Sneaky Low Interruption BlackBerry E-mail Configuration

[MattInglot]

Since getting my first BlackBerry years ago I have learned that being able to check e-mail anytime isn't more productive... it's more of a nervous tick and ultimate invite for anyone to interrupt you at anytime. No good. The simple solution is to get rid of it, but what if you need it for certain e-mail (in my case server alerts)?

As of five minutes ago my e-mail no longer goes to my BlackBerry... except I can send to anyone (without their responses going back to my BlackBerry), and I can receive certain panic notices from my web servers (the one truly mission critical type of e-mail).

Here's how I set it up, using the BlackBerry BIS and CPanel (but any decent mail control panel should work).

1) I stopped my BlackBerry from checking my real e-mail address (real@example.com for the purpose of this post)

2) I created a secret e-mail address (bb@example.com for the purpose of this post), which the BlackBerry is set to check. It is also set to set the reply-to: header as real@example.com so by default people respond to my non-BB account (yes you can get around it, we fix that next).

3) I configured CPanel to REDIRECT any e-mail going to bb@example.com to instead go to real@example.com, IF the TO field contains "bb@example.com" The purpose here is to prevent people from e-mailing me directly via bb@example.com even if they know the address exists. If you e-mail bb@example.com the e-mail is instead sent to real@example.com

4) Server notifications (or any other e-mail I WANT to receive on my BlackBerry) get their own e-mail forwarder configured in CPanel, which forwards to bb@example.com Note that since the e-mails are actually being sent to some_server_monitor@example.com and then getting forwarded, the TO field does not contain bb@example.com

The net result is:

1) I can e-mail anyone from my BB, but their responses will go to my normal inbox, and not my BB. This is great for delegating work when I think of it, without roping myself into a conversation about it.

2) E-mails to me go to my inbox, which is checked on my PC. Even if someone knows my super secret BlackBerry e-mail address, attempting to send to it directly results in their e-mails ending up in my normal inbox, not my BlackBerry.

3) E-mails sent to special forwarding addresses I setup to forward to my BlackBerry e-mail get delivered to my BlackBerry. Note that Word Mole works via e-mail, so you need to create wordmole@example.com if you wish to receive wordmole invites!

Ok now to breathe deeply. Tomorrow and on-goingly, no more random "urgent" e-mails breaking up my mental mindset. Now to train myself out of checking it constantly.

[phil]

Nice idea dude.

One thing though, is sometimes you're out and need to search for an email. Maybe to find someone's phone number that you're supposed to meet up with, or maybe to find a lockbox code for a villa you rented.

Would you still be able to login to webmail and search that way?

[MattInglot]

Good question. Having run this configuration since May (and definitely never planning to go back!), I can say that the situation did come up a few times. Most of the time I was able to fix the problem with a quick phone call, and nothing with long-term consequences ever went wrong. I've gained three major insights:

1) E-mail is NOT a storage mechanism. If you have an appointment, make sure you put in the address, phone number, etc in your calendar. This is often as simple as copy-pasting the relevant e-mail thread into the Details field in your calendar software (my BB calendar syncs with my Outlook calendar). If you have a contact you may need to speak with over the phone, put in your address book or if applicable, CRM software. If you forget (you're not perfect, and shouldn't to be) call reception, use phone book, etc.

2) Tim's right, most things can be fixed, and sometimes you just have to let bad things happen. What did I gain in return for giving up a small convenience? My stress level went down noticeably. I also no longer have the "bb twitch", checking the BB every 5 minutes when it vibrates, regardless of social situation.

3) Most things that urgently need to be dealt with can't be dealt with over the BlackBerry anyway, as all you can really do is send an e-mail. If a file is needed, if work needs to be done by me, I can't solve the problem on the BB. Crackberry addicted managers LOVE to e-mail all day (hey that used to be me). Every e-mail is urgent. That's a symptom of a lack of delegation/empowerment. My team knows if something is truly an emergency, they can phone me on my cell. And they know it has to be an emergency. I've gotten less than a phone call a month.


Edit: there are lots of ways to get webmail (BB has data, and these days makes a great portable modem). DON'T DO IT! Way too easy to cheat that way and check your mail. I cannot get my mail while on the road. It is wonderful.