It’s easier than ever to communicate with other people. You can text, call, message, or email, in addition to talking in person or interacting on social media. On top of that, you have social media and business apps to manage. Trying to keep up with all those different apps gets exhausting.

What you need is a way to do everything in one place. At a glance, you can see if any of your apps have new activity. Consolidating your apps would not only save time, but you’d also be less likely to miss something important. But the process of moving all your apps can be involved. Luckily, we have a handy guide to help get you started.

The Problem with Too Many Apps

If you’re used to drifting from one app to the other, you may not realize how it’s dragging you down. You have multiple usernames and passwords, for one. Automatic login has made that easier, but you’ll need to remember the information eventually. The more apps you have, the more you’ll need to jot all that login information down somewhere.

Notifications pose another issue. You’re probably getting alerts throughout the day from your many messaging apps. Each time, you have to open the separate app to look at your message. By having everything in one place, just clicking on that notification will take you to your dashboard. While you’re there, you can quickly scan to see if anything else needs attention.

If you have multiple email addresses with the same provider, you can also benefit from a software that pulls it all into one place. Instead of logging in and out to switch from one Gmail account to another, you can stay active on both addresses. Just toggle back and forth when you want to check your alternate email addresses.

Of course, there’s also the issue of all those apps cluttering up your computer. If your taskbar is crowded with icons, you know what we mean. Using an aggregator for your messaging means you can clean some of that up. It also means you won’t have to set all those apps to open at startup, possibly making your computer run better overall.

The Benefit of Consolidating Messaging Apps

There are several reasons to move all your messaging apps to one place. One is the convenience we mentioned above. You can simply manage everything easier if it’s all in one place. But this is especially true of your business and personal communications. Being able to catch up on your Facebook messages while also monitoring for new Slack chats can be a great timesaver.

You’ll also get everything on your computer. You probably set your smartphone off to the side while you work. That means those Facebook and personal email messages may be lighting up your screen throughout the day, distracting you from your work. Instead of having to switch to your phone when that happens, you can get those notifications on the same computer where you’re working.

Find a Good Aggregator

A productivity app like Shift will consolidate all your most-used apps in one place. This includes the many messaging apps you use. You can pull all your email addresses, messaging accounts, and social media platforms into one dashboard, toggling between each of them effortlessly. Instead of a cluttered taskbar at the bottom of your screen, you’ll have one icon that takes you to all your most-used apps.

If you use extensions like Grammarly or Boomerang, you can also add those to Shift. You’ll get the same functionality you’d have if you were bouncing from app to app. Once you have all the apps you want, you can customize your experience. Set up notifications the way you want them to come through and personalize your dashboard to look the way you prefer.

Messaging Apps Available in Shift

Over the next few hours, pay attention to all the ways you communicate. Check your cell phone as well as any computers you use. Chances are, you’ll have email and text, but there are probably a few apps, too. Here are some of the most popular messaging apps in Shift to help you refine your list.

Shift has 1,000's of apps available in the app directory, including:

• Facebook Messenger – Since it’s the top social messaging app, Facebook is probably on your phone. It may even be on the computer you use for work. When your Aunt Mary or Uncle Bob reaches out about the family reunion, chances are it comes through Facebook Messenger. You may even occasionally get a work message that way. But it can be easy to forget to check Facebook Messenger, especially if you don’t have notifications on. Combining it can ensure you never miss a message – for better or worse.
• Instagram - While Instagram messaging has now been combined with Facebook Messenger, a lot of Instagram users don't use Facebook. For many, Instagram is still a main way to message with friends and family, share posts and run business accounts. Social media influencers and meme pages make for interesting content to share and can be easily shared via messages with Instagram.
• Slack – Texting and instant messaging have long been associated with personal use. But businesses need a way to stay in touch, too. The vast majority of large companies use Slack, with plenty of small businesses choosing it, too. But for many professionals, it’s become yet one more app to manage.
• WhatsApp – Owned by Facebook, WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps. The app came along at a time when text messaging was expensive. It remains the top alternative to carrier-based texting, also known as SMS. But unlike SMS, it isn’t built into device operating systems, so it requires a dedicated app, username, and login.
• Skype – Skype remains popular for both business and personal use. It’s especially useful if your remote team communicates internationally, offering a free, easy way to stay in touch. But getting a message through can be tricky. Both you and the other party need to be online for the message to deliver. An aggregator service will let you add Skype to your dashboard to serve as a reminder to check in.
• WeChat – While it's not as popular in North America, WeChat has more active users than Facebook Messenger and is the fastest growing messaging app. WeChat is a Chinese messaging and social media app with over 1 billion active users.
• Discord –  Discord is a voice and text chat app designed for the gaming community. With over 250 million users, Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, in web browsers and, of course, in Shift. Many gamers are running multiple Discord accounts that can all be combined in Shift.
• Telegram –  Telegram is a response to users' security concerns with some of the available messaging apps. With Telegram, all messages self-destruct and are encrypted. The cloud-based messaging and VOIP service is fast, free and secure.
• Google Hangouts –  Hangouts is Google's IM service that allows users to instant message or join voice and video calls with one person or a group. Like many of Google's past messaging solutions, Google will shut down the consumer version of Hangouts in June 2020.
• Microsoft Teams –  For those using the Microsoft Office suite in their work environment, Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform. Microsoft Teams provides a shared workspace where you can chat, meet, share files, and work with business apps.
• BAND –  Whether you have groups of friends, family or teammates, we all have the need to have multiple group messages going at all times. BAND is a free communication app that focuses on secure messaging between groups.
• Microsoft Teams –  For those using the Microsoft Office suite in their work environment, Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform. Microsoft Teams provides a shared workspace where you can chat, meet, share files, and work with business apps.
• LinkedIn – Also popular in businesses, LinkedIn’s Inbox Messenger is an important tool. Even if you infrequently get messages, it’s important to know as soon as one comes in. Forgetting to check LinkedIn for a while could mean you miss an important business opportunity.
• Gmail – If you’re like 44 percent of people living in the U.S., you use Gmail. It may even be your primary email account. Email isn’t really a messaging app, but it can help to have it lumped in with all your other communication apps.
• Outlook – Although Gmail is popular overall, Outlook still rules the business world. If you use Outlook for work, you can move quickly from your work inbox to a personal inbox using an aggregator. Imagine being able to switch from Outlook to Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, then your messenger services without having to open another app.

The right tool will go beyond messaging apps. If your business uses productivity apps like Asana or Monday, you can add those in. As you’re checking in with all your projects, you can also click over to your various communication tools to make sure you aren’t missing anything. Instead of spending the early part of your morning checking each communication tool your business uses, you’ll have everything in one place.

One of the best features of an aggregator, though, is the fact that it lets you know at a glance whether there’s anything new to check. You’ll also have alerts for each app to let you know immediately when something new is coming in. That will ensure you’ll never miss anything.

Add Multiple Accounts of the Same App

After taking stock of your various accounts, consider the multiple accounts you may have on the same app. Many users have multiple Gmail accounts, for instance, and logging out and in can be an involved process. An aggregator eliminates that pain, letting you stay signed in to multiple accounts. Instead of logging out of one account, logging into another, and passing the security check, you can just toggle from one account to another, no password required.

In addition to email, you may have two or more social media accounts, especially on Facebook. You can use Facebook Business Manager to operate your professional pages and profiles alongside your personal profile. Click here to learn how you can use Shift to manage multiple Instagram accounts with one easy desktop app.You likely have more of a need to stay on top of your business messages than those that come through personally, and Shift makes it easy.

How to Combine All of Your Messaging Apps in Shift

Related Video: How to Combine All of Your Messaging Apps in One Place

Try Shift

By pulling your favorite apps into one place, you’ll make it easier to stay in touch with everyone. You’ll also save time that you can put toward other efforts, like building a successful business or climbing up to the next rung on the career ladder. With the right tools, there’s no limit to how productive you can be. Download Shift today to combine all of your messages in one place and streamline your workflow.