I just got my new 'berry at work -- a decent 7130e. Many, many people give me a hard time when they see me using/wearing it. Frequent comments are that I'm chained to it, that I can never leave work, etc. These couldn't be further from the truth: it's a liberation.
It's just a tool. Like any other tool, the secret is in how you use it. Here's some benefits/advice:
- Forward your desk phone to it. Answer all email and phone calls using it. This way, everyone learns to expect a response from you using your blackberry. Now nobody knows where you are. You could be in a meeting, in your office, at the pub, or on the bus home. You now operate in stealth mode and have great freedom of movement and schedule.
- Days off become less stressful. If you're in a similar position than I am, taking time off is problematic. I frequently come back to more chaos and work after I take a day off, and it's very stressful worrying about what goes wrong when you're not there. No more. A glance at the 'berry and you can head problems off at the pass. I'd rather spend 30 seconds emailing a corrective note off than 4 hours fixing a problem that's reached upper management the next day.
- You can blend work and home life. Many people don't like this, but I do. Sometimes I come in late or leave early, if this means I have to spend a couple of hours on the weekend firing off a few emails when I have a clear head, so be it.
- Typically, you can use it for personal use, as long as you don't get out of hand. This means that you don't need to pay for a personal cell phone.
- It forces brevity. You don't want to write multiple page emails or have long conversations on the 'berry. Get you message crafted and out there in a short period of time.
http://mitchellfamily.ca/blog
