I've never been a fan of the finger way (I hope all of you are covering your fingers with a plastic bag), as the flat open surface allows little air bubbles to get trapped. Also, I don't care for the way AS5 decribes of putting a dot in the center, because even if you put on the exact amount, not as much of the heat spreader gets covered, so you're losing contact surface. I've found the best way is modified AS5 version. Put the same 3/4 of a BB worth in the center, then about a cm out on all 4 corners put a little more (like 1/8 of a BB), so it looks like a "5" on the side of a dice. Then put the heatsink on and swivel and slightly rotate it to flatten out the paste. This way has reduced temps by 2C from other ways that I've used, and I feel it gives the best coverage without putting too much AS5 on or allowing air to get trapped.