4 ms·
Multiple-Monitor Productivity: Fact or Fiction?
- hahla 14y agoI used to have three monitors, then went down to two, and now I'm at one. I personally feel that multitasking decreases my productivity, and that were increasingly trying to stretch our attention. I often open multiple tabs at once, have my phone blinking on my desk, gmail notifications, blinking LEDs elsewhere and etc. I often produce my best work on my 10 inch dell mini, I think others should try it too.
- mijustin 14y agoI've done something similar. I have a 13" Macbook Air and found that I can focus better when I'm staring at just one screen. This sandboxes my attention: do one thing at a time, finish it, and move on to the next thing. Most of the time my second monitor was used for email and Twitter, which was a constant distraction.
- joeld42 14y agoI tried using just a laptop screen for a year, after using 2-3 monitors before that. I just recently switched back to using 2 monitors (well, my laptop + a big monitor). Using the single small screen did help my focus and attention, but I found that that was more due to habits it created. There were plenty of cases where I miss the extra real estate and felt it slowed me down. Now I feel like I have improved my habits, I still close down apps so I'm working on one thing at a time, I have stopped keeping my email/twitter on the second monitor to invite distraction, etc. But now I have the added luxury (it does feel like a luxury) of the extra screen real estate.
- mijustin 14y agoI agree: I think if you can develop good habits then 2 screens could work well. It's interesting how you used a single screen to "train yourself" into getting good habits. That could help others as well.