In the book, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, I learned to test the sides of the finger pad, not the pad.
From there I developed my own technique to minimize punctures because I sometimes test 10 times a day.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I test on my left hand. On Tuesday, Thursdays, Saturday and Sundays, I test on my right hand. I remember which hand to test, by remembering that I use the "right" hand to start and end the week." In the beginning I also had a card in my test kit that I'd flip each day. On one side I'd written, "right", on the other "left". (On Sunday's, I didn't flip the card.)
At the beginning of the day, I test on the outside of the pinky finger upon awakening, then the inside of the pinky finger before breakfast, again on the side of pinky finger's pad. From their I continue on to the ring finger and continue working my way toward the thumb.
One friend had a lot of difficulty getting enough blood from her fingers first thing in the morning despite washing her hands first with warm water, which almost always works for me.
Her solution? After trying all our suggestions, she discovered that if she wrapped her hand around her morning mug of coffee or tea for 5 minutes, she could test and get adequate blood for the meter. Problem solved.