Some time ago – indeed while I was procrastinating on some important work that I had to do – I have found an article by Merlin Mann that introduced a powerful concept to stop procrastination. He called it the (10+2)*5 method and the idea is you work for an amount of time without distraction, then break to relax or do something else. With these work bursts, the job will get done.

From his website

It’s called “(10+2)*5” and here’s why:

• 10 – Work for ten minutes with single-minded focus on moving toward completion on a single task. Ten minutes, and that’s all you’re allowed to do is work, work, work. No cheating, because (DING!) you actually get a break when you’re done…
• 2 – After ten minutes of sweaty, dedicated work you get a 2-minute break to do whatever you want—drink coffee, read 5ives, call your bookie, whatever. When the two minutes are up, it’s back to work on the next task on your list. This is important.
• *5 – You’re going to iterate this four more times for a total of one hour’s working/breaking

Since then I have followed this method and it is indeed really powerful. While initially the 10 minutes timeframe was perfect I am now at the 25 minutes timeframe plus 5 minutes break. I do several runs everyday, get a lot of things done but still have time to check the news, web statistics or my email every 25 minutes.

I have done this before using a normal watch but I wanted something more sophisticated: the idea for a BlackBerry application was born. Another issue that bothered me: The BlackBerry is a productivity tool but the built-in task manager is really, really lame. I want something better. So I set out to develop a BlackBerry application that (1) improves the native BlackBerry task manager and (2) helps me getting things done by working on my task list in bursts using the (10+2)*5 method.

The result is my BlackBerry application called Just10Minutes, here is a screenshot of the much improved task manager that features collabsable lists:

On the homescreen you can then select a task and enter the “work mode” and work in bursts to finish the task. If you think that 10 minutes is not enough you can of course also change the time.

I am convinced that this app will also help you to get more things done and to stop procrastination and I suggest that you download the app and try it for yourself. The free trial allows you enter up to three tasks and then just activate the work mode and work on it. I am confident that you will like it as well, I am not working without the app anymore.

Download the trial and see if it works for you! If you like it, let me know through the comments, email or Twitter!

or

Here is the list of the most popular tips and tricks.

Most Popular Tips and Tricks

Turn on the backlighting

• Press Power button.

Switch to another program

• Hold the Alt key and press the Escape button. Continue to hold the Alt key and select a program. Release the Alt key to switch to that program.

Exit a screen or dialog box

• Press the Escape button.

Insert a period

• Press the Space key twice. The next letter is capitalized.

Insert the at sign (@) and periods in an Email field

• Press the Space key.

Type an accent or special character

• Hold the letter key and roll the trackball/trackwheel.

Capitalize a letter

• Hold the letter key until the capitalized letter appears.

Move the cursor in a different direction

• The Alt key and roll the trackball/trackwheel.

Change an option field

• Hold the Alt key. Click a value.

Move to an item in a list or menu

• Press the first letter of the item.

Select a check box

• Press the Space key. To clear the check box, press the Space key again.

Select a line of text

• Press the Shift key and roll the trackball/trackwheel.

Move down a screen

• Press the Space key.

Move up a screen

• Press the Shift key + the Space key.

The Tips and Tricks are sorted by device and even include some early models such as the 7100 and 7520. You can find the full listin the BlackBerry 101 – Tips and Tricks Section.

All you need to do is:

1. Open the Video Camera application (not the normal camera)
2. Press "space" to toggle it on and off.

Pretty easy and a really nice trick to do more with your BlackBerry than just make phone calls.

Don’t Be Bored! 2.0

That’s why I have decided it is time to improve the site a little bit and I am excited that Don’t Be Bored! 2.0 has been launched today. Here is what it looks like:

Popular Links of Twitter, reddit, digg, delicious, boingboing and fark

As you can see  we have also included jokes (more than 1500) and my favourite is the popular links section. This shows you the popular links of different social news sites. So far I have included Twitter, reddit, digg, delicious, boingboing and fark. If you would like to see any other sites included, let us know.

Download Don’t Be Bored for FREE and OTA!

You can download the “Don’t Be Bored!” application launcher or open www.bbhacker.com/dbb directly on your BlackBerry Browser and the fun starts.

Here is a collection of some excellent questions and answers from our BlackBerry Q&A site know.bbhacker.com.

What is the best weather app?

it2swbrown answers:

I love BerryWeather but it is expensive for a weather app. Accuweather is a free app. The Weather Channel just came out with a free app also that has interactive radar maps.

Bograma answers:

I never used BerryWeather because Bucharest is not so well represented. So I went to Weather Eye which was great (still is on the 8320) but a little too simple for my tastes. So I went to Weather Bug, which is more complex and more accurate. The last 2 mentioned are free. Try them! I did a review on Weather Bug a while ago. I still prefer this one on my Bold.

Mapping Cellular Coverage with iBlipped

TRUMPF shares his report:

So I found this website http://www.iblipped.com/ on Crackberry, and gotta say I’ve become addicted to it. Small app you download to your blackberry which collects signal strength by GPS coordinates.

Has anyone else checked it out or using it?? I’m running on AT&T and not to many people have used it in CT.

Check it out!

GAThrawn replies:

Now that I’ve updated to the 1.4 version of the Blipper everything’s working on my Bold.

There is a certain addictive quality to recording all the coverage, uploading and then waiting with bated breath for coverage maps to update so you can trace all your journeys and trips!

The only downside is that there aren’t too many people updating in the UK yet, so you’ll be able to literally trace my home, workplace and hobbies to within a few metres very soon!

Find more questions and answers at know.bbhacker.com.

We want to support in your quest towards an awesome 2010 and have a special offer:

50% off our BlackBerry Productivity Applications

with coupon code

until January 10^th 2010 at mobihand.com

ZenMinder 2.0

ZenMinder 2.0 is our stylish reminder software which has been recently updated and now looks even better and offers a lot of features to set alarms and reminders for the important things in your life. ZenMinder is perfect for reminding you of doing sports regularly, flowering your plants or other repeating tasks that we forget so often. Using the coupon code you can get it for just USD 2,49. Click here to purchase the app.

Just10Minutes

Just10Minutes is our latest application and it is a big improvement towards the native BlackBerry Task manager. Just10Mintes has a really easy-to-use interface and finally allows to group tasks by categories. Additionally the application includes a “work mode” that will get you kick-started into your work mode which is based on Merlin Mann’s well-known (10+2) * 5 productivity hack. Using the coupon code you can get it for just USD 1,49. Click here to purchase the app.

Of course you can try each of these version for free before you purchase. Simply download the trial version and see for yourself if the application is helpful.

In order to get the 50% discount on your order enter the coupon code at the check-out screen. If you have any questions about using the coupon code, send us an email at support@ademendo.com

Don’t Be Bored – Instant Fun Right on your BlackBerry

Don’t Be Bored is a small web-based application that shows you the funniest pictures on the Internet customized for viewing on your BlackBerry. Don’t Be Bored will put a smile on your face and definitely stave off boredom.

An easy app launcher that you can download below allows quick access and delivers the fun with a simple click. A collection of 1000+ pictures are waiting to be explored in this easy to use app. Just open the link below in your BlackBerry browser and you can easily install the application.

Download Don’t Be Bored for FREE and OTA!

Can’t install applications? Just open www.bbhacker.com/dbb on your BlackBerry Browser and the fun starts.

Background

We put together this app in less than a day, so we am curios to hear your feedback. Leave a comment if you love it and also if you hate it. But please, don’t write me if you are offended by any of the pictures. It’s just for fun

1. How to turn of the shutter sound on the camera?

2. What is the best Twitter application for the BlackBerry?

3. What are your favorite BlackBerry applications?

4. How to use a different browser than the default BlackBerry browser?

5. How can you extend the battery life of your BlackBerry?

I am sure you will find some interesting answers and if you have any BlackBerry question yourself, just ask a question at http://know.bbhacker.com

Register and get a free copy of ZenMinder

If you register at http://know.bbhacker.com in October or November 2009 AND ask or answer a question you will get a free copy of ZenMinder. Where is the catch? No catch, just register and ask the question you always wanted to ask.

After you registered

Send a link to your profile together with your BlackBerry PIN to support@zenminder.com and I will send you the license key which will unlock the full version of ZenMinder. You can already download the trial version of ZenMinder at http://www.zenminder.com .

Join Us

It’s a great community and there are already quite a few really helpful BlackBerry user and we invite you to join us as well.

Announcing the new BlackBerrz Q&A site know.bbhacker.com

Here at bbhacker.com we have launched a new site at http://know.bbhacker.com that will be the platform to ask questions and get answers. Most of the time somebody else might have had the same question and you can easily find the correct answer. Just tried it yourself, ask questions or answer questions.

Now go and visit http://know.bbhacker.com