Keep in mind that to some degree workflows are inevitably a matter of taste and familiarity. That is we adjust over time to a certain way of working changing ho

Keep in mind that to some degree workflows are inevitably a matter of taste and familiarity. That is we adjust over time to a certain way of working changing how we work to be in line with out our tools work and enjoy things whose workings are in line with our own mental models. I think you may have misunderstood how one works with a tiling wm rather than fiddling with the arrangement constantly one hardly does at all. Certain applications can be automatically routed to certain monitors and in certain arrangements. 99% of the time the primary window management operation one does is simply to switch what a given monitor is displaying or change focus between applications with none of the sizing arranging exposing or alt tabbing through lists of windows. The most useful arrangement of windows on a per monitor workspace is either a single large window or 2-3 aligned horizontally or vertically based on the orientation of the monitor and the creation of the arrangement is by no other means than simply opening an application and having it pop into the arrangement. This is increasingly evident and useful with multiple monitors and increasing number of windows. There is probably no meaningful difference in utility between any window management method that can be discerned with 3 windows on a single monitor but at some point between 3 windows and say 15 one really needs at least virtual desktops to break up the windows and switching windows is a 2-3 level operation switching virtual desktop then focusing the correct monitor and then expose. Much worse if it it would useful at the moment to have an application from Desktop 2 Monitor 2 on Desktop 1 Monitor 1 and then back again in its original location. Especially if you need it to share space with an existing window because now one most resize both windows in addition to rearranging. The cognitive overhead is in remembering which desktop one has which window however this is trivially mitigated by always using the same desktop for the same task. This ultimately microscopic amount of overhead is paid for by not constantly paying for windows arrangement amnesia by using overview and expose to find the window you were using 30 seconds ago.