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A few weeks ago, I realized I had reached a point of diminishing returns in terms of my usage of productivity tools.  Finally my quest to find the perfect mix of tools to simplify my life and increase overall productivity had failed.  Or at least taken a significant step backwards. I’m a gadget geek and feel compelled to use gadgets such as my iPhone and iPad to run my life. So of course I’m continually searching for all the right apps to organize, remind, list, communicate, etc. Here’s a list some (there are more!) of the various tools I use…

The basics

• gmail for personal email (I have 3 different accounts – 2 domain specific and 1 gmail)
• Outlook at work – I have no choice so am constantly trying new ways to sync my work with the rest of my life. I use all the features, including email, calendar (prescribed by work), tasks, contacts and notes
• xobni – to organize things in Outlook and make it all searchable
• google desktop – same as above – sometimes just works better

Note: I used to put all my emails into folders but now everything goes into one and I use search to find things.  I never delete anything except stuff I know there is no way I’ll reference again – a digital pack rat of sorts.

• google calendar sync – to keep things in sync between my google apps calendar and Outlook at work (xobni and google sync don’t play nicely together so I’m trying to decide which one I need more)

Other stuff

• reQall – I love the voice conversion technology, allowing me to speak into my phone and (almost) perfectly convert what I say to text, including creating appointments, tasks and shopping lists using keywords. I hate almost everything else about this app but feel I need the core functionality… This also generates a lot of my other problems with syncing items so that everything exists in one place (Outlook)
• Evernote (I’m actually typing this out right now on the iPad Evernote app). No complaints about the service but always have an issue where I take notes and never refer to them again. I’d like the same concept as reQall where keywords could be used to generate tasks/appointments that are sync’d through the cloud to my Outlook exchange server (or at least Google calendar). I also find myself saving certain things to read in Evernote which conflicts with my use of instapaper and google reader (that’s a whole other problem and maybe worthy of separate post).
• Note Taker HD – I’ve tried about 10 different note taking apps for the iPad since I got it a few months ago. It was my goal to remove the one remaining thing that I felt was inefficient – a notebook and pen which meant I would have to transcribe any necessary actions or info coming out of meetings onto the computer (somewhere). I’ve been successful in getting rid of the notepad and pen and now do it all on one of three devices: laptop, iPad, or iPhone.  Still, the new problem, much like Evernote, is getting everything into one place for review.  Once I take notes in this app, I can only email them to myself as a PDF and will ultimately have to type out certain things.
• tungle.me – this is what causes me to use google calendar sync as the sync between tungle and google is much better than the outlook plugin they provide.  I hate almost all Outlook plugins – they invariably create problems with Outlook or conflict with other plugins.

Note: as I type this out I realize that the majority of my problems are caused by Microsoft Outlook which always requires these clunky plugins to play with other services.  Microsoft, can you please start using some web services and APIs! Still, this is the one tool I really have no choice but to use.

• Dropbox – I love this service and it tends to integrate quite well with everything else although you can’t really call it a productivity app. It’s on the list because of how I use it on the iPad/iPhone along with the other apps mentioned so far.

Aside from determining that I’m crazy and really just using technology for the sake of playing with all the latest toys and apps, can anyone help me please! I’m determined that there is a good mix of stuff to use to be fully organized and productive. Not the perfect mix but a pretty good one. Clearly I’ve reached a point of diminishing returns.

As a new iPad user, I’m wondering if this device is making me dumb. Don’t get me wrong, I love this device and know that this, and all the “me too” devices that will follow are going to change mobile computing forever. Still, in my digitally obsessed manner, I’ve decided that I want to do all my reading on the iPad. Why not – I have the Kindle app (I don’t like iBooks and already have kindle books that I’ve read on my iPhone), there are various great magazine apps, Press Reader is awesome and it’s a great device for keeping up with blogs. The problem is, there’s so much there, it’s accelerating an issue I was already worried about – the difficulty staying focused on one thing for longer than a few minutes.

Rather than reading through books from a single, beautifully designed device, I can barely concentrate long enough to get through a blog post. This is not a physical design flaw but rather an issue caused by the access to information and other great apps that are sitting there, asking you to go get them.  I continually find myself jumping around from app to app, website to website, checking/sending email, etc.  I’m sure most of you struggle with this all the time, especially at work where you are pulled in multiple directions throughout the day.  Now, imagine that small amount of time you’ve traditionally held onto for dear life, where you can curl up with a good book, being ripped away and replaced with another device, disguised as something to read on, ensuring you are a total slave to technology.

It’s not completely fair to blame this issue on a device as more and more, I find myself somewhat full of panic that there is so much information I want that I certainly can’t waste my time relaxing with a good piece of fiction.  If I’m honest with myself, this issue was percolating before I started using an iPad.  The iPad has just exacerbated this behaviour.

The funny thing is, I’m not sure I’m upset by this new dynamic in my life.  Instead, I feel completely committed to using my iPad for all my reading and finding a way to control my constant urges to access other things on the device.  I don’t need to describe all the benefits of the iPad – there are tons of sites to tell you what you need.  I want to take on the challenge of figuring out the “right” way to interact with my devices, just like the industry/market is learning as it goes.  In this regard, we’re living in a pretty amazing time.

Since dumping my blackberry after 10 years of loyal usage for an iPhone one year ago, I have guarded my prized toy at all times, especially from the grimy hands of my two little daughters.  In fact, up until a few months ago, there was no way in hell I would let my kids touch my “other” baby!  Recently though, as my older daughter has become a more mature 3 year old (mature is a very relative term here), and in order to stop her from asking the same question again and again, I allowed some tightly monitored access to my iPhone.

image source: http://www.coneinc.com

I was utterly amazed at how quickly a 3yr old, with absolutely no direction, was able to quickly figure out the interface and operate the phone effectively.  This is a testament to the UI/UX design of the iPhone and the game changing nature of touchscreen technologies in general.  On the flip side, I spend a lot of time thinking about how much difficulty my otherwise capable parents have operating computers .  I suppose the next most obvious test would be to hand over my iPhone to either of my parents and see if they are as productive as my 3yr old from the moment they start using the device.

I know there have been countless studies on the learning capabilities of older people vs. young children but I’m constantly astounded by the actual divide between these groups.  One way or another, I think that technology, and especially mobile and touch technologies combined with an evolution in UI/UX design principles will drive a new capability between all age groups and demographics over time.  This evolution alone will drive an amazing trajectory of new technology adoption for just about every consumer segment now and in the coming years.