The thing about an all-in-one productivity tool

With so much to do, this is the age of productivity. There are emails, meetings, tasks, reminders and more to attend to. It’s your workflow which decides how productive you are and every workflow constitutes of certain apps or tools (I’ll be using them interchangeably in this post). While there are hundreds of productivity apps to choose from, offering a wide range of features and customizability, it is essential to pick those that work for your workflow. The key here is to choose apps that can talk to each other seamlessly. This is perhaps the hardest part, but, once dealt with, you’re set; sit back and relax.

Now, imagine an all-in-one tool that did everything you wanted to do — No hassle of trying several apps to see which ones fit your workflow. Simply put — a single tool with everything in it. Everything. Sounds cool? Yes. Realistic? Maybe not.

The very idea of this unified platform seduces because it gives the impression of decluttering your workspace. So, instead of 5 apps to get stuff done, you now only need to have one. Simple, right? But, if we think a little more, we realise that this concept has a shortcoming that is too big to be overlooked — complexity.

A tool that does so much without becoming overwhelming, is actually a dream.

Tech giants like Google & Microsoft can probably attempt to build a single platform that brings everything together since they are catering to a huge user base — several kinds of users with each looking to achieve a different goal with the product. Which in turn means, to make everyone happy, this unified platform should be able to do literally everything. And, this is the point where the niceness of the product gets killed and lucidity goes for a toss. Doing nothing and doing everything are separated by one thing — doing the right thing. If a product is on the left side, it’s useless. If on the right, it’s trying too hard.

The reason why the productivity apps market is flourishing is because each app is serving to its own set of users. The users are happy with what the app is doing for them — they like it. Now, if you see here, the unified platform will in fact force adjustment whilst it takes out the hassle of trying several apps. Not to forget that if a user is only using a few of the features on the platform (enough for his/her workflow), the rest of them are still cluttering his/her workspace, which the unified tool was supposed to get rid of in the first place. There will be so much and that is the problem.

Freedom to choose is sexy.

There are two choices –

1. Get on board and adjust to the unified platform that promises that everything will gel together well. Calmness of nerves is not guaranteed.
2. Choose the apps that you like and compromise a little on the chemistry between them.

If you ask me, I’ll stick to my choices for now, making each of them do what they’re supposed to do (with some talking between them). Just in case you’re interested, they are –

Email & Calendar - Newton
To-do lists - Any.Do
Notes - Google Keep
Task Management - Trello

I just cannot miss out on talking about Newton’s ‘Connected Apps’ feature here. It helps brings your apps together without being obtrusive or complex. If you want to save an email to Evernote, we’re providing a channel to help you reach Evernote without leaving your Inbox and then letting Evernote take care of the rest. We’re talking to Evernote for you. It’s fast and seamless, you wouldn’t notice that you ever switched interfaces. Try it :)

What do you think about the all-in-one platform concept? Would you be willing to give up everything for the ‘one’? Let me know in the comments below!