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I disagree heavily - Having a secondary monitor with documentation / work plans on it is enormously useful as you can glance at it without having to do anything

I disagree heavily - Having a secondary monitor with documentation / work plans on it is enormously useful as you can glance at it without having to do anything more special than turn your head. In fact, I would go so far as to say that three monitors is optimum since you can have your code on one, the output of your code (continuous tests/hot reload/etc) on another and documentation on the last allowing you to see all aspects of your work without a single keystroke.

quasse 10y ago
I don't program in Android as my main focus at work but have been doing to quite a bit lately and I have to say thank god for my three monitors. The Android ecosystem is such that you are going to want documentation up at all times, and alt-tabbing back and forth would drive me insane. My monitor layout ends up like this: [emulator][docs][code] and it works really well. That picture of the author's virtual desktops looks like a nightmare to me. I like using window snapping to put one thing per monitor and having it be big and static from that point on. No context switching, no keeping a mental index of which virtual desktop has that damn Gradle documentation hidden on it.
tetraodonpuffer 10y ago
and a fourth monitor for slack/email/... seems like it would work very well also. I currently have 3 monitors at home (thinking about going to 4) and at work with 2 I definitely miss having a third available.
emeraldd 10y ago
tl; dr; A single application does not represent a single mental task/context. Yup! I work on web applications and run a three monitor setup roughly like this: * Web Ui with what I'm currently working and the occasional api doc * Editor with code and probably a few shell tabs * Third for incidentals (hipchat, chrome dev tools, Jira Ticket, etc.) On top of that I'll use Virtual desktops to switch between task sets or email etc.. Desktop 1 - Email/Jira Overview/HipChat/Toggl Desktop 2-7 - What I'm working on right now or "quick bug" type stuff Desktop 8 - pianobar, loose gmail/inbox window The middle desktop set is usually pretty sparse, but it helps. One monitor doesn't have enough "logical" real estate to to maintain the context of a single problem for me. I wind up using multiple desktops and bouncing back and forth between them all the time, sometimes several times over a single edit because I loose context in the desktop switch.
cyberpanther 10y ago
I have a wide screen and don't use it multi-tasking but more to stop switching so much. My web development setup. One third code and terminal, one third the app i'm developing open and one third design or requirement docs. Yes its harder to manage windows but once its setup, I don't find that i'm fooling with windows all day, just a minute whenever I restart my computer which isn't that often.
cortesoft 10y ago
Yeah, I don't understand how you can work having your documentation on a different virtual desktop; am I the only one who often is ACTUALLY LOOKING at docs when I type code? If I am doing something new where I am not sure of the syntax, I need to actually be looking at the reference while typing my version of it. Whenever I am forced to have one screen (e.g. I am on my laptop away from my desk), I end up having to switch windows 4 or 5 times (look at docs and try to remember a bit, switch windows, type a bit of code, switch back to see the next part, read, switch back, etc). I often try to work around this by making my coding window very small so I can fit both docs and code on one screen, but that ends up meaning that I can't see much context in the code, and scrolling to find other code has the same issue (scroll up to look at a different function, scroll back down, etc).
slantyyz 10y ago
>> In fact, I would go so far as to say that three monitors is optimum I would say that it's not the number of monitors that's important, but the total amount of real estate you get from your monitors that matters. I would rather have a single 46"-50" curved 8K monitor than a grid of four 27" 4K monitors running off my computer. I'd rather have fewer cables and a simpler setup if given the choice. Practically speaking, with today's tech and prices, you generally do need more than one monitor to get all the real estate your heart desires, but hopefully that changes drastically in the next few years.
trey-jones 10y ago
I would say four is even better - I have one dedicated to terminal with logging output which might be different/additional to the actual end output of my program, but I agree with your sentiment and disagree strongly with the article. The final nail in the coffin: Limiting yourself to a single monitor is not going to solve your distraction problem.
gremlinsinc 10y ago
Agreed, I keep slack on left for work convo's/important issues, or I swap that out for browser testing frontend stuff (full stack developer - laravel + lots of jquery and some vue) -- I usually use the right monitor for code, and the middle monitor is my usual browser testing window unless I'm comparing code files then I'll have middle/right both be editors, and test on the left.. I also use i3 on arch linux tiled windows/workspaces mean I can keep non-work stuff on a wholly separate workspace so it's out of mind, like my thunderbird that I use for emails from side projects I'm working on, or my gmail app (wmail), etc..
domador 10y ago
I agree with your disagreement! My primary setup is a desktop with two monitors. From time to time, I've wondered whether the second monitor is overkill. However, my most recent long stretch of using a single screen (by having to use a laptop on the road) has convinced me of how helpful a two-monitor setup is. With a single screen, there is a lot of window-switching when I consult documentation, whereas a dual monitor setup makes sure the documentation is always there and I don't need to switch between any windows (or virtual desktops for that matter). Having said that, I'll share a few additional details that have helped me (though they won't necessarily help everyone else). Neither of my monitors is huge (by current standards), with the main one at 22 inches. I think a huge monitor would make it hard for me to easily maximize windows into a usable size. Also, I was glad to find a rotating monitor for my secondary screen, which I use in portrait mode, something that's helpful for long documentation. I think a third monitor would be two distracting to me. If I have to switch between reference documents, I'll just switch windows within the secondary screen. Then again, having a third monitor might be worth a try. If I ever try it, I might try having both the second and third monitor off to the same side, rather than to the left and right of the main monitor, since it'd probably be easier for to remember "For documentation, always turn my head to the right", rather than remembering which reference source is on which side of the main screen.
criddell 10y ago
I use Windows 10's virtual desktop to hold stuff that I want instantly available but not always visible. Plus it makes it easy for me to work using the same muscle memory when I'm at my desktop or on my laptop. My desktop monitor is a big one though (and 4k) and that helps. On it I do many of the things you say you do with multiple monitors.
rdiddly 10y ago
Yeah I have 3. I can & do use just one when I work from home on a laptop, and I've long been a fan of "uni-tasking" so I totally see his point. But it tends to be not-as-fast. My usual modus operandi with 3 screens is to have one instance of the IDE in the middle for whatever I'm working on, one instance on the right for the relevant dependency or example I'm following, and then on the left is usually some type of docs or Stack Overflow. Or Hacker News if it's break-time. When my neck starts to hurt from looking left for too long, that means it's time to get back to work!

quasse 10y ago

I don't program in Android as my main focus at work but have been doing to quite a bit lately and I have to say thank god for my three monitors. The Android ecosystem is such that you are going to want documentation up at all times, and alt-tabbing back and forth would drive me insane. My monitor layout ends up like this: [emulator][docs][code] and it works really well. That picture of the author's virtual desktops looks like a nightmare to me. I like using window snapping to put one thing per monitor and having it be big and static from that point on. No context switching, no keeping a mental index of which virtual desktop has that damn Gradle documentation hidden on it.

tetraodonpuffer 10y ago

and a fourth monitor for slack/email/... seems like it would work very well also. I currently have 3 monitors at home (thinking about going to 4) and at work with 2 I definitely miss having a third available.

emeraldd 10y ago

tl; dr; A single application does not represent a single mental task/context. Yup! I work on web applications and run a three monitor setup roughly like this: * Web Ui with what I'm currently working and the occasional api doc * Editor with code and probably a few shell tabs * Third for incidentals (hipchat, chrome dev tools, Jira Ticket, etc.) On top of that I'll use Virtual desktops to switch between task sets or email etc.. Desktop 1 - Email/Jira Overview/HipChat/Toggl Desktop 2-7 - What I'm working on right now or "quick bug" type stuff Desktop 8 - pianobar, loose gmail/inbox window The middle desktop set is usually pretty sparse, but it helps. One monitor doesn't have enough "logical" real estate to to maintain the context of a single problem for me. I wind up using multiple desktops and bouncing back and forth between them all the time, sometimes several times over a single edit because I loose context in the desktop switch.

cyberpanther 10y ago

I have a wide screen and don't use it multi-tasking but more to stop switching so much. My web development setup. One third code and terminal, one third the app i'm developing open and one third design or requirement docs. Yes its harder to manage windows but once its setup, I don't find that i'm fooling with windows all day, just a minute whenever I restart my computer which isn't that often.

cortesoft 10y ago

Yeah, I don't understand how you can work having your documentation on a different virtual desktop; am I the only one who often is ACTUALLY LOOKING at docs when I type code? If I am doing something new where I am not sure of the syntax, I need to actually be looking at the reference while typing my version of it. Whenever I am forced to have one screen (e.g. I am on my laptop away from my desk), I end up having to switch windows 4 or 5 times (look at docs and try to remember a bit, switch windows, type a bit of code, switch back to see the next part, read, switch back, etc). I often try to work around this by making my coding window very small so I can fit both docs and code on one screen, but that ends up meaning that I can't see much context in the code, and scrolling to find other code has the same issue (scroll up to look at a different function, scroll back down, etc).

slantyyz 10y ago

>> In fact, I would go so far as to say that three monitors is optimum I would say that it's not the number of monitors that's important, but the total amount of real estate you get from your monitors that matters. I would rather have a single 46"-50" curved 8K monitor than a grid of four 27" 4K monitors running off my computer. I'd rather have fewer cables and a simpler setup if given the choice. Practically speaking, with today's tech and prices, you generally do need more than one monitor to get all the real estate your heart desires, but hopefully that changes drastically in the next few years.

trey-jones 10y ago

I would say four is even better - I have one dedicated to terminal with logging output which might be different/additional to the actual end output of my program, but I agree with your sentiment and disagree strongly with the article. The final nail in the coffin: Limiting yourself to a single monitor is not going to solve your distraction problem.

gremlinsinc 10y ago

Agreed, I keep slack on left for work convo's/important issues, or I swap that out for browser testing frontend stuff (full stack developer - laravel + lots of jquery and some vue) -- I usually use the right monitor for code, and the middle monitor is my usual browser testing window unless I'm comparing code files then I'll have middle/right both be editors, and test on the left.. I also use i3 on arch linux tiled windows/workspaces mean I can keep non-work stuff on a wholly separate workspace so it's out of mind, like my thunderbird that I use for emails from side projects I'm working on, or my gmail app (wmail), etc..

domador 10y ago

I agree with your disagreement! My primary setup is a desktop with two monitors. From time to time, I've wondered whether the second monitor is overkill. However, my most recent long stretch of using a single screen (by having to use a laptop on the road) has convinced me of how helpful a two-monitor setup is. With a single screen, there is a lot of window-switching when I consult documentation, whereas a dual monitor setup makes sure the documentation is always there and I don't need to switch between any windows (or virtual desktops for that matter). Having said that, I'll share a few additional details that have helped me (though they won't necessarily help everyone else). Neither of my monitors is huge (by current standards), with the main one at 22 inches. I think a huge monitor would make it hard for me to easily maximize windows into a usable size. Also, I was glad to find a rotating monitor for my secondary screen, which I use in portrait mode, something that's helpful for long documentation. I think a third monitor would be two distracting to me. If I have to switch between reference documents, I'll just switch windows within the secondary screen. Then again, having a third monitor might be worth a try. If I ever try it, I might try having both the second and third monitor off to the same side, rather than to the left and right of the main monitor, since it'd probably be easier for to remember "For documentation, always turn my head to the right", rather than remembering which reference source is on which side of the main screen.

criddell 10y ago

I use Windows 10's virtual desktop to hold stuff that I want instantly available but not always visible. Plus it makes it easy for me to work using the same muscle memory when I'm at my desktop or on my laptop. My desktop monitor is a big one though (and 4k) and that helps. On it I do many of the things you say you do with multiple monitors.

rdiddly 10y ago

Yeah I have 3. I can & do use just one when I work from home on a laptop, and I've long been a fan of "uni-tasking" so I totally see his point. But it tends to be not-as-fast. My usual modus operandi with 3 screens is to have one instance of the IDE in the middle for whatever I'm working on, one instance on the right for the relevant dependency or example I'm following, and then on the left is usually some type of docs or Stack Overflow. Or Hacker News if it's break-time. When my neck starts to hurt from looking left for too long, that means it's time to get back to work!