Hacker News story: Why "all-in-one" productivity tools confuse new users

Why "all-in-one" productivity tools confuse new users
I’ve been working on an all-in-one productivity model for a while — the idea is simple: instead of switching between email, calendar, tasks, and notes, everything happens in one unified action layer. What surprised me wasn’t the technical challenge, but the user reactions. Power users absolutely love it. They immediately get the concept. They think in workflows, not apps. To them, “summarize this and turn it into an event” feels obvious and natural. But new users often freeze. Even though the interface is technically simpler, they ask things like: “What category is this tool?” “Where’s the starting point?” “Is this replacing my email or my notes?” “Why doesn’t it look like a normal productivity app?” It made me realize something uncomfortable: the more integrated a tool becomes, the harder it is for people to form a mental model. And without a clear mental model, onboarding becomes a wall. A few patterns keep repeating: People rely heavily on familiar UI metaphors (tabs, inboxes, folders). Removing those reduces complexity for some users but increases cognitive load for others. New users want “features”; power users want “flows”. Integration increases value but decreases clarity. I’m curious if others have run into this: Have you built or used something that people love after trying it, but struggle to understand before trying it? How did you communicate the value? Did metaphors help? Onboarding flows? Videos? Something else? Happy to share more from my experiments — I’d love to hear your experiences too. 0 comments on Hacker News.
I’ve been working on an all-in-one productivity model for a while — the idea is simple: instead of switching between email, calendar, tasks, and notes, everything happens in one unified action layer. What surprised me wasn’t the technical challenge, but the user reactions. Power users absolutely love it. They immediately get the concept. They think in workflows, not apps. To them, “summarize this and turn it into an event” feels obvious and natural. But new users often freeze. Even though the interface is technically simpler, they ask things like: “What category is this tool?” “Where’s the starting point?” “Is this replacing my email or my notes?” “Why doesn’t it look like a normal productivity app?” It made me realize something uncomfortable: the more integrated a tool becomes, the harder it is for people to form a mental model. And without a clear mental model, onboarding becomes a wall. A few patterns keep repeating: People rely heavily on familiar UI metaphors (tabs, inboxes, folders). Removing those reduces complexity for some users but increases cognitive load for others. New users want “features”; power users want “flows”. Integration increases value but decreases clarity. I’m curious if others have run into this: Have you built or used something that people love after trying it, but struggle to understand before trying it? How did you communicate the value? Did metaphors help? Onboarding flows? Videos? Something else? Happy to share more from my experiments — I’d love to hear your experiences too.