.

I= Zoom in on a Map (like Google Maps)
O= Zoom out on a Map (like Google Maps)

Hold the Alt key, then press the CAP key and the 'H' key. This will pull up what is referred to as the Help Me! screen, and has network diagnostic info, as well as device details that can help you when you have to call into tech support.

Hold the Alt key and type 'LGLG'. This will pull up an event/error log. If you are having memory challenges, you can delete the entries in this log, which will free up a little memory.

Hold the Alt key an type 'NMLL'. This will change the signal strength indicator from bars to a numerical value.

Once you realize the value of using shortcuts, you will save time while processing from your BlackBerry, and thus attain a higher level awareness and balance.
Feel free to add any of your favorite keyboard shortcuts in the comments.

Manage It Anywhere, part deux: BIS

2008-06-15T12:33:00.019-04:00

In a previous post, I talked about Managing your email strategy remotely from the BlackBerry if you're on an enterprise server based email. Today we will discuss some strategies and tactics to Manage It Anywhere if you use POP3/Web-based email services with the BlackBerry Internet Server (BIS). Feel free to add any of your own tips and tricks in the comments.

A BlackBerry will support up to 10 email addresses in addition to an enterprise email address (if you are using a BES too). Only the BlackBerry gives you the power and flexibility to choose how to handle all of your email. You can choose to have all of your messages delivered into a unified messages box, or you may choose to have a separate mailbox for each individual account (including separate SMS Inbox).

The key to Zen and the Art of Blackberry is that you manage most of your email remotely. Managing your email means you have to take action (respond and archive, delete, schedule/follow up). Take whatever action you can from your BlackBerry, then defer whatever action you cannot manage from your BlackBerry to your desktop.

I have personally been able to take action on 95% of my personal email (Enterprise, POP3 and Web-based mail) right from my BlackBerry. The way I have it set up on my device I get to choose how I want to delete a message when I select 'delete'. You can do this too by going to Messages>Options>Email Reconciliation> and choosing the appropriate email address. Make sure the 'Delete On:' setting is set to "Prompt" as well as 'Wireless Reconcile:' set to "On". Here are some screenshots showing the setting and how the prompt appears:

This will give you the option to choose whether you delete the message simply on your handheld only (leaving the original message on your mail server), or to delete it on the handheld and the server, which will make the message completely disappear from your life forever (hooray!!!).

Here are some important things to keep in mind for the different mail formats out there, as well as some options that give more of a choice of how to process your email (could get a little technical):

POP3 Email
If you are using a typical POP3 email service, you probably download your mail using some sort of desktop mail application (Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc.), also referred to as an email client. Regardless of your email client, the POP3 email is delivered in pretty much the same way. The actual message resides on a mail server at your ISP (Internet Service Provider -- ex: Comcast, Earthlink, etc.). When your mail client connects to this server it downloads your messages and purges them from the server (depending on your settings you may also choose to keep the messages on the server).

When you set up a BIS account to link to your POP3 mail, it checks with your mail server directly for mail, and forwards everything it finds that's new and sends it to your BlackBerry device. The original message remains on your ISP server for you to download from your desktop email client. If you have your desktop client open all the time and checking/downloading messages as they come in, the message never sits long enough on the mail server for the BIS to check and forward a copy. Make sense? So, turn off the mail client on your home computer and process all of your mail from your BlackBerry.

Web-based Email
With a web-based email account (like GMail, Yahoo!Mail or Window Live Hotmail), you typically access your email through a web browser. To put it simply, you are (in essence) accessing the mail server directly as opposed to using a client to pull down messages from the server as in POP3. The good thing is you do not have to worry about having your home computer open and accessing your email like the POP3 version.

Google and Yahoo! have separate email applications for the BlackBerry (click here from your BB to download over-the-air GMail and Yahoo!Go) that give you the choice of processing via push email (native BlackBerry email sevice using the BIS), or to access via the pull method which gives you the ability take advantage of some of the vendors' web based features (Like Tagging and Archiving for GMail, and filing messages into folders for Yahoo!Mail).

The key to all of this is to make sure you're spending as little time actually processing your email, and more time doing the stuff you are supposed to or want to do (work, life, etc.). By leveraging the BlackBerry's ability to handle all of your email with the flexibility to Manage It Anywhere, you will soon experience the state of Zen. . .

Next post I will discuss the 3rd ZABB Principle: Leverage Your Technology

2nd ZABB Principle: Manage It Anywhere

2008-06-07T12:40:00.025-04:00

Now that you have a strategy, you should be ready to implement it so you can manage your email remotely on your BlackBerry or at your desktop. Remember, the whole point is to set yourself up to be able to reduce the amount of time you spend managing your email regardless of whether you're sitting at your desktop.

Disclaimer: Filing messages remotely requires that you have a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. My example is using BES on Exchange. The implementation may be slightly different for Domino or Groupwise.

In an Exchange/BES environment you can set up your system folders (from your desktop) to reflect your processing strategy. Here's how:

Create your folders on your server account (as sub folders of your Inbox). My folders are 'Archive', 'Receipts', 'Respond', 'sent' and 'Travel'.
Set your Auto Archive Settings to automatically move items in these folders every day into an Archive folder (which you set as a personal folder). Microsoft actually has a training module covering it here

These folders will magically appear on your BlackBerry (see image) when you choose to file a message (choose 'File' from the drop-down menu when you have a message open).
Congratulations!!! You can now file from your desktop or BlackBerry into these folders.

If it helps you to understand the why behind this method, read on . . .(brace yourself, it could get technical).

All incoming mail is pushed to your device. The actual email still resides on your server, and the message on your BlackBerry is merely a reference to that message on the server. If you move the messages (using your desktop on your computer) directly from your Inbox to a personal folder, you are severing that connection to the message on your BlackBerry. The message on your BlackBerry has been orphaned (lost its reference point), and will remain annoyingly in your message list even though you think you have moved it.

This will only work if you always file messages into these (server-based) folders (whether on your BlackBerry or at your desktop). Once you have mastered the 2nd Zen and the Art of BlackBerry Principle - Manage It Anywhere, you will be able to attain a higher level of enlightenment if you reduce the taxonomy that is your personal folder/sub folder nightmare. This is where you're going to have to be honest with yourself...when was the last time your sophisticated filing system actually helped you find something quickly? Less Is More, so do yourself a favor. . . let go.

Oh, and I almost forgot: download a decent desktop search tool like Yahoo Desktop Search or Google Desktop Search. Either of these will allow you to quickly find anything on your computer, and eliminate the need to file anywhere but 'Archive'. My next post will discuss strategies and tactics for BlackBerry Internet Server users (POP3 and webmail accounts).

1st ZABB Priciple: Seeing White

2008-06-07T12:25:00.034-04:00

If your strategy is to get back control of your time, you have to have a strategy. Duh . . .not very ground breaking. It can be a blend of whatever works for you and whatever you learn from others.

The best strategy I have found to date (in my humble opinion) is Inbox Zero from Merlin Mann's blog. It is a very "Less Is More" approach to processing your email based on the premise that 90% of the email you get everyday can just be deleted.

Go there now and watch the video, it will be the best hour you spend on anything this month. It is really about reducing the options of what you can do with an email, deciding how and when to process, taking action and then moving on. One of the key premises is that you do not have to have a complex taxonomy of personal folders to file everything in its tidy little place (how many times has this actually come in handy?). This may work for you, or you might tweak it to your liking. Either way, this will be the first step in attaining the First Principle of Zen and the Art of BlackBerry - Seeing White.

That is: when you can actually see blankness towards the bottom of your Inbox.

My next post will demonstrate how to implement your email processing strategy on your BlackBerry.

A Starting Point

2008-05-31T06:45:00.016-04:00

"Less Is More."
~Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Zen and the Art of BlackBerry is less about gadgets and more about the way we communicate and interact with others. It is less about being "Always On, Always Connected" and more about leveraging the technology to get back to doing the things you're supposed to do (work, projects, home. . .Life).

". . . cultivate the peace of mind, which does not separate one’s self from one’s surroundings. When that is done successfully, then everything else follows naturally. Peace of mind produces right values, right values produce right thoughts. Right thoughts produce right actions and right actions produce work which will be a material reflection for others to see of the serenity at the center of it all."
~Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. p267

It is about seeking balance, staying centered and being in the moment, which anyone can do (the illiterate as well as the learned scholar). Only you define what that state of balance is, and you will know when you reach it. The first step or starting point is all about letting go into the moment. . .or rather just letting go. Not letting our in-box create a separateness from our work and lives that defines us.

I am not going to pretend to be an expert in Zen Buddhism, communication or BlackBerry. I will attempt to provide insight that may be helpful for others who are seeking balance, and if I do not know the answer I will do my best to find it.